My father was a high school teacher, and was sent to teach Japanese at a Chinese university as part of a project to strengthen friendly relations between Japan and China. From 1989 to 1991, I lived in China and attended a local kindergarten and elementary school. The thing that left the biggest impression on me was the diligence of the students who were studying Japanese. On one midwinter night, a student put on a traditional short coat and came to the house to ask my father a question. As I watched my father reply, my young heart thought "I'd like to do a job like that some day."

After I returned to Japan, I majored in Japanese language education at college. I was impressed by one of Professor Hideyuki Yoshioka's papers, and immediately decided to enter the Graduate School of Japanese Applied Linguistics. My family was continually unhappy about how much stood before me, and I could no longer hope for any assistance from them. Working part time to earn tuition and living expenses was even harsher than I had imagined. There were times when I didn't have enough money for food or rent, and I even temporarily began to give up the idea of continuing my studies. I was impatient at having to work when everyone was studying, and slowly began to pity myself.

However, Professor Yoshioka was the one who supported me in such times. He encouraged me day and night through research advising, and taught me to never lose sight of my goal. He also wrote recommendation letters for as many scholarships as I could apply for, and introduced me to work that could connect with my research.

To live up to Professor Yoshioka's encouragement, I threw myself into research whenever I wasn't working. No matter how much I cut back on sleeping and eating, I never decreased the amount of time I spent sitting at a desk. Perhaps as a result, I finished the Master's Program as Valedictorian, and was able to proceed onto the Doctoral Program. And although I had once been on the verge of giving up trying to become a Japanese Professor, I was invited to do exactly that job at Fudan University.

Many difficulties are involved in pursuing one's chosen career path. But you can't give up or feel pity for yourself. If you never lose sight of your path no matter how bad things are, the way will open up before you.

As Nietzsche once said, "You can tell from someone's walk whether they are walking on their own path. Look at how I walk! When people come close to their goals, their legs begin to dance."

I'm going to continue my graduate school studies while working as a teacher at a Chinese university. Finally, my legs have begun to beat out their own rhythm.