The Importance of Your Existence

Note: This post may contain spoilers for Come Back Ahjusshi. 

After watching Come Back Ahjusshi, I was thinking about how important everyone's existence is. What would it be like if your existence was wiped off the face of Earth? Would the people around you be happier? Have you made a positive change or a negative change in other people?


As much as I hated the ending for Come Back Ahjusshi, I felt like everyone's lives seemed a bit better when Gi Tak's existence was wiped off. It's a bittersweet ending for me because I really loved his character and whatever he had achieved from coming back to Earth. I felt like it was so unfair to him for everyone to forget him in the end. What's the point of coming back to Earth if you're just going to be forgotten in the end? What's the whole point of the drama then? The fact that everyone's lives seemed slightly happier makes me feel unsettled because everyone seemed to have suffered when he existed. But then again, we don't know much because the drama doesn't disclose much about what difference there was since his non-existence. We just know that there's a happy ending for most people.

It got me thinking as to what would have happened if I didn't exist in some people's lives and what would happen if some people didn't exist in my life. Would I be happier or would I be sadder? Have I made a significant impact in people's lives and vice versa? The answer, I realized, is obviously,  yes. I've realized how much one little action can change a person's life, even if it's just talking to them when they feel lonely. It can make someone not so lonely after all. It can open an introverted person up. When strangers say hi to me, I actually feel a little better inside, knowing that I'm not a ghost or a nobody. Even talking to that kid that nobody talked to can change his life. In reality, I don't know whether I would be happier or sadder if some people didn't exist, and I don't know whether other people would be happier or sadder without me in their lives. I don't know if one little change can really change someone's entire life. I always feel like if I don't make a change, someone else out there will have the same thought I have and do the same things I do. I feel like if I didn't exist, my friends would always have someone else. They don't always need me. I don't have that big presence. I don't make a big impact.

And maybe I'm just a cynical person. Maybe I don't realize what I do. Maybe I always look down on myself and look up to other people. Maybe I don't have that confidence other people do. I am an introverted person, I do bottle things up, I don't like sharing. It's also very hard for me to open up to anyone because I'm an awkward and quiet person. But at the same time, I realize that burdens are meant to be shared among friends. It's okay to bottle it all in, but it's also important to always have someone to be able to talk to without judging you. So as a message to all my friends, just know that you mean a lot to me. Thank you for always being here for me and changing my life little by little. I know I can get difficult sometimes and don't like people helping me because I feel like I can handle it on my own but reality is, I can't. And if I don't like sharing, don't use it against me because that's just who I am. I don't like sharing my burdens (I know, it's so contradictory considering what I said earlier), but bottom line is: Thank you for your existence and I hope you feel the same way about me too.