How did teachers/parents respond to my change of heart?
I'm not going to sugar-coat it, this was the hardest part about my application without a doubt. I know there are definitely going to be people out there who read this and think I was being ridiculous or weak or whatever else but this is just how I felt at the time, and still feel to an extent now. And for those applying for/doing more obscure degrees, you can probably relate to this.
People's first reaction when I told them I wanted to do Korean was terrible. It was disheartening, disappointing, and in some cases just straight-up humiliating. The amount of disgusting things people said openly to me about Korea was shocking - things I'm sure they would never dream about saying if it was a different culture we were talking about. My parents, at first, took it as a joke. They didn't take me seriously in the slightest, and neither did the majority of my friends. I was talking about it to one of my friends in a lesson, who was nodding along politely, when my other friend turned to me and said 'But you're not actually going to do Korean are you?'. That hurt, not going to lie. But, after a few months, I put my foot down and stopped letting people treat it as a 'phase' or a joke, and soon people started to come round to the idea. My dad took the longest to 'give in', although once he'd visited unis with me and seen the courses, he was sold on it.
As for teachers, their response was not the most encouraging, but it was what I was expecting. Every time I have to tell another teacher what I'm planning to do, I dread it and suddenly get nervous. Their initial response is just shock. I usually have to repeat myself and then comes the 'why?', in a tone that sounds like they really mean 'you're a clever student, why are you wasting your time with a random Asian language'. But, surprisingly, the vast majority of my teachers are now excited for me and my future, and probably the most supportive out of everyone (apart from my parents and a select few friends).
But, the most interesting group of all is people I don't really know that well. I've had several people come up to me at school and ask me about it, with a genuine interest rather than just poking fun. Outside of school, people are intrigued and want to know more about it which is lovely!
Overall, the hardest thing about all of this was that I had a period of a good 4-5 months where my own parents and friends weren't supporting my decision, and I was essentially alone in my choices. I wasn't even 100% sure I was making the right decision at the time, so when you have so many people you trust and respect telling you you're doing it wrong, it's hard to stick to your guns and ignore them until they change their mind. If you're in this position, I promise it's worth waiting it out and doing what your heart really wants. I'm more excited about my life now than I have been in a long while!