JEEPNEY PRESS January - February 2019

Not all who wander are lost.

Art by Dennis Sun

Pahayagang Pinoy sa Japan

Celebrating The Journeys Of Filipinos In Japan

January - February 2019

“YOMU”

by Dennis Sun

We have 12 months in a year. And when January comes, it always means new beginnings and fresh starts. We embrace life with a new perspective. We give a fresh look into the future and await for all the wonderful possibilities that can happen.

On the first month of the year, we think of new goals to achieve. A perfect body with those incredible abs by enrolling in the gym. Or a better command of the Japanese language by taking a course in school. Saving more yen by skipping those café macchiatos at Starbucks every morning. Earning more yen by getting another part-time job teaching English. We can make so many goals. We may succeed or not. But it all boils down to this question: Are we even willing to start?

People procrastinate. We have so many excuses. Today is not a good day. Maybe tomorrow. Next week. Next month. Maybe when I get a salary raise. When my children grow up.

Starting is always the most difficult thing to do. Yet once we do, momentum takes over. Even when I am writing an article, the beginning seems always the most challenging thing for me to do. But once I begin to type a few sentences, everything eventually develops. Words end up into sentences. And sentences connect to more sentences. Paragraphs are formed until, the whole article is finished.

Having lived for a long time in Japan, I am always faced with situations when I sometimes cannot read the Japanese writings on the wall, on the menu, in the mail. So I tell myself to go to school and study Japanese. I have actually spent so much money learning Japanese many times, many years ago. Once I was so busy, so I just attended weekend classes. And when I couldn’t go to school anymore, I took correspondence courses. But the best way to learn is to go to school everyday and give priority to learning. I actually once gave myself a year of studying Japanese for 2 hours every night in school. I learned a lot. It’s been more than a couple of years past and I am itching to go back to school again and learn.

I don’t worry about not being able to attain perfection anymore. Sometimes, just thinking about the end goal, that perfect image of what you want to achieve, can be suffocating. Because I am not a native Japanese, I know it’s difficult to gain mastery of this language. But so long as I continue to study, I know that my Japanese level is in a much better place than yesterday.

Whatever it is you want to do, just start. Start and start, and start again. We may fail once, twice, thrice or more but we shouldn’t fear to stand up over and over again. Face your fears and focus on your future goals. Hey, it’s February already and though January is gone, you can always start again.

Remember, there is no dress rehearsal in life. You just do what you have to do. Make mistakes. Make lots of mistakes. But learn from them. Go now, and enjoy!