WEBTOON| All That We Hope To Be

May 27, 2018

Hello loves~ I’ll be talking about one of my favorite webtoons, and it may get a bit personal. I don’t know about all of you, but sometimes I have alot going on. On the surface, people see me as this bubbly and happy kind of person. Sure I smile alot, and I can be positive at times. However, I keep alot of things to myself. Like many people, I have alot of worries, stress, pressure, depression, and anxiety. I’m the oldest child in my family and I carry alot of responsibilities and expectations. Some of these responsibilities made me lose out on opportunities. Still, I have alot of pressure and deal with alot of judgement. I work hard and do my best, but other people sometimes view me as wasting my life and potential. I’ve often been told I seem to fall short for not reaching the same level of “success” as other people, and I’m constantly being compared to so-and-so. You can imagine that’s taken a toll on me mentally and caused me to keep even more to myself. There was a time when the judgement and pressure was incredibly tough on me. I basically felt at my lowest. I have many friends, but very few that I’m willing to spill my heart and worries to. Even then, I tend to hold things in. Despite friends wholeheartedly telling me that they were always there for me. Still, there’s always that worry of being a burden to people you cherish, or being afraid that they’ll tire of you and your demons. It was also a time I just started reading Line Webtoons. I came across a webtoon called “All That We Hope to Be”. It’s now one of my favorite webtoons, and one that I hold very dear to my heart. This webtoon was just incredibly relatable and comforting for me.

“All That We Hope to Be” is a Korean webtoon by it sun. It was originally published through Naver Webtoons in 2014 before it’s English publication on Line Webtoons[HERE]. It revolves around several animal characters that all have different struggles, how they face those struggles, and how they grow from those struggles. The struggles and topics in this webtoon are all things that everyone can relate to and has dealt with at least once in their life. “All That We Hope to Be” covers things like societal pressure, depression, anxiety, self-loathing, and self-esteem issues. It can be dark at times, but there’s also a good bit of humor. It truly is a heartfelt webtoon.

There’s a relatable story and issue in there for everyone. Job search and interviews not going so well? There’s a relatable character for that. Want to just follow your dreams, but feel the societal pressure of having to live a “successful” 9-5 job kind of life? Stressed and tired because everyone disagrees about your unconventional lifestyle? There’s a relatable character for that. Feeling hella bitter and negative about life because it seems like everything and everyone is against you? Anxious because you don’t know what to do with your future and life?

Struggling with negative emotions and just struggling to find happiness? Have hella low self-esteem and think you and everything you do is utter trash? There are all sorts of characters and stories that relate to those.

The art style is simple. It’s mostly black, gray, and white. Although there is occasionally some color here and there. The art has kind of a water-colored look to it. I liked it. The story didn’t need anything fancy in telling these stories. Another thing I liked is that I felt like this webtoon really came from the author’s heart. it sun even puts himself into the webtoon a few times. He talks about some of the issues he had been dealing with. It’s clear that many of the characters’ stories are a reflection of things that he has dealt with. It made the story seem so genuine and added sincerity, which is why it was so easy to relate to.

Everyone faces different struggles. For some people, the struggles and weight they carry can feel quite heavy…almost crushing and suffocating. If you’re familiar with my previous posts, you’ll know that I enjoy these kinds of stories. I enjoy human stories. I enjoy understanding people and characters. Like I said, I’ve seen and am dealing with alot of things as well. I’m an empathetic person and truly relate to these characters. Alot of people come to me to talk about things, which I’m happy for. However, I personally have a hard time being honest and talking about my own feelings with other people. I found comfort reading this webtoon though. The world and life can be pretty tough and shitty. Still, we’re all just trying hard to live. Sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don’t. That’s just life and reality. Yet, we still try. “All That We Hope to Be” is something that brings me hope and gives me a sense of comfort. When I’m feeling hella down, I turn to music, films, and books. If you are also dealing with alot of things, I hope you’ll be able to find some comfort in this webtoon as well.

Whatever your struggles are, I’m proud of you and you are not alone. It’s also okay to have moments of weakness,cry, and take a break. There are also many people who care and love you, but don’t forget to love yourself as well. Take care fam.

Yes, I’m still low-key BTS trash. Also was hella excited about the new album, comeback, and Billboard music awards~ Real talk though, they also have great music that covers different issues as well.