Finding a balance between the two
I was born in Okinawa, Japan to an American father and a Japanese mother. I grew up in a woman-dominated household with my older brother and younger sister. Our life was a mix of American and Japanese culture and we would speak both English and Japanese at home. I went to an international school so I spoke English in class and Japanese to while hanging out after school. Other than language, my life at home was filled with traditional Japanese culture and customs. One of those cultural things was a collectivism that pervades Japanese society. I wanted to do well to make my family, school, and friends proud, but I did little for myself in that regard.
When it came time for me to go to college I realized that I couldn’t go to a Japanese college because I’ve learned with an American system all these years, so I would have to go to college in America. After deciding on Seattle for its diversity, I moved here and found myself in America, a place that is very individualistic and my collectivistic Japanese upbringing was not common. I was starting fresh in a way coming to a place where I knew no one, so I had the opportunity to change my views and how I do things a bit. I was able to merge the two cultures together, finding a balance between the two. Part of that was realizing that everyone goes at different speeds and finding your speed is really important, but trying to go someone else’s speed is harmful to you.
My goal in life is to help kids. I love kids and want to be an elementary school counselor to help those kids that need extra attention to help reach their full potential. Even if I can’t be a school counselor, any job that lets me help kids is my ideal job. Beyond a career, my other dream in life is to see the world, to live in many different interesting places around the globe. Even though I want to see the world, I also want to go back to Japan to live and work there for a time. Though it's where I came from, it is where my support comes from and I want to give back to my family and friends in gratitude of the help they’ve given me all these years.
