Navy Seal. Harvard Doctor. Astronaut. Do not tell mom about this high -flyer. | World news

In half a life, Jonny Kim fulfilled the American dream three times. He was a navy seal. Then he completed the Harvard Medical School. And on Tuesday, he blows up as part of his last act: astronaut.

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Consternation.

This applies in particular in the Asian-American community, in which Kim, the son of South Korean immigrants, at the same time praised as a hero-and feared only half harmful as the “worst nightmare of an Asian child”.

The concern: No matter what you achieve, your high-resolution parents with a migration background will say that Jonny Kim has already done that-better. “We have reached all of the stuff, but really, it is what he did,” said Chu.

Kim became an internet Mem among Asian Americans, who often thank you in social media that he is not a relative. NASA’s social media posts on Kim are flooded with comments that express similar feelings. “As a colleague Asian, I hope that my parents cannot read it. But a safe journey, my husband,” wrote one.

Chu wrote about this feeling of inadequacy in a viral contribution that accidentally hammered in the point by containing a typo.

Kim never set off to achieve this trifecta of the lifespan. His power, he said, was the focus.

“I had no efforts to be a doctor to be an astronaut,” said Kim in 2020 in the Jocko podcast.

In his explanation, it happened due to a number of accidents that included an ultimate frisbee injury, a college job that triggered parking cards, and a memorable hack that helped him come through the medical faculty.

It all started with a trauma during his childhood in Los Angeles. Kim said he saw how his father, whom he described as alcoholic and abusive, had drawn a weapon on her family. The police shot his father in the attic.

His wish to physically protect his mother and brother led him to become a Navy seal. But an ultimate Frisbee ankle injury delayed his plan to join the Navy as an operations specialist. When he recovered, a recruite steered him to become a paramedic.

In 2005, Kim came to Seal Team three and served as a doctor and sniper, among other things. He deserved a silver star and a bronze star for the treatment of wounded comrades during two tours in Iraq, an experience that motivated him to become a medical faculty.

But for the first time the college was at the University of San Diego. Despite scholarships, he needed a job to take care of the tuition fees. So he distributed parking tickets. “Never think that you are too good for a job,” he said in the Jocko podcast and said the performance taught him to stay humble.

Then came the Harvard Medical School, where he juggled studies, paternity and movement on a wake -up plan from 3:30 a.m. He was looking for time hacks, he said about the podcast “Stories behind the Pecubs” and found a name to learn the distance repetition.

With electronic index cards, he rated each card of 1 (had no idea) to 5 (simple answer). In the next session, the system showed him cards on different frequencies that would optimize learning. “There are little things you can do to improve your memory,” he said.

During the study of medicine, Kim Scott Parazynski, a medical astronaut, met and asked about a career in space. Parazynski impresses with Kim’s skills, intellect and attitude and said Kim would be a strong candidate who becomes astronaut.

Kim never dreamed of space as a child. But he liked the idea to inspire the next generation. He applied to the Astronaut program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was of course accepted the first time.

“He is really superhuman,” said Parazynski. “He is the most interesting man in the world, the DOS Equis type, in real life.”

As part of what NASA calls the Artemis generation, Kim is a candidate for Artemis missions of the agency to the moon and possibly Mars.

At the Astronaut degree in Houston, Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) joked that it was ridiculous that Kim was already a seal of the navy and a doctor trained by Harvard. “He can kill you and then bring you back to life,” said Cruz, “and do everything in space.”

At that time he became the living legend of the Asian-American Community and the source for slight existential fear.

“He is a navy seal. This is bad. He is a doctor who is the dream of all Asian mother. Now he is an astronaut what is the dream of every child,” said Chu. “As Asian Americans, we are proud of Jonny, but also a bit out of fear. He achieved 140% in the life test.”

After completing the astronaut, Kim wanted to maximize his potential, so he crossed the navy and became a certified pilot. But when he prepared for his first space mission, there was one last hurdle.

He will start in a Sojuz capsule on Tuesday and give a trip to the international space station with two Russian cosmonauts. In a recent Star City press conference, Russia, he was asked about the greatest challenge of his mission.

Kim referred to the months in which he acquired another ability because his journey into space is not carried out in English. “The most difficult part was certainly Russian,” he said.

Write to Stu Woo at [email protected]