This is a collection of personality, proactive, passionate, and challenging elements and examples to help you write your personal statement. Use these examples to help you write a personal statement that effectively expresses your passion and willingness to take on challenges.

A personality that strives to rise above the status quo and make the best of things

I don’t care where I am in life, I always strive to be the best I can be. Sometimes we want to achieve ‘that goal’, but we’re in ‘that reality’ and can’t really make the effort because we’re stuck where we are, like the guy who wants to actively talk to girls and woo them, but doesn’t have a great body yet, doesn’t have an attractive job, and doesn’t have a house or car, so he has to make do. Then, when they try to start working on getting those things, they can’t because they don’t have enough time to work out, because they don’t have the education to get a job, because they don’t have enough money, because they don’t have a family to support them, and so on and so forth. When you strip away all of that, what you’re left with is an understanding of their condition as “I can’t take any initiative to get a girlfriend and change my life.”
The list of excuses for your situation is endless, so I think it’s important to think about what you can make possible and how it relates to what you want to accomplish, rather than what you can’t, because I know that even if it’s not a workout that will turn you into a hottie overnight, the effort to run or walk a little more, or start making small changes to your diet, could be the thing that changes you one day.

Always looking to make a change

I’m always looking to make a change. I’m always looking to take on new challenges, planning where I want to be in a year, five years, and ten years from now. I’m very adaptable to change, and I think that’s why I’ve been able to make so many friends. I focus on keeping my promises to others by always remembering that we’re in this together. This adventurous nature is what motivated me to learn paragliding. I’ve been learning paragliding since five years ago, and the desire to fly in the sky is what led me there. I didn’t start out paragliding, I’m a fearless person and I used to enjoy bungee jumping, but when I went to ○○ and saw them paragliding, I was fascinated. After experiencing paragliding, my interest in paragliding deepened and I completed a professional training program. It’s hard to describe the exhilaration of flying in the sky. I am an adventurous person who enjoys challenges and has a strong sense of achievement.
I’ve always believed in the importance of planning, which has sometimes led me to rush through my plans. I have a strong sense of achievement, so I often push myself to accomplish my plans quickly. However, making decisions in a hurry often hinders the realization of my plans. Therefore, I try to carefully analyze the feasibility of my plans. I will strive to become an expert at what I am entrusted to do by making it more feasible.

Seeking and accepting new things

The strength of my personality is that I always seek new things and actively accept new things when they appear. I am always striving to create new education as a young man, not sticking to the existing education. In particular, I strive to analyze the success stories of Germany and Japan and make them into Korean cases. To do so, I learned German and Japanese, saved money to visit those companies and institutions, and wrote a thesis based on those visits, and passed my master’s and doctoral programs. I’m always keeping my finger on the pulse of what I’m trying to embrace, keeping in mind if there’s something more groundbreaking and outlandish out there, and I’m constantly trying to speed up my uptake to make it happen.
The downside is that in trying to be good at everything, I neglect my health. I feel like I’m taking a toll on my body because I’m trying to perfect my studies without missing out on conversations or activities with friends because I think communication is important, so I try to exercise often and eat regularly.

My proactive personality is my biggest strength

The best thing about my personality is proactivity. I’m not a handout person, I’ve always had to do things for myself since I was a kid, and that’s why I’m always moving faster and earlier than others. Waking up early in the morning and getting ready 40 minutes earlier than everyone else has always been a given. Also, when I wanted to go into education, I wanted to double major in business rather than just education, so I applied for a double major. At the time, my school didn’t allow education students to double major, and you couldn’t double major unless you had two professors from each department sign off on it. In order to convince the two professors, I went to their classrooms and constantly appealed to them about my future and my ideas, and as a result, I was the only cadet in the education department at that time to be allowed to double major. As you can see, I’ve always been proactive. The same goes for my work. I don’t just see what’s possible, I make the impossible possible. I want to use this proactivity in your company.
The downside is that I have a quick temper – I like to be on the move, so I speak and act faster than others. One of my friends at my last job was uncomfortable with me, so I’m learning to keep pace when we’re working together.

