As a senior set to graduate in December, I wanted to shift my mindset at the start of 2024 by the phrase, “leaving no stone unturned.” I had heard about SJMC Japan since the spring semester of my freshman year of college in fundamentals of digital media class with Senior Lecturer Jon Zmikly, who joined SJMC Japan Academic Program Director Gilbert D. Martinez with programs in 2019 and 2023.
I always thought traveling abroad was so cool, but I didn’t think it was something I could do. I say this specifically because my anxieties and self-doubt were the only thing holding me back. I truly didn’t feel confident that I could succeed academically in these classes alongside traveling across the world with practically strangers.
After sophomore year passed, I finally grew some confidence and at the start of my junior year I applied to this specific program. Speaking of self-doubt though, I actually withdrew my application and applied to another study abroad program. I don’t know if it was anxiety or overthinking, but I did.
It may be cliché or silly, but I’m a strong believer in energies and maybe it was just my intuition, but even after withdrawing from the program and having applied to another program, I kept thinking about Japan. Long story short, I’m glad I trusted my intuition and switched my application back because this was the best decision I made in college.
The biggest reason I wanted to study abroad was to simply learn. I wanted to learn about a new culture and see another way of life and society. In preparation for this trip, I was most looking forward to visiting Tokyo, mainly in part because of videos I saw on TikTok, I wanted to visit Shibuya. It just looked so intriguing. I don’t know if it’s the lights, the number of people or what.
For me personally, some of the most interesting moments on this trip was visiting temples and shrines, more specifically Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo and Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto. Both of these visits really stuck with me, mainly in getting to learn and admire the practices of another religion I had never been exposed to. It was eye-opening getting to see the practices of another religion, and the beauty of these places architecturally amazed me as well as the greenery.
Another personal favorite moment during this trip was visiting Shibuya with my classmate Kimberly. We got to speak to so many locals and got to meet so many different individuals from around the world including places like Australia and Morocco.
Mind you, this all happened while we were just taking pictures and walking on Shibuya crossing, aside from this cultural intersection we experienced. I got to see how well the transportation system and design of the city were. I noticed that when we weren’t crossing, there weren’t actually that many cars crossing, nor was there a lot of traffic.
Upon arrival to this city, something I realized very quickly is how intentional the Japanese culture is and how there’s an intention behind everything in its society: from the side of the sidewalk you walk on, to garbage disposal, to the moist towel to wipe your hands before meals, to swiping in and out of the train station. Everything has a purpose, and most of the time in Japanese society a lot of these customs are out of respect for others.
After visiting Japan, I’ve become more aware of the space I take up, and I think this awareness is something I want to be more mindful of not just in Japan, but in my personal life of the space I take up in other people’s lives, and vice versa. This experience personally taught me to be more mindful of others, to just become more intentional in everyday life and to be present.
Before this trip, I was really worried about Lecturer Sara Shields’ mobile storytelling class because I truly think my multimedia skills are not great. I think prior to her class I had maybe edited one reel, so I felt very out of my element. Her class challenged me in terms of editing and shooting content in a way I’ve never before. Alongside that class, Martinez’s feature writing class pushed me to be a more creative writer, and I think both are skills I didn’t have before. Although uncomfortable at first, I think it’s in those uncomfortable moments of trial and error are where I learned the most.
Both of these classes pushed working on deadlines and in field like mass communication, deadlines are everything. I appreciated this ability to work with daily deadlines and content creation on the fly, as well as creating long-form content with more time. Sometimes, there were days we were super on-the-go, and having to create content on the bus, train or while waiting for some food. I think the ability to learn to make quality work in a short time can be applicable to any field.
I think being able to combine cultural, personal and academic learning, like a program like this did, is priceless. This experience taught me so much. I’m grateful for this experience, the people I experienced it with and most of all for having trusted my intuition.
