Fellow:Ayana Tamura
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Hi, my name is Ayana Tamura. I'm from Gunma, Japan. I live in Sendai, a compact city with rich nature and delicious fish. I major in Educational Psychology. I belong to the clinical psychology lab. I am interested in psychology in the fields of education, such as student motivation, attitude of learning and career counseling. This is because that I was the oldest of my siblings and cousins, and my role and enjoyment was to teach them something.
What did you all do in the COVID-19 pandemic? In April 2020, I entered university. In East Asia, many students are facing competitive. I was no exception. I spent much of my high school years studying for exams in order to get into a better ranked university. Fortunately, my parents did not pressure me to go to a good university, but I felt a lot of stress about my grades, test scores, or acceptance rank. Despite these anxieties, I was able to pass the exam. I remember feeling more uncomfortable than happy.
Just then, that pandemic broke out. Some people might use time effectively, such as studying language they were interested in, reading books or cooking etc. Although time is what I wanted the most in high school, I had no interest or drive to do anything at that time. I was burned out. And I hated the virus that had ruined my promised university life. At that time, I had no real sense of control over my life. I was passive to the world and to my own life.
However, when I was a junior, I came across a sentence, "What can change a life is not reactions but actions” by a writer. He also said that true life begins when you start asking yourself, "How can I entertain others?” This was a shock to me because I had never learned anything like this in my school life.
After that, I started taking on the challenge of entertaining people through communication. Take an interest in the people around me and speak to. Ask questions and lead them into deeper conversations. Observe carefully and praise. These small challenges have changed my passive mindset in a big way. This is my “first” success story in my life.
And then, I started working part-time at a university as a student peer supporter called SLA. My main job is planning and organizing events. For example, there are philosophy cafes, events to interact with international students at museums, events related to reading, and so on. While working as an SLA, I realize my motivation for designing events plan and organizing my team.
In addition, I went to study abroad in Spain and Korea for two weeks each. Both were so exciting experiences. In Spain, I had a cultural exchange. I had never studied Spanish before, so I taught myself. When I was able to actually use the language I had learned beforehand in the country, I was motivated to learn. The language I learned during the cultural exchange is my treasure. “Qué maravilla!” In Korea, I had discussions with students from East Asian countries on educational issues in East Asia. I am currently an undergraduate student, but I ventured to participate in this course for graduate students. I had always wanted to go to graduate school after completing my undergraduate degree, so this course helped me to get an idea of what my career would be like.
From these background and experiences, I believe education should mention about the meaning of learning and attitude. I think it should change essentially. We live in a world where change happens all the time and we cannot predict what will happen in the next few years. I want to encourage people to believe “I’m the main character in my life” and act in any situation.
I am interested in the field of the arts. I enjoy traveling, visiting museums, taking pictures, and reading books. I enjoy these hobbies because they provide me with opportunities to think deeply, expand my horizons and came up with ideas. I also enjoy the process of exploring my world of interest through these hobbies. For example, a trip to Spain got me interested in the architect Antonio Gaudi, and I read books about Gaudi's beliefs and work style. His belief in "create things that make people happy" and his bottom-up work style of actively adopting the ideas of his craftsmen influenced me. Action brings hobbies to enrich life. ー“Gentlemen, let us make this even better tomorrow”
Thank you for reading!
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