(By Mayumi Muraishi, New Advance Class teacher)

It was four years ago when I transferred to California State University, Fresno, from Kanda Institute of Foreign Language, Tokyo. Before I came to the U.S., my goal was to obtain the TOEFL score to enter University.  Why did I want to enter? There were several reasons. First, I was losing my interest in Japanese Education. It does not allow students to participate actively in a class through the silence of a classroom, although some merit is the smooth progression of lecture along its commanded task and agenda. Next, the required study by a school or others was not persuasive enough for me to do. I rarely studied the given equirements, since I was 13 or 14 years old after I studied and sacrificed my freedom for an excellent grade. Therefore, certainly I learned uniquely and gained wonderful experiences, which were wrong for preparing for the Japanese college exam. In addition, the entrance to American universites was wide-opened, diverse and flexible. Another reason was to take a trip to overseas, meet, and talk to The Beatles.  I even wrote a letter to Sir. Paul McCartney after I looked up each word in a dictionary a thousand times. There was an achievement when I mailed it, although he is still too shy and procrastinating to reply. Automatically and simply I noticed the need for English skills in a society. Of course my English was much worse then. All I could tell was what the assignment was in the class. I did not know what the lecture was all about. I tried to get some help, but I could not even explain in English to tutors what I did not understand. I did not know anyone for help. How I could enter the university is still the question. My problems were not only academic, but also cultural. At that time, I majored in Child Development, which I thought was not suitable. Actually for me there were two choices of majors; Child Development or Theatre Arts, but the latter choice was too risky for me to take since art is hard to be materialized. Little by little, my excitement for studying abroad was falling apart. Under the harsh pressure such as my academic performance, my financial matters, the cultural differences, and especially American diet, I was getting sick and had to take the counseling. In the sessions, I even discussed about dropping out and going back to Japan. In spite of that, the counselor said as another option, “Why don’t you take some classes you like and are able to, like P.E. or art? Have fun with it.” That one suggestion changed my way of thinking dramatically. I started taking choir, P.E., and acting classes, which did not require fluent English skills, but those were my favorite subjects. Now, I remember the days when I used to cry, but there is my diploma in Theatre Arts next to me. In order to pursue Theatre Arts or English vise versa, or  to accomplish my goals I needed to understand another field of study. Maybe I was not an excellent student, but I kept and am going to study what I have a passion for, in the appreciation of the support from kind mentors and good friends. Finding and meeting a passion seems to be the most important thing for children. I believe that something children love to learn leads or connects to another study or the step to the next level. I really appreciate that my path was given to me with a purpose.