June 7, 2024
Even though the project started with the intention of giving love, it ended up bringing love back to me.
I woke up on my birthday. I had wanted to get up around 8 a.m. to make a cake, but I ended up waking up around 9 a.m. Since I had already received birthday wishes from my family before the actual day, I thought I would have a happy birthday even if I didn’t get any more messages. The cake ingredients were whipped cream, vanilla sponge, sugar syrup, and jelly. I don’t really like sweet foods, so instead of focusing on how to make it taste good, I wanted the cake to look like a loving birthday cake. In other words, it was a cake mainly for myself, and that irony might have been more noticeable.
I posted about the cake on two platforms and gave pieces to people I met that day. I wanted to share 24 pieces to celebrate turning 24, but I accidentally gave two pieces to one person, so I ended up giving out only 23 pieces. I didn’t quite succeed in giving love perfectly, but I received a lot of birthday wishes.
Dried flowers, a tumbler, drinks, and birthday candles.
One person I met through 당근마켓 even gave me dry flowers as a gift. There was also a tumbler that had never been used, drinks. I also gave handmade pieces of cake to my friends. Eventually, everyone wished me a happy birthday.
Another thing to think about is the people who came to see me directly and those who accepted the cake with a warm welcome, even though it was a sudden visit. None of them looked like students, they all seemed like adults. Their consideration was definitely present. It might have been influenced by their own past experiences with birthdays. It might have even stemmed from pity. It’s definitely difficult to express honest feelings between people unless the relationship is deep, especially since my project was a brief event, but I came to realize the exchange of love in this project and thought about the warm feelings(간질간질한 마음) it gave me.
I generally want to give love to people who express their feelings and emotions honestly. This interest and love probably come from my own desire to be such a person. I wish to be like them. I’m not sure if I was honest in this project since, there wasn’t even a chance for genuine conversation, and I couldn’t guess how the others felt. However, one thing is certain. None of them questioned my cake or my birthday. It’s hard not to be suspicious of food from a stranger. They were people who willingly came to accept my love. In the end, I think this project, which was meant to give love, ended up receiving love once again.
* This picture shows people who have conversed with me (through online chatting or offline meetings)
People who received cake : 7(secondhand market app), 1(campus app), 5(friends), 2(restaurant owners), 1(taxi driver).
People who sent messages : 16(secondhand market app), 2(campus app).
Items received from strangers : ‘A’live juice’, ‘Macau 20th Starbucks tumbler’, ‘Dried flower’.
