선생님: Teacher Matthew

As my airplane descended into Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, I looked out of the window and couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. There were gold streaks across a gray-green field of abstract shapes. I thought they were angels. It was my first time on an airplane. It was my first time out of the country and really the first time I was completely alone and unsure of what I was doing. The gold streaks turned out to be the setting sun reflecting off the countless windows far below on the earth.

I was coming to Korea to teach English. I taught for two years in South Korea. There was no teacher training just discoveries day after day. I loved it. More than I had loved anything. I felt for the first time that I was doing something that mattered that would impact other people in a really positive way.

Today 4 years later I still receive letters from some of my former high school students that are now in medical school studying medical text books in English. This was a new identity that gave me a stronger sense of accomplishment and purpose than anything before. Students would see me on the street and say, "Hello, 선생님!"