I enjoy doing new things and taking on challenges

The best part of my personality is that I thrive on challenges. I don’t fear or avoid doing new things, I enjoy them. When I first started as a web designer at my company, it was suggested to me from above that I should know something more specialized, and I took that suggestion and learned C, learned programming, and learned JAVA. Someone else might have thought, “Well, they’re not paying me to learn something new, and they’re just trying to get someone cheaper for the same price,” but I thought I should learn when I had the opportunity to learn, so I took it. As a result, I moved to another department and started working as a JAVA technician for the company. I started networking and working on creating systems within the company and started earning a higher salary.
The downside of my personality is that I focus so much that I sometimes lose sight of my surroundings. I’m very focused, so sometimes I’ll look at one thing and miss something else because I’m not looking at it. This is especially true for relationships outside of work, so I try to take care of my friends outside of work.

I have the confidence that I can do anything

I have the confidence that I can do anything, and I always take an active and proactive approach to everything I do. I don’t let this confidence lead me to take on reckless challenges, so I always try my best at what I do. In my early years of studying English and French, I participated in a “cultural exchange volunteer program” to introduce Chinese culture to foreign students. Before submitting my application, I had second thoughts about whether I could do it. However, I was studying hard at the time and was filled with the desire to talk to my foreign friends, so I studied even harder during the month before they arrived. Through my sleepless nights and efforts to understand their culture and communicate well with them, I was able to successfully introduce my foreign friends to our culture. Contrary to my fears, I was able to get along with them easily and organize the event. I believe that anything can be achieved if you put in the effort.
However, sometimes my confidence that I can do it leads to over-ambition, and I think that if I am overly greedy, I will stress myself out for the achievement, which can have a bad effect not only on me but also on the people around me. I will try not to be overly greedy about my work and do my tasks in the order of importance so that I can do a good job in my assigned tasks.

I don’t hesitate to take on new challenges

I don’t hesitate to take on new challenges because I’m the type of person who thinks of the rewards before the risks. I believe that positive thinking leads to positive results, so I’m willing to take on challenges that others don’t want to take on, imagining positive outcomes over negative ones. The idea that even if you fail, you’ll get another chance, and that you’ll gain more experience than someone who doesn’t try, which will help prevent future failures. My theory is that it’s much better to experience something now than to hesitate and not try, because our time is limited, and what I’ve experienced and failed at today may be something I’ll never experience if I don’t try it now.
I can also sympathize with those who argue that a single shot is much better than a series of failures, because just as the SATs are much easier to take once and for all, some people find it much more palatable to channel all their energy into a single opportunity in life. Of course, there aren’t many opportunities in life to take a huge test like the SAT, but if I were to encounter a life-changing challenge, I’d like to think that I’d be more cautious in approaching it, not just with the same positive attitude I have now, but with the same weighted judgment that cautious people have, weighing the benefits and risks.

You’re driven by your interests

You’re driven and energetic when you’re passionate about something. Like me, who as a kid started studying Japanese just because I wanted to understand the dialogues of my favorite anime characters, read parts of my favorite manga that hadn’t been released in Korea yet in the original language, and even went to Japan to scoop up related merchandise. My parents at the time said, “Why are you watching manga until you’re older! ”, but they were actually proud of me when I used that same motivation to diligently learn Japanese to the point where I was able to get certifications and use it to my advantage in college exams. From that point on, I realized that it’s okay to indulge in a variety of hobbies, no matter how they serve your interests, as long as you’re confident that they’ll yield positive results.
Do what you love, but leave behind productive results. This is the kind of character I want to strive for in life. There are many people in the world who don’t have the freedom of choice and are forced to work in fields they don’t enjoy, but I’ve been able to consistently develop my interests in hobbies and eventually connect them to my career, which I consider a blessing. I don’t want this to be just a blessing, but a passion that I can unleash because I chose to do what I love, and I want to build productive results.

