The True Beauty of Firsts
Everyone must have had their firsts, such as the first time they fell in love with someone. It may be something unforgettable or completely terrifying. It might be our first day of school, our first trip, our first kiss, or the first heartbreak we’ve experienced. Do you, on the other hand, believe that this is our first life?
At this point, what does love mean to you? Others may argue that love knows no gender, age, or race. Or it might just be a chemical response produced by the release of high quantities of dopamine and norepinephrine. For the hopeless romantics, it may be something exhilarating that they can experience. It might be the butterflies in one’s stomach, the sparks that show whenever they see the person who took their breath away, or the slow-motion momentum they feel the first time they encounter the person they refer to as the love of their life.
The dictionary defines love as an intense sensation of profound attachment or a strong interest and pleasure in something. It may be expressed in a variety of ways, and it can signify more than just being lovers or being in an intimate relationship. Love may be difficult to convey to someone, and love has its own language. Love can take many forms, including eros (erotic/sexual or passionate love), philia (love between lovers, friends, or brotherly love), storge (parental love for their child/ren), and agape (love of God or the love of mankind).
Do you think love and marriage can exist as separate entities that will never be merged? Or do you believe that marriage is more than simply two people loving each other, which is why they are entering such a sacred stage of their relationship, but that it may also be a union of individuals who share common understanding and principles?
Or do you believe that marriage is simply more than two people loving each other that made them enter such a sacred stage of a relationship? I sometimes wonder if it can also be a union of individuals who share a common understanding and principles.
Because This Is My First Life (also known as This Life Is Our First) is a romantic comedy Korean drama series that focuses on the realism of careers, relationships, and marriage as well as the stories the lead characters have. This series confronts the harsh realities of life and resists conventional narratives such as an affluent leading man meeting an impoverished female lead or the other way around.
It could be considered an underrated series that has a lot of surprises in its plot. The way reality was portrayed, not only in terms of life but as well as being in a relationship and marriage, was unusual and vivid, but absolutely perfect.
The beauty of experiencing firsts was highlighted in this drama. The tingling sensation of discovering your first love. The first time a person falls in love. One of the characters’ first and only romance, as well as the agonizing sorrow of the first heartache. The first to tie the knot. The misery of being the first child. And the lessons learned from the characters’ initial encounters.
The show also revealed each character’s individual traumas and scars, as well as their personal challenges. It accurately depicts what life holds for couples, as well as what is going on in their relationship and their urge to enter the marriage phase.
It also illustrates the realities of being raised in a patriarchal home or having stern and principled parents. It could be scary and at the same time suffocating to be controlled by the desires of the elders disregarding what one truly wants.
Nam Se-hee works as a computer designer for Ma Sang-goo’s start-up company, where he designed an app called “Don’t Marry, Date,” which serves as a dating app for those looking for someone to date online. His life focuses on statistics and logic, and he is socially awkward. He’d prefer to spend the rest of his life with his cat than date someone. While he was being frivolous and limiting his expenses in order to save money for his apartment’s mortgage, he would ironically spend all of his money on the bills of his beloved cat, Kitty. He is cautious and doesn’t understand what love or marriage entails.
He recently rented out the second room in his apartment before he was put in a difficult scenario in which he was threatened with a divorce from his parents in order for him to date or marry someone. He mistook Yoon Ji-ho for a guy while referring to her name. He also rated Ji-ho as the best renter he had, and he openly stated that he liked her since she fit all of the requirements outlined in the contract they signed.
After discovering the fact that Ji-ho is a woman and Se-hee is a guy because Ji-ho mistook her for a woman, the two of them continued to live together as they both compromised on the demands they each wanted. Ji-ho needs a place to sleep, while Se-hee needs someone to recycle his trash, keep his flat tidy, and care for his cat.
At some point, they both agreed to a two-year marriage contract so that Se-hee would no longer be troubled by her mother, enabling Ji-ho to no longer be homeless.
Yoon Ji-ho, on the other hand, was an assistant drama scriptwriter. Despite being a top student upon entering Seoul National University, her grades weren’t enough for her to be a law student. Hence, her dream was to become a writer. She defied her father and left home just so she could enroll as a literature student.
She has a perky nature and is utterly smart and hardworking. Hence, she never once became the main scriptwriter for any drama being produced. Also, none of the dramas she wrote became known. And at a certain point in her career, she stopped writing. She was left flawed, down and out, and traumatized.
They both thought that they could perfectly carry out the contract they signed, as they strongly believed that they were not each other’s type. Love has its ways, and magic happens. In the end, no matter how Ji-ho tried to drift apart from Se-hee, she would still come back into his arms. So it was with Se-hee, unaware, that he learned what love is—also, he learned how to love again and the essence of marriage.
There are stories in this drama that viewers must know, realize, and learn from. Woo Soo-ji, Ji-ho’s friend, an independent woman dreaming of being her own boss, has gone through the sensual comments of her colleague while left unable to speak for herself for a long time. She couldn’t punch them right in the face as she wanted to work peacefully. She was a woman full of surprises. With hard work and being honest with herself, she was able to establish her own company.
One thing I’ve definitely learned from her is to stand up against people who treat you badly. It’s not a bad thing to teach them how to treat you. Also, success isn’t only limited to people who are wealthy; it could be meant for someone who strives hard to succeed.
Yang Ho-rang, a friend of Ji-ho’s who’s very affectionate and very cautious about herself, dreams of being a housewife and marrying her long-time (7-year) boyfriend, Sim Won-seok. She works at a restaurant and envies her friends who are already married. She got into several misunderstandings with her boyfriend about wanting to get married. Her boyfriend is two years younger than her and does not appear to be ready to marry. Also, Won-seok strongly believed that love and marriage are two different things, and getting married means they have to face responsibilities like having kids.
In the end, Ho-rang realized that things like marriage should not be rushed, even though she was afraid she was getting too old for it. She’s learned that marriage is a process, not just a phase. Personally, I believe that love and marriage are not the same things. Marriage may involve love, and vice versa, but the duties of these two concepts are diverse.
What I also loved about this drama was Won-seok’s love for Ho-rang. For him, Ho-rang was his first love, first relationship, and first heartbreak. Throughout their 7-year long relationship, it revolved around him and his own happiness; and never put himself in Ho-rang’s shoes, if she was still happy and in their relationship. He tried to let her go with the mindset that she should find someone who would willingly marry her and make her happy. In the end, they realize that they burn for each other and that, like before, they couldn’t live without each other.
Through Won-seok and Ho-rang, I’ve learned that love is truly magical and full of mystery. If both lovers were truly meant for each other, they might break up at some point, but they would still be for each other in the end. The path their love is taking will still lead them to each other in the end, no matter how different their paths are.
What this drama has taught me is to embrace and face the traumas we have. We will always be chained if we don’t try to face the scars of the past. Also, this drama depicts the reality of life and the harshness of the world that people who want to love and get married face.
Sometimes, things do not go on your way; sometimes, it is you against the odds of the world.
