Hi everyone, my name is Ayumi :) I’m from Japan and came to Southern California last December to get my master’s degree. Now, I’ve been here for 11 months. I’m so excited to write articles for Her Campus because I love writing and sharing my opinions. In this article, I’m going to talk about myself.
First of all, (I want to say sorry to my friends in the US) I’m not originally from Tokyo. I’ve been telling everyone, “Oh I’m from Tokyo, Japan,” but to tell the truth, I was born in the countryside where is one hour away from Tokyo and had spent time there until I graduated from high school.
My big dream since I was a little girl was studying/living abroad. I think my father and aunt influenced this. My aunt speaks English very well and lives in Australia with her Scottish husband. I had always admired her and wanted to be like her all the time. Also, my father was working in Malaysia for three years, so we visited there several times. This experience helped me learn that there are a lot of people and cultures in this world, and that we should respect each other.
One of the big turning points in my life is when I graduated from high school and came to Tokyo. I didn’t want to stay in my hometown which is a quiet and dreary place, so I decided to go to university in Tokyo and live alone. That was very exciting, and luckily I had opportunities with traveling to many countries while I was an undergraduate.
After I graduated from university, I started to work at a company in Tokyo. It gave me many experiences, but I couldn’t give up on my big big dream: studying/living abroad!!
So finally, I came here: Southern California!
When I came here, I decided one thing: “I will try anything as much as possible.” Now, I’m still a shy Japanese girl, but I could make wonderful American and international friends who have a different background, and keep studying hard for my master’s degree.
I live in a place far away from my home and am still hanging in here, so I’m very proud of myself! I can feel myself improving day by day even with driving a car.
Finally, I want to appreciate all my friends in both Japan and the US, and my family, especially my parents. They never stopped me from doing what I’ve wanted to do. They never told me, “No,” even when I said, “I want to move out and study in Tokyo,” or when I told them, “I want to go to Portugal alone,” and finally when I said, “I am quitting my job and going to America.” They have always been supportive of me. So I want to be someone who my parents can be proud of.
Love,
Ayumi