I cried. Of course I did.
As my month in South Korea came to an end, I found myself sitting in the quiet and thinking back to every moment. It was the kind of stillness that comes about when you know something deep inside you has changed.
What started as a trip inspired by BTS turned into something much more. It wasn’t just about visiting filming sites, eating at their favorite cafes, or standing where they once stood. Somewhere along the way, between the crowded streets of Seoul and the salty air of Jeju, I realized that the journey had become a mirror that showed me how far I’ve come and how much further I still want to go. That my journey in this world isn’t over and I still have so much to look forward to… and do differently.
The Pancake Moment That Changed Everything
If you know me, you know I love a good metaphor. And for me, one of the most powerful ones came from In the SOOP, Season 1, Episode when Taehyung wants to flip a pancake and Jungkook worries that he’ll fling it. Jin simply says, “Then he flings it.”
That line hit me like a lightning bolt and changed my life forever. And I talked about the power of that scene in my life a quite a bit in my book about finding myself with the help of BTS.
For so much of my life, I’ve been afraid to fling it. Afraid to fail, afraid to look foolish, afraid to be too much or not enough. But in that simple moment of Jin giving permission to just try, even if it things got messy, reminded me of something so important: courage isn’t about getting it right. It’s about showing up. It’s about being in the moment. Choosing the present. And choosing joy and fun whenever you get the chance - which I think we’d all agree doesn’t happen as much as we’d like.
Or does it? Maybe we just aren’t conditioned to look for it.
It’s in the spirit of if you fling it, you fling it, that ARMY Project 529 came about. It began with a question — one little “what if.”
What if I’m not the only one feeling this?
What if we watched BTS together, learned together, healed together?
What if I flung it… and it actually landed in a safe space of like-minded women who had the same questions I did and loved the same normal boys from South Korea that I do.
Finding Joy in the Smallest Things
I went to Korea expecting to see beautiful sights, which of course I did. But what surprised me most were the small things that left the biggest mark.
The early morning strolls across the quiet alley behind the hotel and straight into the closest CU or Compost Coffee for my iced Americano and banana milk.
The absolute thrill of watching some of the people I care about most in the world see monumental BTS locations in person for the first time. Seeing them smile. Hearing them laugh and recognizing and understanding their tears.
The way a tiny crab scurrying across a rock made me stop and smile — just like Namjoon would. And it happened on his birthday, no less.
Somewhere along the way, I was reminded that joy doesn’t always come from the big moments. Although I did have a lot of those this last year (I’m looking at you Hobi and Jin). It hides in the pauses. In the breath you take before the next step up the side of a mountain. In the way the sunlight hits a cup of coffee, or the happenstance of witnessing dolphins frolic in the water.
That’s what the trip to South Korea taught me: to slow down, to notice, and to let life be simple and sacred all at once.
Doing Hard Things
I walked more miles in one month than I probably have in years. Up stairs, through markets, over uneven paths. My body pitched a fit, but my heart kept saying, keep going.
There were moments I wanted to quit — moments when my legs ached, my heart pounded, I had difficulty holding my breath, and my confidence wavered. But I didn’t quit. I pushed on. And in that not-quitting, I discovered something I’d forgotten… or to be honest, maybe I never even realized: I am stronger than I think.
I can do more than I think. I can carry a bigger emotional load than I ever imagined. The hardships of life can empty my spirit, but I am capable of finding ways to fill it back up. To heal.
That lesson isn’t just about travel. It’s about life. We talk ourselves out of so many things because we fear the discomfort. But I’ve learned, finally, that discomfort is where growth begins. Why? Because it’s in pain, grief, uncertainty, and all of those other negative emotions that flow through us, the only thing left to do is take another stop. To try. To feel. To mourn. To make peace. And when we choose to do those things, our world becomes infinitely larger.
When the Clouds Clear
Life can feel foggy sometimes. It gets uncertain, heavy, unclear. I’ve written about it before in a blog I used to use to communicate with the world before social media became a thing. In a blog post, I titled it “In the Mist,” and I chose that because it sounds like “in the midst”. While in the midst of our darkest days, like walking through fog and mist, our vision grows weaker, so our fortitude has to grow stronger. Our inability to see what’s ahead propels us to step out in faith rather than remain uncertain and stagnant.
But even in those cloudy moments, the sun is still there, waiting to break through.
My trip to South Korea reminded me that clarity comes when we give ourselves permission to stop trying so hard and just stop and look. See. When we trust that every twist in our path, and yes, even the ones that hurt, we are walking towards something more meaningful.
I left Korea with sore feet and a full heart, but also with a new kind of peace. The kind that comes from realizing that even if I don’t know what’s next, I’m exactly where I need to be.
Fling It Anyway
As I look back on the laughter, the lessons, the tears — I keep coming back to Jin’s words: If you fling it, you fling it.
You might fail.
You might fall.
But you might also make it to the top.
So take the trip. Write the book. Start the business. Cook the meal. Say the thing. Live the story that’s been whispering to you all along.
Because life isn’t meant to be played safe. It’s meant to be lived.
That’s what my trip to South Korea taught me.
We only get one shot at this thing called life. So fling it. Fling it with everything you’ve got!
If this blog post spoke to you, if something in these words settled quietly in your chest, then you might recognize yourself in my book, too.
It’s for the women who woke up one day and realized they were living carefully instead of fully.
For the ones who love deeply, doubt loudly, and are still brave enough to try again.
For anyone who has ever stood at the edge of something new and thought, What if...
I wrote it for the moments of the fear before the step, the healing that comes in layers, the laughter that surprises you in the middle of grief, and the unexpected ways BTS and BTS ARMY helped me find my way back to myself.
You don’t have to be a superfan.
You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You just have to be willing to show up.
And fling it anyway.
Be on the lookout for my next tour date in South Korea with Noona's Noonchi Tours! It's coming soon and you won't want to miss it!