There’s a word/phrase in Korean that I think the English language should have. And, as the title suggest, it’s a word/phrase (sorry, I’m not quite sure what to call it…) that is a feeling that combines fuzziness+warmth+refreshing. 개운하다 (pronunciation: “gae-oon-hada”) is a phrase that is quite common in Korea, but I have never quite heard a word like it in English.

To put it into perspective, this phrase means the feeling you get when you drink a nice hot bowl of soup or drink (hot chocolate, coffee, etc.). You can feel the warmth spread throughout your body and it leaves you feeling refreshed in a way. It may not seem like such an important word, but I guess culturally it has a deeper meaning. This phrase can also be used as an expression when, for example, you have been under a lot of pressure but are fully relieved from the stress.

Hopefully there is not already a word for this (that would be really awkward), but I would propose the word “warmthful.” It may seem weird now, but maybe I could start a new trend:0


Vincent van Gogh’s “A Pair of Shoes”

Van Gogh a pair of shoes

Vincent van Gogh’s “A Pair of Shoes”

The story behind this painting centers around a young, penurious boy. The boy, young and innocent, has yet to truly grasp the situation surrounding his family. However, he is a cheerful boy because he still has big dreams for his future. The shoes above are hand-me-downs from his older brothers. Being the youngest, the boy is given the shoes, which were once shiny and black, that are now full of holes, with crooked laces, and white-gray stained leather. Yet these shoes have their own history. The have been their for each of the boys in this family. Even though they are old and battered, the boy lets his disappointment only last a minute and places them on his feet in a positive manner, imagining the shoes he may be able to buy in the future.

The boy will continue to wear these shoes until he grows out of them and is given another larger pair of hand-me-downs. With strong belief though, the boy strives harder by remembering that the shoes themselves are not the most important, but that the person they cover is.

The Man with the Suitcase

Du-dum du-dum du-dum.

I could feel the vibrations of the train rattling along the old train tracks as I slowly swayed back and forth. My back rested on the hard wooden seats of the train as I fixed my gaze far out onto the horizon, the green grass moving in waves like the ocean and the flowers bowing beneath the hot sun.

As I turned my head back towards the front of the train, I observed all the passengers. My seat was near the end of the train to my dismay. It was the only vacant seat left. There were all kinds of different people, screaming babies, young couples in their spring outfits, elderly who were dozing off with newspapers in their hands. Just the normal kind of train crowd.

However, one couple did catch my attention. They had passed me earlier on in the trip. A young man awkwardly carried a large box and his wife, a mysterious young girl, wore a bizarre hat that I can still remember in great detail: light green, with a conspicuous purple feather and blue polka dots. They had reserved the whole last car for themselves.

Curious I had taken a look back and saw the two having a very animated discussion, the man clutching the box to his chest while the woman waved her arms here and there, pointing to abstract places on what seemed to be a map. “Gold,” “now,” “important” we’re just some of the snippets of the conversation that I could overhear. Unimpressed, I stretched out my legs and began to doze off.


“We will now be arriving at Station 2. We will now be arriving at Station 2.”

The train slowly came to a stop. I could still hear the tensions in their conversation as I picked up my hat, placed it elegantly on my head, and walked down the isle with my own heavy suitcase. I nodded slightly to one of the workers as I carefully walked down the steps to the station. The station was bustling with action as I easily blended in with the crowd. Traveling down the line, I looked into the window of the last car as the train started to leave the station. As the train picked up speed, I had just enough time to see the mysterious couple flabbergasted as they held up the empty chest, rocks piled up on the floor.

I chuckled.

Little did they know what I had done.

Click Here! Yes, Right Here!

Just another round of great blogs that you should definitely check out:)


Who lives who dies who tells your story?


  • Stories are powerful in that they keep even the deceased alive. In order for us to continue to “live” within society, we must be remembered.


Parent-Child Relationships…


  • The significance of parent-child relationships in Hamlet: children look up to and respect their parents.


Jackson Pollock


  • Though quite abstract at first, Pollock’s painting may actually have more meaning.

Outlining The Side-By-Side AP Monster

2008 English Lit FRQ 1

The Big Question: Compare and contrast how each author uses poetic devices to relay similar meanings

  • Poem 1: what the author cares about most will become insignificant with time, *focuses on the future
  • Poem 2: impending nature of death, unfulfilled, *focuses on the past


  • Poem 1: simile (“like rich garners”), personification (“with the magic hand of chance”), succession of metaphors/examples, imagery, anaphora, structure
  • Poem 2: metaphor (“a city in the twilight”), personification (“the Past”), imagery, repetition, structure


  • Paragraph 1:
  • Poem 1: future worries but still end is near
  • Evidence/Devices: couplet at the end that shifts viewpoint, structure of poem, imagery (pen and books), personification (“with the magic hand of chance), anaphora (“before” and “when”)
  • Paragraph 2:
  • Poem 2: past regrets but still end is near
  • Evidence/Devices: couplet (the last two lines) at the end that shifts the tone (nostalgic/regretful to looming darkness), repetition (“not,” “nor”), imagery/metaphor of the hill, personification of the Past

Thesis Statement: The two authors strive to relay the impending nature of death/end by taking into perspective either the past or the future in their poems.

Topic Sentence 1: The first poem illustrates the impending nature of death by emphasizing the insignificance of anxiety of the future.

Topic Sentence 2: The second poem illustrates the impending nature of death by emphasizing the insignificance of past regrets.