A break does you good

I'm feeling much better now - if there's one good thing about being ill, it's that you always feel pretty good afterwards - so yesterday I got out my notepad and decided to start studying Japanese again. I've drawn up a really precise timetable of all the stuff I have to do over the next couple of months and I plan to stick to it.

I'm actually quite glad to be learning again, because although I did manage to take my mind off Japanese for a month or so after my exams, the thought that I probably should be studying was always there at the back of my mind. It kinda sucks, but that's just the way it is. Now though, I've found that I seem to have a renewed passion for Japanese again. My interest in Japan/Japanese tends to undulate quite a bit, and throughout this past year there were times when I truly did regret choosing Japanese as a degree, but at the moment I'm happy again with my decision.

I think a lot of this is because the thought of me going to Japan excites and motivates me to make sure I'm at a decent level of proficiency when I arrive there in September. I also think that the break I've had has done my good, because although I've forgotten a lot of stuff, I've rediscovered my enthusiasm, and now I'm able to study at my own pace and with my own goals, rather than for an exam (in fact, I just feel a bit more at ease with life in general after the break).

When people ask me why I chose to study Japanese, I often joke and say I couldn't think of anything else to do, and while there is a small element of truth in that, there were other reasons for my choice that I've now remembered. And I've been building myself up to going abroad to study in Japan ever since I chose to apply for Japanese Studies 3 years ago, so I'm really looking forward to it now. As the Japanese would say: とても楽しみにしている!