Teenage years are short, a degree lasts forever. Considering how people without a top-notch university degree are treated, I’d much prefer no childhood than such a degrading life in general. People visibly frown at you or change topics when you tell them which school you’re in, as if they heard about some tragic disaster.

If you’re going to university, you’ll be fine regardless of where it ranks.

It’s a country where almost everyone is a college graduate, and only a few are actually considered to be college-educated. Some people even hide their degrees to land a job at a sweatshop or something.

Yes, it’s messed up. But I jokingly tell my parents that they should’ve been way harder on me than they were because I only got into where I ended up, which I think was very lucky, but not the best either. Yes, I’m a big conformist, one of the qualities Korean culture requires that I’ve learned over the years.