About

Japanese has been a core pillar of my life for many years. After watching hundreds of hours of Japanese content as a kid and after immersing in the culture as an adult, I decided the perfect long-term goal is to become business fluent by the time I hit 30.

I lived in Japan for three months in 2026, and while I was able to navigate everyday situations and have casual conversations, I still have a long way to go. Learning this language has taught me a lot about consistency and managing expectations for long-term goals. It has also allowed me to embrace and immerse myself in a new culture, which has been instrumental to my personal growth.

I am currently working toward conversational fluency and the JLPT N3.

In my early 20s, I finally understood the power of reading. I started by reading lots of manga, but over the next few years it evolved into something much more meaningful to me.

I've explored vast sci-fi worlds, indulged in classic literature, learned about linguistics and philosophy, and most recently, fallen down an incredibly deep digital privacy rabbit hole.

These are aspects of my recent life that I would never have known I cared about if my past self had never decided to pick up a book, and I'm grateful they did.

Music producing, listening, and collecting are all important to me. I used to create music with my high school friends, and it fostered some of my fondest childhood memories. It is one of the best ways to connect with others, and it has comforted me for as long as I can remember.

I view this hobby as the one I like to learn the most about. There are an endless number of rabbit holes to go down, bands and storylines to follow, concerts to go to, and friends to make.

Plus, I love buying physical media, and this is hands down my favorite medium to collect.

Ever since I was a kid, I have enjoyed making fun videos. As I got older, this fun hobby matured into the creation of multiple YouTube channels, video essays, artistic videos cut to music, funny moments with my friends, etc.

I hope one day to pursue this in a more serious manner, whether that be as my own personal brand or as marketing for some sort of product.

I tried this on a whim when visiting my friend in LA one day, and I was immediately hooked. This replaced skateboarding for me as my social physical activity. I love how seamlessly it combines both physical and mental exercise into one.

While I don't do it as much as I used to, I enjoy having a hobby that I don't force myself to be consistent with. I just enjoy it whenever I like to.

My friends and I learned how to skate during the pandemic. Even once quarantines were lifted, I spent nearly all of my free time learning new tricks, making new friends, and filming myself for a YouTube channel.

I was very proud of my progress. I learned more than I thought I could in three years. New tricks were great to get down, but more importantly, I learned how to learn, how to embrace failure, and how rewarding it is to put in the time to reach my goals. I carry these lessons into every new hobby I have picked up since then.