Chloe Kim was a child to South Korean immigrant parents, and she was born in Long Beach, California, on April 23, 2000. Ever since she was young, she always had a sense of fearlessness and a heart for snowboarding. She started snowboarding at just four years old. Her father made huge sacrifices just to support her and even went to extreme lengths, including quitting his job at one point to travel with her to her competitions. Her parents’ support gave her the confidence to keep chasing her dreams even if it felt silly. As she got older, it was clear that her love for snowboarding was real and she had a real talent. Around her teen years, she was already competing against adults and completely crushing them, winning major events like the 2018 winter olympics in South Korea when she was just 17.
A good friend of mine, Sarah Khu (a WKU student), looks up to Kim because she is inspired by Kim to keep chasing her dreams. Khu states that, “Kim adapted her training in the lead-up to the Olympics by adapting to a major injury. Kim suffered a dislocated shoulder and a torn labrum which was a significant set back. She adjusted her training to protect her injuries so they could heal properly while still preparing for the winter Olympics.” This motivated her to keep pushing and working for her dreams of being in the Olympics and not giving up because “no matter what life throws at you, you have to face it and let it become a lesson to grow from.”
With Kim’s injury slowing down her practice for the event, it is good that she has a good and set mindset. This leads Kim to mentally prepare herself. The same goes with Khu.
Throughout life, there will be boulders that come your way and you need to know how to deal with them. Khu also looks up to Kim because she is a woman of color, and she encourages her because her parents are also immigrants. This pushes her to keep going with her dreams and not give up. She hopes one day to”stop disappointing” her family and “show them that people can change.”