Active and proactive personality

I consider my energetic and proactive personality to be a great strength of mine, as it has allowed me to make connections with many people and to value and sustain those connections. I am a very conflict-managed person who never gets into major arguments with people, and I value my relationships with people. I think this stems from my meticulous nature, which allows me to quickly get to know people and tailor my conversations to them, which in turn allows me to build stronger relationships. Being able to get people on my side has been a huge advantage. I think the biggest advantage was that I was able to broaden my interests in various fields.
Despite being a people person, I don’t like to go against my principles or go against the basics, so I don’t have long-lasting relationships with people like that. Based on my personality, which values caring and sharing, I have been consistently engaged in volunteer activities. I have continued to participate in the ○○○ club that I founded in high school, and in college, I participated in volunteer activities not only in Korea but also overseas, so I value the value of a society that lives together.
People around me often advise me to “take care of yourself” because I never ignore the difficulties around me, and I think it’s because I take an active role in helping others. If someone needs to do something, I think it’s right for me to take the lead. Based on this spirit of initiative, I will position myself as a model employee of your company.

Never hesitate to take on challenges and opportunities that come my way

I am a person who can accept opportunities that come my way without hesitation and challenge them without hesitation. Preparation is not something you do after the opportunity comes, but rather a virtue that you need to be ready to unleash when the time comes. When you see a challenge in front of you and wonder, “Can I do it?” or “Am I good enough?” It’s too late to worry about it, you should have built up enough footholds with your daily diligence, and then use it as a springboard to propel yourself upward. Sometimes people only move after life changes, doubt their own qualities, and become indecisive when they need to make a decision. This is because they’ve gotten into a comfortable routine and neglected their discipline, and haven’t kept the reins of their minds tightly pulled. If you’re confident that you’ve always put in enough effort, you’ll never have to double-check yourself.
Someone once told me that I shouldn’t be so impatient with myself because I’ve always been prepared. He said that when an opportunity or possibility comes along, it’s always a precursor, so it’s necessary to relax a little bit and just live in the moment and blend in with everyone. But I always want to make sure that my baggage is fully packed, waiting for the wind to take me far.

People with different perspectives

Even if I encounter the same scenery and events, I always try to see them differently and with my own perspective. As a child, I was obsessed with photographing the scenery and phenomena around me, but I quickly grew out of that period of trying to capture things as they were, and I had a desire to see the world through my own eyes, which was difficult for others to capture. I don’t know if I was expressing my desire to be different and special in this way, but I think I was steadily showing signs of it, as I felt good whenever I was praised for capturing ‘completely unfamiliar’ moments in scenes that others and I encountered on a daily basis, and for making them feel different and new. My attempts to challenge myself to see things differently have been varied, from playing around with lenses and light to choosing odd angles that are far from the norm.
Not only in the act of taking photos, but also in my daily interactions with people and events, I enjoy “twisting” the subject matter to look at it from as many different angles as possible, and I get a special pleasure when I come up with an idea that makes my blood boil, because that’s what I’m always trying to achieve: to draw attention to a phenomenon that is completely out of the ordinary and that most people would otherwise ignore.

I’m a creative thinker

I’m a creative thinker. I consider it one of my greatest strengths because it’s an outlet for my passions. It doesn’t come out of nowhere; it’s something that pops into my head when I’m spending time thinking and pondering a problem. I’ve had this happen a few times before, and after a while, I couldn’t think of anything, so I got into the habit of carrying a notepad with me at all times and jotting down whatever comes to mind. This has the advantage of not only ensuring that I don’t lose track of my fresh ideas, but it also gives me a base from which I can fuse them together. Currently, my treasure #1 is my notepad with all my ideas. I think having the ability to generate a lot of new ideas is what drives me to be proactive in my work.
You are a shy person. Over the years, this shy personality has changed a bit, but I would like to work harder to transform myself into an active and proactive person. I’m very active and proactive in my work, but I don’t like to be in front of large groups of people, which is why I struggle with team presentations and the like. Even though I helped organize the novel content with my creative ideas, I was not very good as a presenter. I felt pathetic that I was not able to explain it well, even though it was my idea and I could explain it well. So I used mind-control techniques to overcome this fear. I always pictured myself in my head giving an excellent speech in front of a large group of people. These efforts gradually worked, and now I am overcoming this fear. I believe that this attitude of overcoming difficulties will help me to overcome the challenges I will face in my social life.

