Biography
When I was old enough to understand, my parents told me that I was adopted. Ever since then, I was always interested in learning about Asian culture, something I was not raised with. In middle school, I learned about Japanese history, and read and watched my first manga and anime. Being inspired to learn more about the culture, I decided to take Japanese upon entering high school. During my time in high school, I participated in a statewide Japanese speech contest, winning first place, went to Japan on educational trips twice, and finished having taken four years of Japanese. Having experienced so many things related to Japan, I decided to continue my studies in Japanese at Willamette University since I have found that it is something I would like to use in a future career, and ultimately enjoy.