And here I am again, this time however having spent 8 months in Japan. It's funny how my interest on this site to read Japanese sparked a life changing event. I now know that Japan will be a large part of my future. At this point I think this manga won't be a problem for me anymore. I've purchased the physical version and I think I'll read through it to see how much I can understand without any help. It just goes to show you, life goes on, so how will you decide to spend you time? What changes in your life will be made after 4 years? why not do a little bit of something every day and see how your efforts give birth to something so massive. Trust me, time flies.
(Almost) 4 years after my previous post. Haha, I never intended to comment updates on this post but I guess I can't stop now. And now to answer my rhetorical question about how your life world change after 4 years.
I graduated university and have been living in Japan for just over 2 years now (2 years + about 1 month). I'm not pursuing the career I thought I would be and think I may live in Japan for a very long time now. I have a girlfriend and it's getting pretty serious. I also ride a motorcycle and have been to 44/47 prefectures in Japan. I'm actually thinking of making a Youtube channel about life here.
Anime and manga hasn't been a big part of my life for these past 4 years (except Dragon Ball which I started in 2016). However, with the announcement that Strike Witches will finally be getting it's 3rd season next year I brushed the dust off my old Strike Witches manga and decided to reread it. It's funny how easily I get through it now. I used to struggle in the beginning, constantly looking up every kanji and barely understanding the grammar of most sentences, not to mention how I missed a lot of the nuances because I wasn't looking at it with the Japanese lens (which I have now adopted after living here and submerging myself in the culture).
I forgot how much of an impact Strike Witches had on my life. Back 8 years ago when writing my original comment I never thought I'd be here today. In fact, I never thought I'd even start learning Japanese. I'm where I am today thanks to it. Hopefully someone reading this can gain some kind of inspiration from this. As I mentioned before, time moves forward regardless of how you spend it, and in 4 years from now you can be in exactly the same position you were before or be part of an amazing new world you never would of imagined. Just doing a little bit every day for 4 years takes you there.
Maybe I'll comment again in another 4 years ;) I wonder how different my life will be by then. So for now, good luck, don't give up and see you in 4 years.
The other day I thought about this post that's become kind of tradition now. I couldn't remember which site I commented all this on but just found it. Funny enough, it's been about 4 years since the last post! So here's a short update:
I still live in Japan, but I don't ride a motorcycle anymore, I traded it in for a car. Also, I actually got married to my beautiful Japanese wife last year. The craziest part is that she doesn't even speak English. My entire relationship with her has only been in Japanese. Whether it came to renting a house, buying a car, dealing with taxes and other visa paperwork, it's all been in Japanese and I've been doing it on my own. It's crazy to look back on my first post where I still couldn't even understand what was said in this one page, and now I'm casually submerged in it all. I guess I've really grown a lot huh.
I've been to all the prefectures now. It was a pain in the butt to accomplish since Japan was terrified of COVID and kept a lot of restrictions until the middle of this year (2023). The economy isn't doing well either, partially due to that. Regardless, I quit the job I was doing before and am considering doing something I'm actually passionate about instead of simply seeking financially gain. I don't want to waste my time in a job I dislike anymore. I don't want to look back on my life and see that I was simply chasing "financial freedom." Bashar, Human Design, and QHHT have all caught my eye.
In addition, I've always wanted to draw. As I loved it as a kid but quit after I lost a sketchbook I had. I've wanted to get back into it so bad for years and years, but I've been afraid to. I just think whatever I draw just isn't good enough. Maybe I'll take my advice from 8 years ago and do a little everyday. I'm going to be honest though, it terrifies me for some reason - the feeling of never improving. That might sound ironic coming from someone who's made this much progress in Japanese and completely changed the trajectory of his life, but I'm taking the leap of faith now. Hopefully in 4 years I'll have a wonderful update to post here. We'll see
Oh my. Aren't you Miyafuji-san's-So, just how longdo you plan to keep doing that to the lieutenant colonel?*bang bang bang*Gunshots!?oh my oh my