As a freshman at Columbia university most of my classmates in Tatsumi-sensei's first year Japanese class are sophomores or seniors. For most of them, the motivation to take this class is clear. Some have an internship related to Japanese culture. Others need to fulfill a language requirement. All of these are reasonable explanations. But that leaves me...
Why am I taking Japanese?
The truth is, there is no clear reason why. First I guess I have to mention my early fascination with Japanese anime/manga. Starting with Pokemon, this hobby quickly spiraled into an obsession complete with cosplay, jpop, and silly crushes on imaginary characters. But this was all just a phase. By the time I graduated from middle school, my intense love for manga died down as well.
Next, I guess I have to consider practical reasons. Japan is the 3rd biggest economy of the world. As a native speaker of Chinese and English (the languages of the first and second largest economies), from a career standpoint, taking Japanese makes perfect logical sense.
But that sounds almost too practical for a 19 year old...
Truth be told, the best answer to this question would probably be "why not". As cliche as it may sound, the next four years of my life may be my last chance to devote my life to studying without worrying about bills, rent, taxes, and all the complications of being a true adult. I see this as my last chance to learn a language, to acquire a skill that will follow me for the rest of my life.
To those of my fellow freshmen who only have one class some days.... I AM jealous. But not as jealous as you'll be when I can converse in fluent Japanese!