A personality that seeks to expand into new territory

I prefer unfamiliar experiences to familiar ones and am always looking to expand into new areas. When I was studying abroad in Japan, I remember going on trips that avoided tourist spots as much as possible, seeking out lesser-known sights and local flavors rather than taking the same routes as everyone else. Although I suffered more than others by choosing to avoid the tourist guides, I gained unique memories and pride in expanding my horizons. I was proud when I heard that even Japanese students in my dormitory didn’t know that there were such local colors.
However, this pioneering spirit sometimes put me at odds with others who wanted to follow their own paths and not follow the established rules or convenient information. When I heard the rebuttal that it’s important and okay to take the path that everyone else has taken, I wondered if I was too eager to be one step ahead of everyone else and avoided things that were already great enough to be recognized by others. However, I’m proud of the fact that because of my personality, I’ve been able to acquire unique know-how and routes to living abroad and use them as my own weapon.

Growing up with an education that fostered creativity

From a young age, my mother encouraged me to write reviews of various literary works I came across. She would often ask me what I thought the main character should do or how I thought the ending should be. I would think a lot about answering her questions, and whenever I saw a work, I would always think, “This is what I would do if I were you.” This creativity often yielded good results, not only when I was reading literature, but also when I was doing assignments.
I like to try new things and I’m driven. Even when I traveled abroad with my parents in middle school, I loved exploring roads that weren’t on the traveler’s guidebook. My parents were worried that it was dangerous, but as long as I was accompanied by my dad and we didn’t go too far off the beaten path, I would spend an hour or two exploring unknown side streets with him. It was fun to get to know a new area, and I found small restaurants that people who lived in the area usually went to, which added to the enjoyment of the trip. I’m always up for a challenge because I know the joy of seeing and experiencing new things.
When I see something I want to do, I don’t just jump in and do it, I do the necessary preparation and have the drive to accomplish my goals. Because of this, I’ve been able to gain the trust and support of my parents, even when I say I’m going to do something a little too crazy at times.

Creative thinker, innovative mind

I am a very prolific thinker. I like to sit alone and contemplate, and I believe that ideas come from thinking. For example, even to accomplish a task, I have to think about it in multiple ways before I can come up with a solution to the problem. In college, while studying business administration, I was assigned a task to come up with a new strategy for the management process of a company in crisis. Through the role-playing, I played the role of the chief executive officer and collected ideas to come up with a new strategy.
The process of generating ideas was challenging. I had to go through a group meeting process to generate ideas, because if I just tried to think on my own, I couldn’t come up with good ideas. I gathered my teammates who were working on the project together for an ideation meeting, and I didn’t just have a one-sided meeting where I said, “Here’s what you have to say.” Instead, I came up with a strategic plan to actively encourage them to come up with ideas. My method was to ask questions based on six principles. As a facilitator, I asked: why is this topic, how is it efficient to solve, who is the target audience for this challenge, when and where can we find these problems, and what are the key takeaways? Asking these strategic questions helped us generate meaningful ideas, and the team was excited and engaged by the new meeting process.

Finding new ideas and fun in the mundane

You’re able to find new ideas and fun in the smallest aspects of everyday life. Just as thinking of cotton candy as just a sweet treat is just a confirmation of the fact, but when you start adding clouds and other colorful imaginative touches to the image, you’re well within the realm of creativity, so I like to find new twists and turns in the monotonous things that people tend to overlook. This is because it allows people to reinvent something that they would otherwise see as boring at first glance, breaking their preconceived notions and taking them to a new level. Once I give them a plausible interpretation that A can be seen from the universal point of view of B, and in fact can also be seen as C, they are intrigued and drawn in.
But I’ve also been told that my language is misleading in nature, and that it gives me the power to influence people to follow an interest-driven pattern. I’ve been told that I need to let go of the words first, that I need to let go of the lavish presentation and let the raw nature win out. But just as no product today can make its presence known without proper packaging and promotion, I believe that the art of words to decorate and embellish things has its own value.

