When I was a wee bit younger, I tried learning Japanese, but I quit. I said, “why do I need to learn it if there are people who will translate it for me?!” It was a very bad decision! Fast forward to recent years, and I’m now self-studying Japanese for the simple reason of wanting to read manga on my own. Yes, because I fell passionately in love with reading! And I realized that there are so many manga that never got translated (especially shoujo manga, which I fiercely love), and that made me try learning Japanese.

I live most of my life in a household where I hear three languages at once! Being bilingual (Tagalog/Filipino + English) or trilingual (Tagalog/Filipino + English + regional language) in a Filipino family is rather common. My family is trilingual since I was born and raised here; Filipino + English are the languages I use on a daily basis. My grandma, who often stays with us, unconsciously converses with us in Ilocano (I think she knows Tagalog but she’s comfortable speaking in Ilocano, her mother tongue), and having been exposed to it since childhood, I’ve learned it in a way I can understand her despite not being able to speak it very fluently. So yeah, there’s my history! So languages are something that is native to my family.

But unlike the three languages I know, Japanese (and Korean) are harder for me. One, there’s no exposure! Sure, I have anime and drama, but having a normal conversation with a native speaker is what I lack, and that’s very important. So even if I had already started years ago, I STILL wouldn’t say I’m good at it. I probably express myself like a child would, or more badly than that. And I wouldn’t say I’m some glossophile. I mean, if you’re a frequent visitor of this blog, you know how my English grammar slips off on a regular basis (welp, it’s so true!). So although I’m able to read Japanese on my own (with the help of furigana + dictionary for most parts), I think my reading has improved. I‘ve decided to focus on reading since, like I said, I love to read!

And I found out that learning a new language is fun! Language is essential! And for me to learn my fourth and fifth languages is nothing less than a bold and amazing adventure (more of the former)! I think when I became a reader, it opened lots of opportunities, and this is one of them! I know that the main motivation is to be able to read manga and webtoons untranslated. It sounds like a simple motivation, but it drives home the point perfectly! There are highs—like reading it on your own and being able to express yourself in a different language—and lows—like the fact that grammar in every language I know I suck at (my mother tongue included), yet it doesn’t cripple my enthusiasm because that’s part of the journey!

I read on Tumblr about venturing into something and not always being amazing at it, it isn’t bad! And I agree that there’s nothing wrong with trying to excel, but there’s also nothing wrong with being average at what you do. Mediocrity isn’t bad; it balances out—at least that’s what I tell myself anyway! So maybe my English isn’t that good, yet here I am blogging in English because I want to! And now I’m learning a new language because I love reading manga and webtoons! So even though I don’t aim to be an excellent polyglot, the fact that I knew even a little is a big accomplishment for me!