TV Sitcom George Lopez, My First Crush Was Carmen - Long Beach - 1

I was 15 years old. My family immigrated to Long Beach, and I was just starting to learn English.

At school, it was tough to say even a word, and at home, we spoke Korean.

During that time, my biggest English teacher was TV.

While flipping through channels, I didn't understand much, but I kept it on and watched.

Among those shows, George Lopez caught my eye.

When the laughter came on, I laughed along, trying to guess the situation from the expressions.

But there was one character who stood out to me.

Carmen Lopez. At that time, she was just... my crush.

To be honest, she had the ultimate cute schoolgirl look, but her style was a bit shocking.

In Korean standards, would a 16-year-old wear clothes like that?

Her top revealed a natural cleavage, and her clothes showed off her body line.

Looking back now, it was just typical American teen fashion, but at that time, it felt like a completely different world to me.

TV Sitcom George Lopez, My First Crush Was Carmen - Long Beach - 2

This wasn't just something that ended on screen; it was talked about at school too.

Whether Hispanic or white, everyone talked about Carmen. "Did you see that scene yesterday?" "Carmen wore that outfit again."

Even though I couldn't understand English well, I kept hearing that name.

Carmen. Carmen. Carmen.

At that time, I realized how different our cultures were, even among peers.

I came from a country where we wore uniforms, but here, kids were buzzing about a character's outfit from TV.


The character of Carmen was strong too. She was smart, assertive, and often clashed with her father.

A conservative father and a progressive daughter dynamic.

Looking back now, it's a typical setup, but at that time, I thought, "Wow, can you really say that?"

I couldn't say a word to my teachers at school, but on TV, she was arguing logically with her father.

I later learned that the actress who played Carmen was Masiela Lusha.

I also found out later that she wasn't Latino but was of Albanian descent.

At that time, I just saw her as a character symbolizing the quintessential American popular girl.

Looking back now, it's funny to think that I was so captivated by a character in a sitcom when I couldn't even speak English properly, without subtitles.

But thinking about it, that was the beginning.

It opened my ears, exposed me to culture, and slowly helped me understand the country of America.

Suddenly, I realize that the Carmen I saw on TV is now around the same age as me.

Back then, she was just a person from another world on screen, but now it feels like we're standing on the same timeline.

The actress who played Carmen, Masiela Lusha, was born in 1985, so she's now over 40.

When she played Carmen on George Lopez, she was actually in her late teens, and her character was also a high school student.

After the show, she continued acting in movies and dramas, and also worked as a poet and writer.

I've come this far, and she has walked her own path too. In the end, it seems like we are both aging together in our own places.