It was 460 days ago that I began this journey of returning to school to finish a bachelor’s degree in accounting and learn Japanese. During that time, a lot happened to me and my life. There have been extreme ups and extreme downs. I would be lying if I said that all the times were good, and I would be lying if I said all the times were bad.
We face a pandemic and uncertainty along with supply chain shortages worldwide. A war began in Ukrainian that many believed would only last a few months but has dragged on for nearly a year. Because of the war and other circumstances involving the pipeline that stretches from Russia to Germany, the world has fallen into an energy crisis. Following the pandemic, the united states have seen inflation that hasn’t been seen since the 80s. There was a period of time when gas was nearly $5.00 a gallon, forcing many people to reconsider their travel plans.
In September, the Japanese Government announced that on October 11, the entry ban would be lifted for tourists. no longer would individuals who had three Covid-19 shots have to show a negative test or self-quarantine for 14 days. I booked my trip on October 10th, 2022, for spring break in March 2023. By the time I go, I will have waited three years since I first booked a spring adventure. The other neat fact is that it will be ten years since I went to France. This makes me think of the old saying, “where will you be in ten years.”
Up until now has been no walk in the park and a testament to how far I have come and how much further I have to go. In my first semester of school, I worked full-time and part-time jobs to get ahead. The first semester had its set back, and although I didn’t fail any classes, I did not get the grades I needed and had to rethink my plans. The class availability did not help, as many classes were not offered when I planned to take them.
The daily grind wore on me more than I imagined, and I found myself in the depths of depression. Winters and lack of sunlight did not help. And my work balance life greatly impacted me and made me question my sanity at times, enough to push harder and dream dreams of going further than ever imagined.
This road began with a lesson in forgiveness. For all the things that could be said about my colorful and chaotic past, it can be summed up with the idea of France. In my senior year, I asked to go with my class to France but was denied the opportunity due to financial struggles. Spite the fact that they were able to do things for others in the family that no financially strapped family would do or consider doing. Spite the fact that I could have resentment or anger over the situation, I instead define myself with the Words of the French emperor napoleon, “I came, I saw, and I conquered.”
I eventually went to France on my own dime and accord and on my own dime, but I didn’t just stop there. I went to Japan twice, L.A. twice, and Istanbul once. Now, I am ready to go to Japan for the third time and begin planning for my next great adventure. Japan 4.0 and Korea 1.0. And, as I begin the end of this semester with one test left in each class, I embark on my last semester before graduation.
Forgiveness: I have a beautiful life and wish to know it as I feel and believe it and share it with others.
Winter break is a time to rebuild and develop my personal projects in art. I want to finish my rough draft for a book, paper, and an idea I have had about life, identity, and our place in everything. There are also ideas regarding economics and politics that I would like to get down on paper. I also have the daunting task of truly putting forth an effort in at least become proficient in learning Japanese.
Spring semester holds the Japan trip and my graduation. With three classes and a world trip, the grind will be honest, to say the least, requiring my very best in everything.
The second half of the plan is to become finical stable again after graduation, right side up in what I refer to as The Revolutionary Economic policy. Graduation is May 16th, 180 days until then. After graduation, I intend to study for my CPA exam and pass it as early as September and October. The goal is to pass my test and celebrate my accomplishments along with my birthday with a trip to Korea and Japan in October 2023.
The additional endeavors regarding these plans are to develop my mental strengths further and become physically fit, lose weight and begin to feel better about my help and position. I am excited about what’s to come and eager to know that great things are happening on the horizon when I talk to my brother and best friend.
Considering how far I have come and intend to go, I place myself in an exclusive group of thinkers. The ordinary person only dreams of traveling but never leaves the safety of their home or country to experience the unknown magic of the world. Others no longer have the opportunity and have regret. I do not intend to live my life like that. The one thing that would make this journey even better would be to share it’s happening and unfolding. I have many supporters, but I am talking about a different kind. I am referring to the relationship where I share my story and make one together. Where the past isn’t as important as the future, and the future is not so overwhelming that it steals the limelight from the present.
But why do all this? Why pursue such a course of action, and why pick Japan and Korea as my destination? I am reminded of JFK’s speech about why go to the moon.
But why some say the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain why 35 years ago why fly the Atlantic. Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE EASY BUT BECAUSE THEY ARE HARD. BECAUSE THAT GOAL WILL SERVE TO ORGANIZE AND MEASURE THE BEST OF OUR ENERGY AND SKILLS. BECAUSE THAT CHALLENGE IS ONE, WE ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT. ONE WE ARE UNWILLING TO POSTPONE AND ONE WE INTEND TO WIN.” JFK AT RICE TEXAS SPEECH
My goals push me to be more than I am right now. And more than most ever strive to be or do. No, I am not in competition with others, but life is out there, and it’s happening right now, and I want to be a part of it. I picked Asia because initially, I went to japan because I was hating my life and picked a place that I knew absolutely nothing about. I loved anime and decided to start with North America’s largest anime convention and then just go to where the home of anime was born. There I learned so much about myself and what I want in life. I had never felt more free and open to being myself than when I was there. The field of study is like learning another foreign language; only once you understand it, you understand the business world.