When I was young, I learned how to ride a bike from my dad. Every time I pushed the pedals, though, I fell down. When I wanted to give up, my dad bribed me with treats so I would keep trying. So, I worked harder until I could eventually ride flawlessly.

When I started middle school, we had two unappealing choices for sports club class: dance or cycling. I chose cycling, but we just rode around the school, which wasn’t interesting. Because we could play sports after six laps, I always finished first to play basketball. Just like when I was young, I wanted to finish fast so I could get the reward at the end.

After three years of this, I was chosen as club leader. Since I was given the role, even though I didn’t ask for the responsibility, I wanted to do something more — to make the club meaningful. I came up with the idea to ride with club members on weekends at Seoul Forest.

Still, like when I was a kid, I thought we needed an end goal after our cycling trips. I began to think of a reward that wouldn’t be for myself but for someone else. What if we held a fundraiser to buy bikes for kids in need? I realized that so many kids didn’t have the luxury of learning how to ride a brand-new bike, so I came up with a way to make it possible.

I told my club members my plan: for each hour we rode our bikes, members could ask their parents to donate just $5 for our cause. It was a small amount of money, and our commitment to riding would inspire our parents to donate. Six members decided to join my bike fundraiser trips, and we got to ride. We were so tired the first weekend that we only rode for one hour. But each week, we rode a little more. After one month, we rode a total of 10 hours and raised enough money to buy two brand-new kids’ bikes. I was so excited when we browsed the store; eventually, we settled on a bright pink bike and a black one with flames. We even had some money left over to buy two helmets.

When I visited the charity center to hand over the bikes, I also saw when the little boy and girl came to pick them up. Their smiles were so bright, and they hopped on the bikes immediately. 

The memory of those kids’ happiness would last me so much longer than any treat. I realized that sometimes I need to spend my time doing something helpful for others rather than trying to get a brief reward for myself. 

Since that first donation, my cycling club has been heading out to ride whenever possible. My experience of making a small difference in someone else’s life has become a source of happiness in my own.