A person who has had a great influence in my life

By Ng Shan Ying

During primary school, whenever we wrote essays about the person

who influenced us the most or act as our role model in our life, we would
probably write about our parents, teachers, or some other famous
personals such as Thomas Edison, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, et cetera. I,
too, wrote about them but to be honest, none of them brought such big of
an impact into my life more than this person that I am going to talk about.
He is a young man, just five years older than me, but he had taught me so
many life lessons despite the fact that we had never before had a serious
conversation together and that I had just know him three years ago.
Kim Nam Joon was born on the 12th of September, 1994. He had good
grades when he was in school, has an IQ of 148 and was previously ranked
in the top 1% of the nation in his high school exams. Despite being an ace
student, he did not have any big dreams and studied blindly for the sake of
getting good results. He believed that he would have a bright future as long
as he studied really hard. It was during secondary school when he found
out his passion towards literature and wanted to be a poet or an author. He
started writing down quotes and sooner or later they became lyrics. He
became active as an underground rapper when he was just 15 years old and
joined Big Hit Entertainment at the age of 16. He trained to be a rapper and
finally debuted as an idol group known as BTS with the stage name Rap
Monster.
Being the leader of the group, Nam Joon helps the members whenever
they faced problems and takes good care of them. The members listen to
him well even though hes not the eldest among them and this has proven
his leadership skills. Even though he looks tough on the outside, he is
actually really soft in the inside. He gives advises to the members when it
comes to music but whenever he felt troubled or worried, he would also
share his thoughts with them and hope to seek comfort. There was once
when he was given the chance to perform at a known hip hop concert, he
said that it was difficult to stand on stage alone because he thought it would
not be cool or good, so when the other members joined him on stage, it
made him felt less difficult and enjoyable. He was very thankful that they
were there with him.

Hip hop idols in Korea are often criticised by other hip hop artists
especially rappers. These hip hop artists would think that idols dont know
the true meaning of hip hop and only have fans because of their looks.
Never did they know that Rap Monster was never known for his visuals but
for his music and lyrics that teenagers nowadays could relate to. I wasnt

much of a fan of hip hop when I was younger because I hated how they like
to swear and use vulgar words in their songs, and I had always thought that
rappers had rude attitudes. But as I matured through the years, I started
accepting hip hop for what it is. Only then I knew hip hop wasnt all just
about cursing and dissing but was to voice out your thoughts and let others
know how you truly feel through the music, all thanks to Rap Monster.
Rap Monster got attacked by critics, hip hop lovers and people who
made music with him but he accepts all the criticisms fully and knows how
to respect. He believed in himself and in his own music, he did not wish to
live a life that others wanted him to have. He was often asked why he chose
to be an idol when he could have had a brighter future, playing music is a
waste of time they said. His parents wished that he would focus more on
his studies and quit music but he knew better than anyone that his true
passion was towards music and he wanted to chase his own dreams despite
all the harsh word people say. His actions inspired me, I wish I could be
like him and chase my own dreams but I am not brave enough. I am not
willing to take the risk or face the consequences for chasing my dreams and
disappoint my parents, but his music will always be a reminder to me to be
myself and live my own life, not anybodys lives.
Last year, he released his own mix tape with the title RM which
stands for Rap Monster. Music companies usually dont support their
artists to release mix tapes because mix tapes are not profitable and are
only allowed to be promoted through the internet and underground
activities. The reason why the company is willing to invest the money and
time in Rap Monsters mix tape is because they believed in his ability and
wanted to prove to the world that he is not just any idol rapper the world
think of him. A fan once asked him which song in his mix tape best
describes him and he said it was Life. Life let out a melancholic aura
with a sad melody, describing the fragility and loneliness of life. It is
somehow relatable, showing the doubts we had about life and death.
He is strong and handles everything well but he is also a very fragile
human being. He cared and calls himself selfish for wishing others to be
happy. He once said when they received an award, he wanted to thank
every supporting fans out there personally by calling them one by one. He
doesnt care about being in pain as long as the people around him are
happy. He also said that he didnt like the Korean word Annyeong
because it could either mean Hello or Goodbye. He became emotional
when he heard Adeles new song Hello and wrote a long message about
how this meaningful song has opened up a new perspective to him. He gets
emotional easily over nothing and sheds tears when he watches movies for
example The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. A pure hearted human like
him is filled with emotions just like most of us. At a young age he carried so
much on his shoulders and had proved to those who looked down at him

that he is not just a boy who loves to rap, but a boy who is passionate about
the world and the people around him. He wanted his voice to be heard and
he had done it.
The loneliest people are the kindest, the saddest people smile the
brightest and the most damaged people are the wisest. He may be 22 but
his words are wise and deep. Teamwork makes the dream work is one of
the his quotes I liked the most. Because it hurts, its youth, this type of
lyrics had always got me going and Rap Monster shows a very great
example of youth by spreading positivity and knowledge to those who
cannot voice out. I am thankful that he came into my life at the right
moment, helping me through hard times especially since Im still in my
teen years. Its okay if he doesnt even know who I am and that Im writing
this, he will always be the one who had brought colours to my life and that
is more than enough.