I chose to become a Japanese major so I could connect with my family and visit Japan one day. My Uncle went to Japan and got married and had my cousin, he's one of my best friends. When they moved away I felt compelled to travel to Japan even more than I did before and I was such a big fan of Anime and Manga and Japanese cuisine. In the beginning I was only a Japanese Minor but that changed after I studied abroad. I learned so much from my experience over seas about myself and the world, the way I saw life changed drastically in a positive way. Through my courses and experiences here at CSUMB I have learned and grown immensely.
My second year was when I began to really get into my Japanese courses. It was this year that I began to expand my knowledge on Japanese culture. Learning about the social constructs, issues and Historical aspects.(MLO2) The following year I started to take my higher level language courses to learn how to express myself more effectively in Japanese with the use of vocabulary ,grammar phonetics and more.(MLO1)
Last year (my fourth year) I was able to study abroad for a full year at Toyo University. Toyo University was a good school with a great location I was able to travel to many other areas of Tokyo and immerse myself completely in Japanese everywhere I went.(MLO5) Even though I struggled at times I persevered. My family helped me practice and introduced me to many traditions, areas( like shrines) and ideas that are tied to Japanese culture. My Kanji Teacher during the second semester really explained why Kanji looked the way they did and how the images tied to the meanings and really opened my eyes to different methods of comprehention. I was able to have the greatest time of my life and learn so much from this experience while making many friends along the way. My Capstone project required me to enhance my research, presentation and professional skills. (MLO4) The Capstone project was a very intense project and I think that with the pressure I was able to enhance my Japanese skills. The skills learned here will definitely benefit me in the future and is extremely valuable. My Stay here at CSUMB taught me so much that has contributed to me growing as a student and a person. I hope to grow even farther especially in my knowledge of Japanese. I hope to connect with people from all over the world and to encourage them all to travel and chase their own dreams. I believe that Graduating from CSUMB and taking my experiences and knowledge is the first step.