"홍 검사" by Dogun Hong (draft)

   "홍 검사,"(Hong Gum Sa) literally meaning prosecutor Hong, or at least from what my dad said. Our language spoken at home was Korean. My dad got the idea of calling me this because of what he saw on the internet. What  he saw on the internet was that people born in the time I was born, April, 2001 would likely become a lawyer when they grow up. I find it funny how my dad got a nickname for me from the internet. The "홍" is my last name or my family name and "검사" means prosecutor. Although it is a simple name, it was something that my parents called me.

   According to my parents, the only other people who called me this was my aunty on my mom's side and my uncle from my dad's side. This was still when I lived in South Korea (I lived in Korea until I was three), it is quite odd that they were the only one's to call me by that name even though my parents had more than one siblings. My parents said that they used to call me this almost everyday. When I moved to Hawaii, my aunty stayed in Korea. So in the end it was just my parents, and my two uncles. 

   In Hawaii, things were a bit different. We still spoke Korean at home but there were less family members. With most of my family in Korea I felt a bit limited. However, this made me even more close to my uncles and my parents. Although I had no idea what the nickname meant when I was young, I felt a connection with my family. I lived the majority of my life with not knowing what it meant and I never really bothered in asking anyways. But I think it would have been better if I had asked. 

   As time went by, the nickname started to fade. My mom wanted me to be a doctor and I went along with it. I promised to my mom that I would become a doctor. But things changed in 7th grade, I wanted to become a lawyer. Without any memories of being called "홍 검사," I said to my parents, " I want to be a lawyer when I grow up. My dad replied to that with, "홍 검사! "So the name was spoken again. But it was short-lived. After a couple of weeks, the name started to disappear. I asked my dad what that meant and he said it meant lawyer or prosecutor Hong. He would tell me that him and my mom would call me that when I was younger but I didn't know why. Then, I learned that my dad got that from the internet. 

   Today, I kind of wish that my family would still call me that and that would be because it would be a reminder for me on what I want to do. It would also be something to get a laugh from. Bringing back the memories of why I want to become a lawyer as well as the coincidence of being called "홍 검사." Even without being called it, I will remember, something that will just stick with me for the rest of my life. I hope not to forget it because it is a party of my history.