Curious and analytical about new things

I’ve always had a habit of being curious about new things and analyzing them, because while it’s important to be comfortable with the familiar things I already know, the thrill and excitement of a new experience or something I’ve never experienced before, or a world of knowledge I’ve never known before, has always fascinated me. I was also always eager to make connections, not only with people within my immediate circle, but also with people who lived in worlds that I wouldn’t normally encounter. Even when I went on group trips at school, I was bold enough to strike up conversations with other school kids and people I met on the trip.
The kids around me would be tongue-in-cheek in their admiration, saying things like, “How can you be so hesitant?” and “Where do you get that kind of courage?” But I believed that there was a time for every encounter and event, and just like the orbits of the planets that orbit each other, I knew that if I didn’t take advantage of the serendipitous timing of meeting someone and interact with them quickly, I would never get that opportunity again, so I would act quickly on what I was thinking and wanting. Even if I felt embarrassed to speak up or ask a question right away, it was much better than kicking the can down the road a few times, wishing for an opportunity that would never come around again. This has helped me to not feel so much regret or disappointment whenever I reflect on my past life, but rather a sense of pride that I have lived it to the fullest.

I like new things

One of the best things about my personality is that I love ‘new things’. I always like to do new things, even when I’m socializing with people, so I like to challenge myself, so I like to try new tourist spots, new restaurants, and so on. Also, if there is a trend among people, I have to try it, so I have to try it. Not only clothes, but also various fashion, IT, and especially IT these days, there are a lot of new winds in the IT field, and I have to try those things to solve my intuition. I think my love for new things has allowed me to be exposed to various fields, and my spirit of challenge has allowed me to keep up with trends. As much as I like new things, I also like new people, so I like to socialize with people, and I don’t mind meeting new people, but rather I like to make friends, so I approach them first and don’t be shy. I would say that sociability is also among my strengths.
The downside of my personality is that I’m a perfectionist, I tend to be meticulous, I make a plan and then I have to do it all, so when I’m working towards a goal, I’m very hard on myself and others. When I’m working, I’m great, but when I’m not working, I try to keep things in perspective and give people a break and give myself a break.

I’m curious and willing to learn anything

I’ve always been a very curious student, even as a child I was very curious and would try to learn anything that caught my attention. If my mother was cooking, I would sit next to her and learn how to cook, and if my curiosity got the best of me, I would take an interest in baking, so I learned how to make bread. Especially my mother is a good cook, and she has hobbies like knitting and baking, so I learned a lot from her. My mother was also very handy, so she made her own clothes and flower arrangements, and I tried to learn a lot from her by watching these hobbies from the sidelines, and whenever I did, my mother would say, “What is it about you that makes you so curious and eager to learn?
I was curious not only about my hobbies, but also about my grades and studies in school. I would try to introduce new experimental processes in science experiments, learn languages and create my own literary works, and even at home, I would practice cooking food and make off-the-wall creations that would attract attention. In fact, everything I learned in the space of school intrigued me, and my willingness to try anything and everything, to try new things, earned me a lot of recognition from the people around me. I was curious and greedy, and I tended to find meaning in trying anything and everything.

Creativity blossoms through sensitivity

Growing up in a rural village from a young age, I was exposed to a lot of natural scenery, which had a lot to do with shaping my sensibilities. If I had grown up in a bustling city and had no memories of my friends, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I grew up strong and healthy by running through rice paddies and fields, fields and mountains, going to the ditch with my friends, catching crayfish, going to the reservoir, and getting bitten by leeches. I grew up with dogs, cows, chickens, and other animals, including goats, cows, and chickens. Our house smelled like manure, and the animals’ cages smelled like manure, but I think even those smells shaped my sensitivity. Because of this unique upbringing, I’ve always been energetic, sensitive, and full of creativity.
Whenever I’m in an idea meeting or a planning meeting, I tend to come up with ideas. It’s not difficult for me to be creative through new thoughts, and I’m also talented at developing another thought based on someone else’s idea, especially in that process, and people often ask me how I can think like that. I think it’s because of my right-brain tendency, childhood memories and memories, and unconventional education. I hope to develop my sensitivity enough so that I can be recognized as a creative talent wherever I go. In terms of relationships, I will continue to be unconventional and open to people. I am not prejudiced, so I tend to approach people who are similar to me and actively socialize with them. I’m highly sociable, so I’m sure I’ll have no trouble fitting in.