Newsletter #3, A beauty of risk taking (ft. why I decided not to go to college.

Hello ! I am Jaeho, a director of Laci Studios. 

I want to talk about the reasons why I decided not to go to college by telling you guys some stories of myself.

I was born in 2004 and will turn 20 on July 18th. I am also a senior at high school, meaning that everyone asks  "what college are you going to go to ??", which I answer "I am not going to go to college.", then people ask me one more question, "Are you going to stay in the states?", which I need to answer "No, I can't. I do not have an identity in the states, which means I am not a citizen, and even a student anymore. 

Everybody judges me (even my parents). If people don't really know much about me, they say "he has bad grades", "you are going to be a trash man", or "you are stupid person who paid more than 60k to be in America for no reason".

Many people criticize me and even I sometimes think this way, “Are you sure? It could be a very risky decision. Aren't you worried that your hard work in studying will go to waste? If you want to stay longer and safer in the United States, why don’t you go to college and stay in America as an exchange student? What if you can't come back to the US?” Yes. my destiny constantly resists my decisions not to go to college.

However, to get distracted and hesitate, other path attracted me too strongly. What I am doing makes me so much happier, and more exciting than going to college, pay an insane amount of money, and study for more than 5 hours a day. I have done my best and been grinding too hard to get distracted and influenced by others and even myself who wants to stay in a comfortable zone. I studied hard, achieved good grades, proudly joined the National Honor Society (NHS), adapted Montana which it was the first state that I had ever studied in America , and in Pennsylvania private school where adaptation was so difficult. I found a team to work with, started a YouTube channel in America, which is a foreign country for me, experienced small successes, and now I've even established a corporation in the US and am pursuing what I want step by step.

However, there was a moment for me not being sure and not being able to take risks confidently. In other word, I was pretty scared to make a decision not going to college. During that time period, I had a pivoting experience which leads me to say "I am not going to go to college!" confidently. Let me tell you more about that experience.

I constantly feel unfairness or nonsensicalness under stupid, old and conventional, organization (the school). Because I am not a rule follower, if it is unfair, I don't follow. 

The private school I'm attending is where I felt that unfairness and stupid rule big and small. The school posted my photos on the their website but threatened to sue me if I didn't delete videos I made on my Youtube channel. They pressured me to delete videos of friends' memories taken at the prom.

During college applications, when there was a problem with submitting grades, they didn't even apologize for converting my early action to regular action. They canceled the online interview time for college without my consent just because it slightly overlapped with an exam period, causing me to get disadvantage. When I went home to attend a college interview, I got 6 detention, and suspension for going home.

I just hated myself and those on my side who couldn't do anything about the unfairness. Until then, I honestly hesitated with the hope that college would be okay soon.

Then, in late 2023, I had a chance to go for a trip to New York City for 10 days. Those 10 days changed my life. 

I saw and talked to a lot of people who didn’t go to college but living a better life I have admired, which made me set a goal to return to this city as an entrepreneur. The hope that college would be better than the high school and the hope I saw in New York City were both called hope, but the former was hope dependent on someone else, not me, and the latter was hope dependent on my efforts and dedication. In other words, the latter was hope where the outcome depended on my actions, where I was in control.

I made up my mind then. Let's do what I really wanted to do.

Let's bring Laci Studios from my imagination to reality.

And then, on December 23, 2024, with $100k, let's come to New York City for a trip.

In July 2027, let's move to New York City with all the requirements satisfied for the business visa.

Laci Studios can only grow as long as I'm the director, and Team Laci exist.