What Japan means to me
Sarah Lam (Bronx High School of Science)
Japan. This is the one word that would ring like a bell in my head. At a very young age, I had admired
Japanese artwork – mainly animation and manga. The artwork was beyond what I had ever seen in my life.

The drawings differed for different animation and manga. The eyes, hairstyle, and clothing- the style of
each artwork varied. At this moment, my life revolved around Japan.

I remembered the first time I saw Japanese artwork was during my 2nd year in grade school. At this
time, I had no friends, no companions; all I had were bullies, people who disliked me just from my very
presence. I remembered how no one would help me, how the teachers believed that these “bullies” would
never do such a thing, and how many people who saw my suffering stood idle, done nothing but watched. I
could not dare tell my family of such a situation, did not want them to worry, did not want them to be sad,
and most importantly, I did not want to see their disappointed faces. It was here and then that I was
introduced to animation and manga by my one and only brother. While watching these animations and
reading these manga, it shocked me to read and watched of such a plot. I laughed, cried, rejoiced, and even
had bitter resentment towards different scenes that were portrayed. I thought, “How very amusing. I wish I
can draw like that. Even if I can’t draw, I want to try to write a story similar to this”. During the time I
faced harassment and felt that maybe it would have been better if I wasn’t here, if I wasn’t alive, then
maybe everyone else would be happy, it was Japan that rejuvenated me. It made me realize that life was
harsh and that nothing can always be the way you want it to be. Just like Koyama Mitsuki, a character in
“Full moon o sagashiteru”, although her lover and both her parents deceased, and although she had a tumor,
she struggled to the very last minute to continue living. It told me that life is very precious and that you
can’t give up so easily. It told me to “Live. Strive for the people who love you and don’t you ever give up”.

Japanese artwork acted as remedy to my suffering by allowing me to be “me”. It gave me courage to face
my problems head on. It told me “ganbatte” which means “do your best” in Japanese.

Soon after, I learned about Japanese food, the language, and their history. The more I studied, the
more in love I was in with Japan. It fascinated me when I learned that the very drawings I fell in love with
was based off of Western aspects. It thrilled me to know that Japan was such a flexible country. They bend
to various religions, and countries. I had a teacher who once told me that Japan was a great country. They
adapted to different situations that allowed the Japanese to prosper. During the world war, Japan faced a
terrible crisis which was the possibility of being overrun. The Japanese prevented this from occurring by
taking in other countries beneficial aspects. They took Britain’s navy skills, and took Germany’s military
system which allowed the Germans to have a superior military. What surprised me even more was the
Japanese language. Hiragana, katakana, and kanji – many characters were based off of Chinese letters. I
tried not to get confused between Chinese and Japanese but it acted like a tongue-twister. The more I
thought, the more confused I got but I couldn’t get enough of it. I wanted to know more, learn more about
Japan and how it became the way it is today.

Studying Japanese history encouraged me to try visiting Japan at least once. Recently I found a
scholarship program that allowed high school students to travel to Japan and live with a host family during
the summer to experience Japan firsthand. I was thrilled to go however all my efforts were put aside and
labeled void by my parents. However I haven’t given up hope yet. I still study Japanese language, and
continue learning about their religion and history. If I get a little tired, a little angry, or a little upset, I listen
to Japanese music, watch Japanese animation or read manga to sooth myself. If I feel like I giving up, I tell
myself the magic word – ganbatte.

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