Failures can be fun

A while ago I kept posting things like these on my Facebook wall:

[Achievement Unlocked] Biking in the rain.

[Achievement Unlocked] Biked from Bornsesteeg to Ede (7.4 km) with a medium-sized rice cooker and textbooks. 

[Achievement Unlocked] Let go of your left/right hand off the bike handle for 15 seconds while riding the bike without losing balance.

Some of my friends told me that these posts make my learning-how-to-bike days something you'd see on your smartphone games. It's not entirely wrong. Compare this:

"Today was really shitty because it rained and I had to bike 7.4 km from home to school :("

to

"[Achievement Unlocked] Biking in the rain"

Both of them tell you the same event, but from different angles. You can make your days feel rough, but you can also make your day seem better because you achieved something new. I actually look forward to improving myself because I can post new things like "biking while texting on my phone" or something like that.

Earlier today someone asked me how long did it take for me to learn how to bike, and I said 2 hours. And she was amazed. But what happened within those two hours was:

I fell every 5 seconds I was on the bike, stood up, brought my bike up on the slope, went down the slope, fell, stood up again, and repeated everything until I got the hang of it. I stepped over a pile of dog poo. I broke my bike's bell. Nasty bugs stung my arms. I was drenched in sweat and I smelled like fermented shit. My legs were severely bruised (my mom couldn't stop worrying after seeing a palm-sized bruise on my leg).

That sounded like a complain. Truth to be told, it was not the most pleasant experience ever, but I can make a good story out of it. I got a lot of mixed reaction from people:

"That's cool! You finally managed to ride a bike!"
"What? You only learned how to bike at this age?"
"Well,  there's an easier way to learn this."
"Congratulations, you made it!"

and a conversation started. It's fun to talk about it, and every time I remember those two hellish hour, I become increasingly motivated to challenge more absurd things that I have to face.

Something that doesn't kill you makes you stronger, as people say :)

When you face failure, I'm sure you feel terrible (or at the very least, you are not too happy about it). But once you get over a failure, and if you positively think about it in future, it can turn into something fun. This is what I tell myself over and over again, and this is why I can keep smiling in times of adversities.

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Graduating from being an Otaku

Today's post isn't about me being in Japan. Well, it partially has something to do about me being in Japan right now.

Yesterday I was cleaning up my hard disk because I was almost out of memory and I found this photo:

It was a birthday gift from my friends who lived in the same dorm as I did when I was in junior high. Or actually, secondary school, to be exact. It reminded me of how much of an otaku I was. Watching anime and reading manga every day was my routine, and I did like to be called with Japanese honorifics such as "-chan". My sole reason of learning Japanese was to watch anime, read manga and play games in Japanese because I didn't like English-dubbed stuffs and English-translated manga often get released too slow.

My favorite country was Japan for no valid reason, and when I grow up I want to work for Squaresoft (which is Square-Enix right now). I didn't mind being the security guard as long as I work there. After graduating from high school I wanted to study the arts and I wanted to work in the animation industry even though I had zero skills.

Back then, my mind was very narrow-minded. I didn't see any other possibilities.

Somehow after attending college, I gradually changed. For some reason, I picked a major that is totally unrelated to what I had been dreaming of. I knew I was strong in chemistry, and somehow events led me to choose food science. I learned a lot of awesome things, fell in love with my major, and my horizon expanded.

I started seeing more and more interesting things to explore. Things that I knew I love were somehow buried under the spell of anime and manga. Back in secondary school, I knew I like to cook. I knew I like to take pictures of nature, and I knew I like to write songs. I like thrilling stuffs like riding the roller coaster and sky diving. I like to read news about technology. Not so much on politics and stocks/shares. I find psychology interesting, and science amazing. But because I dedicated too much of time for anime and manga and games, I couldn't see that my life is much more than that.

Right now, I still read manga every day, but at a less worrying pace. I watch anime about once or twice in a month, and I could leave my PSP untouched for 3 months. The result? I feel that I used my time much more efficiently, and my life was more exciting and colorful.

I used to think that the world will end without manga or anime, and I had never thought of giving them up. But hey, guess what: I could! And it wasn't something that I decided to do; it happened naturally. Changes are gradual. 

Well, I wouldn't say I really regretted those times I was an otaku because thanks to that I could understand both otaku and non-otaku way of thinking. But hey, it was a good change for me, and I think it's worth celebrating. At least I think it is :)

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