Blog Addict.

One more blog before I lose myself in this academic aura.

Short argument for my research paper.

I, then, have to attend a supervisor meeting.

Discuss matters over coffee.

Then work until 10pm.

Make sure the store operates well and leave the customers highly satisfied.

With all this said.

I want to trek back to a conversation I had last night.

Er, well I've been having this conversation with a couple of friends

About?

My life and how I live it.

See.

I graduated high school with an amazing resume.

I walked down the graduating aisle - back to my parents

Arms wrapped around trophies.

A trophy for graduating with honors

A trophy for Basketball and Volleyball championship

A trophy for being the Youth Congress representative of our school

Flowers, flowers, flowers, flowers, and more flowers.

And my diploma.

Done with high school.

Now, to achieve in college.

Party scene? Not in my head.

I was more excited about being independent.

Having my own place.

Cooking for myself.

Cleaning after myself.

Taking care of myself.

Making money for myself.

I was just so darn ready to depart my nest.

I was craving for adventure.

Little did I know...

That I was in for a wild ride.

I thought I was going to attend APU for four years and graduate with a business degree.

Being fluent in English and Japanese - hell I'll stumble into some big corporation in Japan.

Great income. Wealthy lifestyle.

Maybe, get married along the way and start a family

The end.

First year of college cruised by.

I joined the tennis team

Business classes were boring.

I played tennis before class, in between class, and after class until I got kicked off the courts by the janitor

Got a boyfriend.

I was just living day to day.

Nothing exciting.

Tennis, school, boyfriend - Repeat.

I tried to spice it up by getting a job.

Landed a well paying job.

English teacher.

Made bank.

Traveled around South Japan to challenge other universities.

Second year rolled around.

I was still doing the same old.

That's when I realized that..

This.

This was just not me.

I broke up with my boyfriend.

I ditched business.

I packed my bags and I came out here alone.

Stumbled into couple different homes before I finally found a shed of my own.

Again, I joined the tennis team out here.

I needed some consistency.

Figured, tennis will help me keep my sanity when things got tough.

Anyways.

I enrolled in Bellevue College

While I slowly built my empire.

My network.

My community.

At first, I was a little hesistant.

I cared about what others had to say

That quickly disappeared.

I thought to myself - it will all be worth it in the end.

I'm going to finish up my prerequisites and transfer to UW in no time.

Back to back science classes.

Never ending.

Bio 101, Gen Chem I, Bio 241, Gen Chem II, Bio 242, Gen Chem III

Bio 243, O-Chem I, Bio 260, O-Chem II, Bio 261, O-Chem III

And then I get a letter from my advisor.

Notifying me that my credits from Japan will not transfer over.

NO!

WHAT?!

All my classmates are graduating.

Here I am.

Having to take extra 2 years of general education to meet the standards out here.

My parents started to bug me.

"Rika, all your classmates graduated already. Some already have a real job.You are still working on your AA"

For a while.

I was hurt.

I thought lowly of myself.

I was once the shining star back home.

Now, I'm just a complete failure in life.

Negative thoughts started to flood my synapses.

I was so angry at myself.

Parents still going at it.

"If you were still in Japan, you'd be graduating this fall. Landing a job"

Well, thanks for the uplifting comments parentals!

But that's when I found my inner strength.

I sat down and thought about my life.

I took the leap of faith and walked away from a well known university in Japan.

I came to Bellevue with nothing.

With no one to rely on.

No one to depend on.

But that did not stop me.

I threw myself on everyone and everything.

I believed in myself that I can.

I made the tennis team out here. Won championship two years in a row.

I put myself out and applied for jobs.

I worked for the City of Bellevue as a tennis coach.

I got pay raises after pay raises.

Same with my other job.

I was always offered a position higher - to move up.

I volunteered over at UW Medical Center at the surgery pavillion.

I TA'd for Microbiology.

Helping out at the lab.

Whatever I wanted to do - I was able too.

I thought I did not have the brains for science since I come from a business oriented family

I never once failed a science class.

And according to my history that I filed in my cerebral cortex

I have yet to fail in life.

I've fallen down a couple times.

But I always got right back up.

I have friends all over the age range.

I play tennis with a group of 60-70 year olds on Saturdays.

I have lunch and share stories with teenagers.

I love and care for everyone and I respect each and every one of them.

I believe that no matter the age, people can always teach you something.

But with that said.

I'm working into UW's Microbiology department.

Volunteer over at UWMC again this summer.

Just concentrate on what I can do to make the world a better place

while I enjoy life <3

Straight out of high school, straight into college, graduating in 4 years.

Not a way of life for everyone.

We all have our own timeline.

Our stories.

Hell, I'm sitting next to an old lady to my left and a running start to my right.

As long as you know that you are happy and satisfied.

As long as you are giving it your all on whatever you are doing.

As long as you stay true to yourself

You shouldn't be ashamed of who you are and what you do.

At the same time, because you fit in the "norm" criteria, you shouldn't boast about it.

Live life to the fullest.

Face your fears.

Live with no regrets.

Yes, I graduated high school in '06

And yes, I'm still currently working on my AA.

But you know what,

If for some reason, I die today.

I will die with a smile on my face.

Because I'm blessed with a great family

Great support of friends

 And a man who cares about me as much as I care about him.

And I know that I will end up where I want to be.

I'm striving towards my goal.

And I believe in myself.

Life is beautiful <3