An International Student's Soliloquy on Introspection

I arrived to Japan as an externality riding the residual momentum of another person's dream. In other words, I was wandering directionless in an unknown land without the slightest hint of personal purpose. Academically, I knew my objective was to get a master's degree in architectural engineering. And, what better place to do it than in the architecturally captivating and seismically active Japan! But as an individual, I felt I was aimlessly adrift in a sea of everchanging faces against the backdrop of a campus that spectacularly exploded in glamorous seasonal pageantry seemingly every other week.

How exhausting it was to be inundated with a reminder of the passage of time with the powdery snow and the pink cherry blossoms and the crisp summer rain and the golden autumn leaves! But how exhilarating it was to grow and mature to just how vibrant and dynamic life can be! What once felt like someone else's dream was now my own, and my internal landscape shifted to reflect my own ambitions.

I made my way based off my own values and aspirations that I learned to determine for myself. Where a degree in engineering was once just a means for eventual employment, I found I had enough fun in large-scale structural experiments and research to lead me to continue into the PhD program at Hokudai. It would be regrettable to even consider otherwise. A hearty 頑張れ to the students reading, and cheers to ambition, Hokkaido Gourmet, and the splendor of living.