こんにちは!
I have recently started learning Japanese. Why? Because I wanted to. This is one of the more difficult undertakings I’ve begun and I’m excited for it. With the endless stream of information online, and no shortage of listicles in reels, shorts, and blogs highlighting the most important things to learn in 2024, there’s always a desire to learn, but an uncertainty that comes along with it. Where do I start? What do I focus on? Have you ever felt that?
So, what happens next? You pick something and start the learning process. You’re diligent and committed for the first few days, and then one day, the enthusiasm fizzles away. How do you combat this? Don’t try and do everything at once. Do what makes you happy that you think will add value to you.
I’ve been learning Japanese for a couple of weeks, focusing on learning Kana (Hiragana and Katakana), the two main alphabet systems. Each system has 46 basic characters. Thinking about digesting 92 characters plus their variations was daunting, no doubt. But, one thing prevailed – consistency.
My desire to learn pushed me to go at it little by little every day, I learned Hiragana in a fortnight and then got Katakana down at a significantly quicker pace – 2 days! In all honesty, I exceeded my own expectations. As the title suggests, I did surprise myself. I believe anything can be done this way, and the feeling you get when you get when you realize you can do it is marvelous. So, go for it! Learn the skill you want to learn and make a ton of mistakes along the way.
Stay consistent, everyone!