One day, a man asked me curiously, "Do you have a boyfriend?"
　　　 "No, I don't have," I said sadly.
　　　 "Then, I have a chance to become your boyfriend," he told me smilingly.
　　　 "Don't kid me!" I said with a smile.
　　　 "I'm speaking from my heart," he told me seriously.
　
　　　 We met at our university about two and half years ago. I was a sophomore and he was a freshman. He lived near my home, so we had many chances to go home by bus together. As time went by, we became friendly, so we became, what you called, a campus couple. His name was Young Jeub Kim, and he is now 23 years old. He is tall and a little fat. He is generous, kind, warm, and affirmative, but he is sometimes cool.
　　　 Do you have a best friend? If you have, why do you think he or she is your best friend? I think that a best friend is a person who influences you. I have such a person, too. The person is Young Jeub Kim. I was very shy, irresolute, negative, passive, pessimistic, and introverted until I became a high school student. I lacked self-confidence. Therefore, whenever I had to do something, I thought that I could not do it. In addition, I could not decide anything alone, even a trifle, when I needed to make a decision. Moreover, I hated my appearance. I thought that I was ugly, short, and fat. So I was afraid of meeting new people and I liked to stay home and read books. For that reason, I became shyer and more introverted. Furthermore, I thought that no man would like me when I was young. I even thought that I may be a single woman forever.
　　　 On the other hand, my boyfriend had strong self-confidence. He thought that he could do everything if he made up his mind. I envied his character, and he did not understand my character. So we often fought because of my opinion about my own character. We were different in a lot of ways. He loved himself, and I did not love myself. I thought that human nature could not change, and he thought it could. He tried to change me in many ways. For example, when we needed to make a decision, he always asked to me to make every decision: Where should we go? Which food should we eat? What should we do? and so on. Moreover, he always encouraged me and assured me that I had more virtues than vices. But my opinion did not change easily. We became tired of talking about the same subject everyday, and one day I started to lie: I said that I was changing and came to love myself, for I did not want to fight because of it. He also seemed to trust me. Actually, I did not know whether he believed in me or not, because we never talked about that after that day.
　　　 I did not feel my change at that time, but now I feel that I changed so much. Before I met my boyfriend, I did not say anything when I first met somebody. However, now I can talk to other people whom I do not know. Moreover, I can make up my mind when I am in trouble. Besides, when I felt angry with my friends or my friends treated me in a displeasing way, I did not express my feeling before, because I thought it better for everybody. However, I can tell them my feeling now. I became more talkative, active, and sociable, and I am not wishy-washy any more. Therefore, I have many friends and I like to meet new people. Now, nobody tells me that I am shy. Although I have many weaknesses, I try to think of my virtues: I try to think about the situation of my friends more than my own situation when we have a problem. In addition I can do everything that my friends want. If my boyfriend did not like me, I might probably still hate myself. That somebody liked me gave me confidence. However, I still believe that human nature cannot be changed, and I am still passive and introverted. Although I did not change in every way, I always appreciate him.
　　　 Based on my experience, if you want to get self-confidence, make a boyfriend. Even if it is only that someone likes you, you will have more confidence. I lacked confidence, but I came to change very much after I met my boyfriend. I gained self-confidence and became sociable and affirmative. My boyfriend taught me to love myself and other people. In addition, he helped me change my conception of myself, and I also found my virtues that I did not know before. Therefore, I always thank him for his concern. I think that it was not just change of my character but it changed my life's direction. He made me improve my life by myself. I learned from that how much one preson can influence other people. I want to influence my friends in good ways. Now, Young Jeub and I are just friends. But I still like him as agood friend. Though he is in the army now, I will keep in touch with him. Furthermore, I hope that we remain best friends forever, and I believe that we will do so, because we know each other better than other friends.