Prologue: The Real Future Adults Don't Tell You

Part 1: Am I doing well right now?
The Expiration Date of Passion│For a Car to Move│Let's Do It First│To My Lovely Failures│Somehow It'll Work Out│I Make My Own Standards

Part 2: Getting to Know My Heart
Encouragement rather than worry│The one person who believed I would become a writer│What I like about myself = seat belt│The true meaning of growing up│The tunnel called puberty│If ​​I could say just one thing

Part 3: Finding my own pace
Focus on Me│Why I Don't Go to the Bookstore│Why Do I Have to Work?│Limited Edition│Time to Underline│Find the Person You Want to Be Like

Part 4: We're Becoming Our Own Adults
You Don't Have to Listen to Everything Adults Say│I'm the Youngest in Our House│The World of Mangos│I Didn't Know How to Write Young Adult Novels│There Are Various Roles│The True Meaning of Average│How to Raise a Pheasant

Part 5 I'm still sketching
Remembering the Future│Three Futures I Remember│Unexpected Things - Corn and Ballet Fit in Seconds│The Joy of Waiting│Where Did All Those Curiosities Go│It's Okay to Regret

Part 6: Creating a Better World
It's okay to be tangled│When consideration accumulates│The power of affection│Let's say hello│May sanity increase│May good intentions prevail

Epilogue I'll live until 2100
Appendix: Sentence cards and handwriting cards to strengthen your anxious mind.

“At the end of my anxious mind,
To you who wants to trust me once again”
For teenagers going through the journey of puberty
Warm support and comfort

Teenagers who have just turned the first page of life find this journey unsettling and confusing.
The worries of those going through puberty are by no means simple: having to plan for the future despite not being particularly good at or interested in anything, having to make more choices and take responsibility for more things, and feeling frustrated because their worth seems to be determined by a single test.
This book speaks to teenagers who ask themselves, "Am I doing well?" amidst a wavering sense of self and anxiety about the future, with a gentle gaze that encourages them to regain the strength to believe in themselves, along with the message that it's okay to be impatient.


The author, who has met teenagers in over 1,500 lectures, has captured the vivid concerns of teenagers today in this essay.
For teenagers who are afraid of failure and do not dream of becoming adults, this book tells the story of countless failures, the journey to becoming a successful writer, and the wonderful days they have encountered as they face the future of adulthood in a fun and enjoyable way.
Not only that, it sharply criticizes adults who only want to teach us how to avoid failure, who say we should listen to them unconditionally, and who say that studying well is the most important thing, and it honestly tells the story that a true adult wanted to tell, touching the hearts of teenagers who were tightly closed off.

In order to successfully navigate adolescence, a time when we develop our minds, thoughts, and values, it is most important to believe in ourselves and not be swayed by others.
This book conveys the message that what we say to ourselves is more important than what others say to us, and helps teenagers who are swayed by many choices and advice to love themselves more.
Additionally, author Kim Hye-jeong's uniquely warm writing style and deep empathy soothe the hearts of anxious teenagers and build a strong immune system to move forward.
Current youth born around 2010 may live beyond the 21st century and even into the 22nd century.
The self-belief you have built now will give you the courage and strength to brighten your future journey.


“Don’t forget.
Just by growing up, you're doing well.
I'm working very hard.
You are doing a very difficult job.
“Adults don’t praise you, so do it for yourself.”
_From the text

Turning anxiety about the future into anticipation
The affectionate voices of teenagers in literature

Teenagers are busier than anyone else, competing with their friends, caring about other people's feelings, and meeting their parents' expectations, so they don't have time to take care of themselves.
Teenagers, who face countless shaky moments in life, need a way to take care of themselves, a solid sentence that will sustain them through life.
When I come across a good sentence in a book, I can stop everything for a moment and focus on the sentence and myself.
That time of pause, which can also be the beginning of a change in me, will guide us into a deeper and wider world.


The voices of teenagers in literature, such as 『The Secret Garden』, 『The Pilgrim House』, 『Alice in Wonderland』, and 『Fifth Lane』, open the door to each chapter of the essay.
Through the voices of teenagers in literature who share the same level of understanding, it evokes deep empathy from young readers and sustains their literary appreciation.
The message of hope, cultivated through proven literary works by the author, a youth literature writer, offers comfort to teenagers, who are in a period of shaping their minds and selves in various ways, that there is no set path to life.
Additionally, it contains encouragement for all those who are unable to sleep due to uncertainty and anxiety about the future, to take the first step toward turning their anxiety into small hopes by reading the sentences in this work.

Sentence cards and transcription cards made up of sentences from the text are included as an appendix so that you can directly transcribe sentences that impressed you and use them by cutting out the paper.
The book is filled with the affectionate heart of readers who have closed the book, encouraging them to write sentences that will support them, lean on those sentences to move on, and support their next steps, just like the message the work intended to convey.
The underlining carefully drawn while reading the work will become a small light for teenagers passing through a dark tunnel.