Hello, everyone!

So, this year I will pursuing Japanese even further since I'm going to study it at university, so I thought I'd share a few ways I learn or stay motivated.

Yello~

I really can't believe it, but very soon, I will be attending university. For so long I was so lost that I thought I would need to defer for a year and find my place. But, I am very glad that I didn't since I am bored being at home already, another year would drive me crazy.

Whenever teachers would go around the class, asking each student what they wanted to do after school, everyone would know what they wanted to do, but I didn't. This stressed me out beyond anything.

I wasn't particularly good at anything, I was creative and had a keen interest in languages, but how on earth would this turn into a career? Nevertheless, I was determined to pursue something that relates to my interests. After all...

Long story short, I am now going to be studying Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Japanese/International Relations. Boom.

But, enrolling and preparing my life as a university of student has probably been one of the most confusing experiences of my life. All of a sudden, I'm alone in front of this computer screen, enrolling and trying to understand all these new terms.

 Especially since my course is made up of many little courses that you put together. It was so confusing, and this is coming from someone who did high school maths
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

Remember, you are not as as alone as you might think. I need to realize that sometimes, haha. There are plenty of resources and support out there, don't be afraid to use it!

After all, we are now living in the age where internet provides almost everything and sometimes, things are detailed step by step of what you need to do. Go to the website of your university, or more specifically, the faculty you will be studying, and there should be contact details that you can use if you need help. I emailed and submitted questions when I needed help, and they got back to me very quickly with great help, and if I still needed help, they offered to talk me through it over the phone. I even got a call randomly before any of this from a lady at the Student Support who checked whether I was managing okay, which I wasn't, so she was basically an angel who descended through a phone call to me.

Don't be scared to contact them when you are confused, since different courses and managing your timetable can be quite confusing! Use whatever you need to get you where you need to be. There are apps to help you remember your timetable, and everything!

My dad also suggested to me to practice travelling to university, I have to take the bus for two hours for example, so that you know how to get there properly and on time! I had an orientation week which was a perfect opportunity for me to get to know the route I need to take to university and become confident in taking it.

University or college is another stage in our life, a new one that will allow us to find our place in the world. Everything is not set in stone, you can change what you study if you wish to take on another path in life. So, don't worry! There is always hope and new opportunities will always come along.

Enjoy life!

Nina

"The story takes place in a technologically advanced society in which robots can be programmed to behave like a complete human. A robot is asked to replace "Hal", who died in an accident, to help Kurumi, Hal's girlfriend, move on with her life. "Hal" struggles to understand the real Hal's past, Kurumi's affections towards Hal as well as the meaning of being alive." -Wikipedia

So, I recently watched the anime movie "Hal", and wow, it was a great movie! I have actually been on a bit of an anime hiatus but this caught my eye as I remembered I wanted to watch it before, and I'm so glad I did; I enjoyed it and it brought me off of my anime hiatus!

 The Story and Characters: 

Now, I'm the kind of person who can usually predict what will happen in a movie, so I thought I was following along with the story line, and then bam! there was a huge plot twist.

The movie got straight to the point at the beginning, and then it started to be a bit slow so I thought it would drag out and then end the way I thought it would, but just like almost every anime movie I watch, everyone was turned around and it was so unexpected, sad but interesting!

The characters were quite realistic with how they deal with different situations and the female lead, Kurumi was so pretty! Hal is quite cute too. Haha.

It was a good story and something new I haven't seen before!

The Animation:

 One thing I seem to have forgotten, was how pretty the animation of anime can be. And this movie definitely shows that. The animation didn't was simple and beautiful when it needed - not overshadowing the story line or characters. 

Overall Rating:

 

Overall, I would give this a 4/5 totoros. I loved the story line and characters, but I feel like they should have developed it a little more as it had so much potential as since the world is so futuristic and some of the characters had a dark past, I would have liked to find out more about that. Of course, this could be left up to the viewer's imagination but 

it would have been nice to see.

I would definitely recommend this movie, it was interesting and has a bit of everything: it was cute, had sci-fi and a bit of action, it had romance, all with visually appealing animation. Give it a go!

Sorry, my review is quite simple as I don't want to give much away or spoil it :)

Enjoy life!

Nina