An Inspiration to All: Meet Karen Song

It all begins with the faint light that appears before you. This light beings to grow brighter and brighter until the glow becomes a prominent blaze that blinds you with every day that passes by, and it is undeniably unavoidable. This is how a dream is born. Passion from within is what ignites this light. This is what happened to 3^rd year college student Karen Song. Many years ago, this light just wouldn’t go away, and she knew that her future was going to be defined by her actions.
 
As a young girl, Karen was already mounting up to her successful future. Karen began dancing when she was just 10 years old at the Irvine Dance Academy, until 7^th grade, when she gravitated towards hip-hop dance. Her interest with this specific genre of dance led her to join Kaba Kids, a youth hip hop group dedicated to bringing together young adults with a common interest, through artistic expression.
 
Along with being a part of dance, in high school Karen performed in school plays and musicals, and was involved with cheer and song as well. Soon enough, she became the youngest member of Kaba Modern from 2008-2011. Although she is not a UCI student, Karen feels strongly correlated with the campus through her three years in Kaba Modern. She has participated in UCI events such as Welcome Week, Songfest, Care-a-thon, and many others. After senior year of high school, Karen signed onto BLOC, a talent agency that catapulted countless opportunities in the music industry. Yet, everything wasn’t all so simple. From ten auditions that Karen would try out for, there would be a 1/10 chance of a yes, and a 9/10 chance of a no. Discouragement and frustration infiltrated her mind, but Karen persisted through such obstacles; she saw every possibility as more of a challenge than a struggle. The hours of overnight dance practice and the endless amounts of effort put into perfecting one audition have helped her push her limits even further.
 
Probably one of the greatest challenges that Karen faced, and is still facing is her ethnicity. Being Asian American and female is difficult when you want to enter into the fashion, music, or even dance industry. As Korean American, Karen rather embraces her difference, and utilizes her ethnicity as a source of empowerment. Considering all industries today are mainly male-dominated, every audition is a crucial chance to break into one of the toughest, most demanding industries out there. She sees herself as an inspiration not only for Asian Americans, but for Asian American females as well.
 
Yet through her hard work, and a dash of good luck, she’s appeared in a Google commercial, Katy Perry’s California Girls music video, and many more. For Karen, it’s only the beginning for her. Karen is constantly improving her craft with acting classes and by working on her website, which was just released in March. She is also involved at the Newsong Community Church in Irvine. On February 25, 2011, Karen co-hosted an event called MOCA, Movement of Creative Arts, where she and many others came together to spread the awareness of human trafficking in Thailand. This event not only raised money for organizations that aided with the destruction of human trafficking, but it celebrated the movement of the arts, and supported people’s creativity in music, dance, and acting.
 
So what is Karen Song’s secret? How is she so greatly successful? Well, to be quite frank, there is no secret. All it takes is determination, passion, and love. Through her journey to where she is now, in 2011, Karen has sacrificed time and completely dedicated her efforts to making her dreams come true. The lifelong friends she has made through the years, and her mother’s constant support have molded into the backbone of her achievements and successes, and she is more than blessed to have people who have given her so much support. Karen highlights the importance of not only being comfortable in one’s own skin, but her many involvements in events such as MOCA have influenced her to empower females to strive for success, and most importantly, happiness. Through her hard work, Karen shatters the stereotypical aspect of female Asian Americans, and Karen graciously proves that it is possible to be happy while being your true self. Her message to HerCampus readers and beyond? “Know what you love, and don’t be afraid to follow it.”