Application

[byeolingforjang]

Name:Jang Hae Byeol
Nickname:N/A
Band/Solo:Ulzzang
Journal: byeolingforjang 
Aim:#jhaebyeol
Age:22
Year:Junior
Fraternity/Sorority/Dorms/Off-campus housing: Kappa Delta
Major:Environmental Science
Clubs/Sports:
Biography:

With a mother as the head of the Anthropology department at Yonsei and a father serving as a visiting professor at several universities across the world, offering lectures on Korea's Natural History, it was given that Hae Byeol would at the very least have some sort of nerdy interest or other. Goodness knows her parents tried to give her a 'normal' childhood. She was enrolled in daycare once she was old enough, even went to normal public schools, but Hae simply stuck out amongst the children. Perhaps it was because of all the lectures she went to because there was not a babysitter to be found. It very well may have been because of the number of times they would practice their lectures to their straight-faced, innocent eyed daughter. The ridiculous amount of nature documentaries watched and passive aggressive hints of taking on a career that could change the world also might have taken a slight toll on her. 

 

But whatever it was, Hae began her own studies at young age. Of bugs. First it was keeping and observing bugs. Then it was cruel and unusual dissection (for science of course), but she learned and with each new discovery made, the more she asked questions she asked and the more determined she became to answer them. 

 

When middle school began, however, there came the need to fit in with her peers. Certain styles of clothing, hair styles even playing down one's intelligence in social situations while trying to remain at the top of the class.. but not in a nerdy way. The politics of middle school were taxing at best and were probably Hae's worst years, especially since she allowed herself to get caught up in it. She'd even hid her love for insects, even at home. Her pet bugs were released, her collections removed from the walls and her parents couldn't hide their disappointment, especially when she stopped attending their lectures. She took up art. That was pretty normal, right? And she had a knack for it. But even her not that bad art was enough to fully engage her creatively and intellectually. 

 

Halfway through high school she stopped playing the game of blending in. She did what she wanted, which included spending time at Yonsei's library or at the Museum of Natural History, rebuilding her collection of insects and just being content with the things she loved. Of course there were certain aspects of middle school that she hadn't readily abandoned, like love for clothes and all the colors they come in. She became the weird bug, but that didn't bother her as much as she thought it would have. 

 

One thing about Hae's new title was that it earned her a great deal of respect from her peers because of that time a spider got into the classroom and freaked everyone out. Not only was she able to identify it as harmless, but she was able to catch it without even batting a lash. The earth's smallest creatures were nothing short of amazing and though a lot of people didn't get it, Hae Byeol did. 

 

It was a weird concept to most, but there was a certain simplicity that Hae shared with the numerous creatures she'd caught over the years. The dead ones would be tacked onto the wall, models for her latest sketches or found temporary refuge under a microscope so that she could get a better look. The live ones would be kept, cared for and observed. Her interest broadened from insects to their environments, which only continued to grow. She saw connections in most life forms and made it her goal to learn as much as possible and use that knowledge create some sort of balance on the planet. 

 

She doesn't consider herself a tree hugger exactly, but there's nothing wrong with hugging a tree every now and then (there's no telling who lives there). And because of her interest in the earth and its well being (though mainly the bugs) she does try to pay attention to what goes into the things that she uses everyday. While she doesn't do anything extreme like living without modern conveniences, she does pays attention to the environmental footprint left behind by the companies she spends money with. It's tough, but somebody's got to do it.