A Lesson in Humbling Your Intelligence
Think you can outsmart the rest of the room? Think again or learn the lesson of Jo Yoon Hee.
My name is Jo Yoon Hee. I am from South Korea. But I am studying at Oxford now. I cannot say that I like everything here. Everything is expensive in Britain. Even the basic needs are overpriced. For instance, there is a bus operated by Oxford Bus Company that can take me from the campus to where I live in just 15 minutes. But a monthly pass costs 55 pounds! This is insane! Do I have to waste 55 pounds a month just to get to college? No way! I thought I would walk all the way. I would leave the house half an hour earlier and save money. I already had too many expenses and was not ready to waste extra 165 pounds for my last term here. I thought I would outsmart everyone.
And you now, I am ashamed to tell you this, but everyone who bought this bus pass in fact took the right decision: I walked for 2 months.. It took so much effort, and made me so angry. But I was persistent. Until something terrible happened — my favorite sneakers from Jimmy Choo fell apart. And guess how much they cost in London? That’s right — it would have been cheaper to buy a card. Much cheaper. Advice that I can now give to enyone: before thinking you are smarter that everyone — think twice. Maybe everyone is not such a fool after all.
Yours sincerely, Jo Yoon Hee
