Initial Thoughts (9/1)

 Konnichiwa, minnah! Hajimemashite. 

My name is Jessica, and I'm very excited to begin learning Japanese this year. All throughout my life, I have felt passionate about exploring cultures and learning of other languages. It was difficult for me to decide what language to learn during my college career, but I am happy to have selected Japanese. 

One reason I chose to study this language was because of the similarities that exist between Japanese and Spanish, my native language. Through some online research and videos, I discovered that these two languages have extremely similar pronunciations. Additionally, I learned that Japanese utilizes three writing systems, a characteristic that makes this language all the more fascinating to me. When I was younger, I became interested in anime and manga, which taught me some small phrases in the Japanese language. All of these events led me to consider studying the language! 

This year, I am so excited to continue learning basic yet helpful Japanese phrases that can be used frequently. I can't wait to continue improving my Japanese accent. Lastly, I am looking forward to practicing/memorizing more hiragana and becoming comfortable enough to read and write sentences at a faster pace.