Essay - "My Dream Coming True" (18th Sep 2008)

The encounter with English

It was when I was in the sixth grade that I joined the “English conversation club." Its main activities were basically games using English words, such as the Hangman. I liked playing those games, and I was interested in English a little bit.

When I was the first year student in a junior high school, I experienced to be frustrated with English, because my first test resulted in 20 points out of 50, while friends got 40 points in average and even some got 50. I was terribly worried about this, and I came to study hard about English for the first time.

Why I decided to go and study abroad

It has been my childhood dream to study about Ancient Egypt. When I met a book called “the Seven Wonders of the World,” I was eight years old. The first “wonder” in this book was written about the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. I was amazed and impressed by this huge ancient monument.

However, I was deeply disappointed in my second year in a high school. This was because I found that no universities in Japan provided a serious, proper course on Ancient Egypt, as opposed to my hope. Then, I looked for universities outside Japan on the Internet. In the end, I found the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom where I am studying now. I had no choice but to study abroad, in order to make my childhood dream come true.

Difficulties in the university and in life there

The most serious problem was my English. At that time when I first arrived in Liverpool in 2006, I could understand what textbooks said, but I couldn’t follow what lecturers said. After I had finished my first year there in non-Japanese environment, my English got unbelievably improved, especially in listening and speaking. But still, I feel that I need practices to write better essays and speak much fluently.

Life there in Liverpool is not better than I used to think of before coming to the city. I cannot stand food there, and so I cook meals myself. But you will be surprised and excited by the scenery with brilliant old buildings. Many are built a few hundred years ago and are still in use. Actually, I lived in a house built in the Georgian era (1714-1830) last year.

My opinion changed after leaving for the UK

Before my studying abroad, I had been proud of Japan for its technology and culture. Now that I could see Japan from outside, my opinion has changed. We Japanese tend to focus on the very practical studies with the post-war education policy, and we are losing our own traditions.

Of course, we are facing the needs of technology, science, engineering, economics, politics, and so on. You may dream of becoming a scientist, doctor, engineer, and so forth with the passion inside your heart. But in general, it seems that there lacks romanticism like the formerly leading scientist in our past had, such as Wright brothers who played with a toy “airplane” given by their father and finally invented the first successful airplane in 1903; or workers within the Apollo program in 60-70s.

No dream, no future.

My current and specific dreams

One of my dreams is to become a professor teaching Ancient Egyptian languages in a Japanese university. Another is to set up a department of Egyptology (the study of Ancient Egypt) in order that no more students like me may be disappointed and that many successors may appear.

In addition, I am very curious to think about how to restore such romanticism among Japanese people, especially the youth who will lead the world to the better one.

What to do for the dreams from now on

What I will do is enjoy my life, so that I may not have regrets. “Study hard and play hard.” I learnt this lesson from Masa, who teaches English to the third year students now (in 2008).

How I learnt English

I hated to study after school. Contrary to your expectations, I have never gone to a preparatory or cram school or an English school such as NOVA. What I did were preparations and revisions for most of all classes. As for English, I also studied for Eiken tests and took the second grade in January when I was in the second year.

It was required to have a score of over 180 out of 300 in TOEFL test, in order to enter the University of Liverpool as an international student. I started to study for this when I was the third year student, and I achieved a passing point in July in 2005. Then I started to write a required essay on why I chose the university.

I had never taken any entrance exam for universities in Japan. As I didn’t like studying about what I didn’t like, I made myself make a do-or-die effort, by not preparing and studying for entering universities in Japan.

Now that I became an undergraduate at the university, I enjoy everything there with all my heart, even though it might seem that I study harder and harder.

How to make your dream come true

All you have to do is dream of your future and keep going on what you want to do now. Some may still not notice a potential to realise “something”.

This is my belief that one has always a chance unless one gives up and runs away.

Go for it!

Ask, and it shall be given you; Seek, and ye shall find; Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

(Bible, New Testament, Matthew 7:7)