Nihongo Lesson As Stress-Reliever

Everyone who hears that I enrolled in a Japanese language class would ask WHY?! And then they become concerned about my schedule and how I can squeeze in time for school. I was too. However I found that my Japanese lessons have been a good outlet away from the stress, pressures and complexities of life. In Asahi Culture Center I am just a plain student. The class course has also become really interesting and relevant to my life that I really enjoy the 2x a week, 9.50-12.20nn session a week. Our class discussion focuses on simple and deep life-issues. Our first was about やる気 (motivation). Motivation comes from deciding first within yourself whether you like or hate something, and then the three factors kick-in: Curiousity, Goal, Reward. After motivation, interestingly, next was しょうがない (Nothing I can do about it). There are events in life which we do not have any control over, and it is as if there is an unseen force that influence an outcome and no matter how much we fight or control it, we cannot. Some people call it fate or destiny and when we are up against them しょうがない . Today, we come to life's choices. We live in a world where small and big choices in good and bad situations will determine our future. 人生のいろいろな選択だ！ I find myself smiling as these topics are really relevant to me these days. And because I have too many assignments, I go home earlier and work on them until 1am. My eyes get tired and amazingly, I start to fall deeply asleep. I'm barely 2 weeks to this class but I can already see the return - on my mind less stress, on my health more sleep and I am starting to feel a little young at heart, once more.