Ben Johnston

I was born in Florida and raised and schooled in Syracuse, New York. I once worked for Chase-Pitkin, an awesome home center store (RIP) with locations all over Upstate New York, as I finished Liverpool High School and began Onondaga Community College. I also finished at college at SUNY Fredonia (2004), a small college an hour or so south west of Buffalo, New York. I got a loser degree with three majors and two colleges and less than a 3.0 GPA, BUT I finished on time! I lived in Tampa Bay for a while after college before coming to Korea in March of 2006. I had some hard times in Florida for a while, and had trouble finding a job I actually liked, let alone one that paid well. It made it easier to come overseas, and stay a while; put it that way. What can I say, I have no job skills and don’t miss all kinds of sales jobs and customer service jobs I once had. My first year in Korea was at a hogwon, like everyone’s first year in Korea, basically. It was in Gwangju, a decent mid-sized town. I went straight to a public school job right after that, in Busan, Korea, the 2nd largest city out here, located on the south east coast with some 4 million people. I’m currently spending sometime in the States, between Florida and Syracuse. Near the end of May, I will return to Korea for my third year and third job…a high school on the edge of Seoul. Eventually, I’d like to work for a high school or college near the center of Seoul. I might retire in Thailand one day. I look forward to possibly continuing my education online in the near future…who knows, maybe an MBA in Human Resources, maybe a BS/MS in computer science, or maybe an MA in Legal Studies, but not education, as I’d never teach at 7am in America. Screw that…can’t say I’d ever continue my education in the States, as well; I just can’t let myself financially struggle again, go back in debt, have no free time, and spend my evenings at call centers, retail shops, and restaurants. I’ve paid my dues. I’ve had hobbies, dreams and ambitions torn out from under me, but I take it with a grain of salt. I have had many plans, dreams, hobbies and ambitions shortened or short-changed. I've suffered blows from friends and enemies who choose to judge or neglect. Through it all, I've learned a lot, too: namely, the meaning of friendship and acceptance. I embrace those who embrace me. I cherish every minute of my life as there is nothing better than to grow old and die with beautiful memories; everything matters. This is a profile for keeping in touch with people I care about, as I'm never one to let go the past, which is always well alive inside me alongside the present and future. I love reading and writing these days; there’s nothing like putting a lot of time and effort into a blog and proofreading it a few times and thinking to yourself, “this is fun.” There’s nothing more awesome than living abroad and writing home about it…