Katherine Chloé Cahoon

Yesterday, for Travel Thursday, I featured my friend Min and her favorite shopping spots in Seoul. Today is all about her style sense. She’s like a walking Korean art exhibit with an infusion of fun patterns, colors and textures inspired by her heritage.

For this shoot, we chose a garden with a Korean vibe.

As Min explains, South Korea looks like it has been drenched in a waterfall of vibrant hues. Everything, from clothing to buildings and night lights, erupts in color. Min applies this heritage to pull together outfits that are uniquely her own. For our photo shoot, she mixed a colorful Diane von Furstenberg skirt with traditional Korean shoes and a modernized hanbok top, both of which she purchased in Seoul. Her ring was hand-painted and enameled by a Korean artist. And her earrings, which perfectly complement them, were discovered in a thrift shop.

After hearing about Korean fashions, I tried to emulate the look for our photo shoot with a colorful dress. This inspired Min to pose me up for a portrait. She has a career as an ultra-creative event planner—but then you’re probably not surprised to hear that having seen this photo. She tucked me into the hydrangea bush, making the picture resemble a Korean painting. When I became a little worried about the bees buzzing all around me, she said not to worry and explained, with her adorable smile, that they were friendly:) That’s Min for you!

With all her impressive qualities, what I admire most about my friend is her attitude. When I met Min, her dad and best friend had just passed away in the same week. Then she left South Korea, which she also loved, to live close to family. But she refused to let grief destroy her. She had such an aura of positivity that if I hadn’t gotten to know her, I would never have realized the difficulties she was facing.

I absolutely love receiving emails from readers. Some of you have poured out your hearts regarding lost relationships…mostly romantic ones. That is a major reason why I am so thankful that Min let me feature her. Although she didn’t lose a romantic love, the three loves she lost have a similar effect. I’m sharing with you a poem she wrote about losing her dad. I hope these beautiful sentiments will help some of you who are going through trials of your own.

You’re Not Mine to Keep

This autumn, I began to fall. Falling without direction, but not without hope. Hello, Time. Would you be so kind to slow? Hello Wind. Would you be so kind to cradle? Please soften the fall for me. I am hurting so much these days. I keep on forgetting that people aren’t ours to keep. And that it’s natural for us to love those more who leave us.  My father told me that forests had hearts. He told me that if I were quiet enough, I could hear the forest’s gentle, rhythmical heave.

The biggest moment in my life did not occur when my father passed away. Instead, it was the smaller moments, the random, the natural, the tiny stirred my heart. It was those stop-and-gaze moments where I thought, Oh, I need to remember this. These are the moments that make my life so meaningful and full of joy. They’re tiny, but they’re special.

I pray that these memories and feelings stay with me always.