“Every ‘L’ isn’t a loss. Some are lessons.” — Russ (Russell Vitale, Rapper)

There isn’t much to my story, yet, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.

I am a failed soccer player. I dreamed of playing professionally in Japan’s J. League. Unfortunately for me, I spent more time dreaming about it than I did practicing, though that doesn’t mean I didn’t try and didn’t practice.

“Sometimes you have to jump and grow wings on the way down.” — Unknown

After graduating from Lehigh University in 2019, I took a leap of faith, moving to Japan despite my beginner level Japanese language knowledge. I struggled to learn the language. I thought staying at a share house would be beneficial to learn Japanese, but it proved to be no better than living alone because my Japanese roommates were shy. I jumped from job to job, (construction, factory work, vegetable packing, moving company, restaurant waitor, etc). After about a year of self-study, I was able to become fluent in Japanese, which led to me being able to land a job at an unagi restaurant. For some reason they were willing to take a chance on me and I will forever be grateful to them.

Sunny days wouldn't be special if it wasn't for rain

Joy wouldn't feel so good if it wasn't for pain

Death gotta be easy, 'cause life is hard

It'll leave you physically, mentally, and emotionally scarred

— 50 Cent (Rapper), Song: Many Men

I have a new dream, a new goal. I want to write a book. My love for writing actually started with my love for hip hop and rap, as you’ve probably noticed. I also spent a great deal of time reading Japanese books and manga to learn the language and became infatuated by the stories I read. Now, I want to learn the skill and power of storytelling, and I want to document my journey to writing my first book.