I can’t believe I’ve reached this point. But time flew once again, and it’s time for me to bid farewell to the Yarra Valley and Australia.
The past three years in Australia have been flying really quickly, and the last two years in the Yarra Valley have been going even quicker.
When I first arrived in Australia, my brother accompanied me to help carry my luggage.
My brother and I travelled around Melbourne and some other places together.
While we were walking around the CBD, we passed by ABC Melbourne, and I said to my brother, “This is the Australian national public broadcaster, and isn’t it great if I could work here one day?”
It was July 2022, and about four months later, I was there, interning for the News Breakfast Team for three weeks.
In 2023, after I graduated from Monash University, I began a new journey by taking a Mountain Views reporter role at Star Mail.
I was still living on campus in Clayton, and I didn’t have a car at the time.
I took public transport to commute, taking two hours to get here in the morning and another 2.5 hours to get back home.
I did that for three months until I moved to Lilydale, but I couldn’t complain about anything because I was blown away by the landscape on my way to work every single day (even until today).
When I first joined, I didn’t know anything about the Yarra Valley community. I didn’t know what the CFA, SES, Anzac Day, Remembrance Day, Australian rules football were.
A lot of the time, I didn’t get the Australian slang and accent, so I had to listen to the interview recordings over and over again.
But luckily, I was surrounded by a lovely team and people in the community.
My team at Star Mail committed to helping me.
They taught literally everything that I wasn’t sure about, read my sentences and articles to check if they are understandable.
On top of that, the community members of the Yarra Valley also welcomed their new local journalist with open arms on every occasion and forgave me many times for some errors in my stories that originated from my lack of English and knowledge of Australian culture.
Every day, new challenges popped up in front of me, but it wasn’t difficult for me because I knew I had these amazing people on my side.
Rather, I really enjoyed overcoming them.
If I were just by myself, I could never have done anything.
Some locals have told me that they thanked me for my work, but I am the one who should thank you all.
You’ve always welcomed me and given me love, which made me feel a sense of belonging in the place where I had no connections.
It kept me motivated to work for the community.
Thanks to you all, I could write different types of stories through which I learnt the Australian federal, state and local political system, Australian sports, and so forth.
I even could grab a chance to achieve my lifetime bucket list of running a radio show.
There are countless things I have experienced and learnt in the Yarra Valley.
So I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to you through this last article.
Thank you so much for everything that you have given to me.
I will keep those memories in my heart forever.
As a community journalist, I made up my own rules and prioritised certain things, and I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce those to you.
The first rule was to write articles simply and easily so that everyone, no matter what their education level, age, or cultural background they have, could clearly understand my articles and know what’s going on in their community.
The second rule was to encourage younger generations to have a dream and keep them motivated along the way.
When I was 12, I grabbed an opportunity to fly over to Beijing, China, to attend a computer game exhibition.
I was one of the children who represented the South Korean team at a game competition (It was not a proper competition but more like a cultural exchange).
A few days later, after I came back home, one of my friend’s mum found me in a newspaper.
A side shot of me was used as the main photo of an article.
I laminated it and still keep it in my room in Korea, and I still remember vividly how excited I was.
I wanted to give similar memories to local children. That’s why I was really keen to do stories about local schools or young talents.
I think the memory of being in a newspaper will lead them back onto the right track whenever they face any challenges or hardships on the way to achieving their dream.
The last rule was to focus on community feeling stories.
In the Yarra Valley, we’ve got lots of community-minded people and events.
There are lots of fun activities, festivals, events and volunteering groups.
I’ve always prioritised those stories over any other stories.
Looking back on the past two years, I come up with only good memories.
However, sadly, it’s time for me to move on.
My dream has always been to become an international figure since I was a little kid.
But at the same time, my ultimate goal has always been to go back to Korea to serve my country with all the experience and knowledge I get from overseas.
It’s been a wonderful journey here in the Yarra Valley and Australia, but I’ve been feeling that I’m in a comfort zone now.
I want to push myself hard one more time to get out of this comfort zone to improve myself.
I will stay in Korea, spending time with my family and friends there for one or two years, and will go to America to get a master’s degree.
I’d like to study marketing next, and I cannot wait to open the next chapter of my life.
It’ll be full of different challenges, and I’m ready to face them.
I will keep you updated on how I go, so please stay tuned to read my next adventure.
Please continue to love our papers and the Star Mail team.
