My Japanese Learning Journey | 10+ years of chaos

[@baileyjohnson-cavanaugh4133]

Ah yes, the spring 2020 trip to Japan *looks forlornly into the distance*

[@baileyjohnson-cavanaugh4133]

but for real your insta has been hella helpful as i've been trying to self-study for my upcoming time in Japan

[@LeaflingLearns]

@@baileyjohnson-cavanaugh4133 thank youuu bailey!! do you have new time set or is it still up in the air?

[@baileyjohnson-cavanaugh4133]

@@LeaflingLearns after barely leaving the house for the last year i decided to ditch lab life and move to japan through the jet program. departure date is currently up in the air-- it's supposed to be sometime between September and December, but we'll see what happens 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@LeaflingLearns]

@@baileyjohnson-cavanaugh4133 omg amazing!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy for you!!!! I hope things go smoothly and you get to be there exactly when you want to be!!

[@blazacwoot]

This is extremely relatable and very encouraging. Thanks for posting!

[@LeaflingLearns]

I'm so so glad you found it encouraging!! Thanks for watching!

[@tanyasinspirations]

Thank you so much for sharing your story!! I love how changing your approaches has helped you on this journey 🥰

[@LeaflingLearns]

Thank you so much for watching!! Allowing myself to change things up has definitely been my lifelong battle and the best thing I can do for myself!!

[@elftower907]

really relate to you thanks for this channel

[@LeaflingLearns]

Thank you so much

[@TheMandazor]

I resonate with the "child of the internet" section so much god bless. One of the biggest reasons I started and stopped learning all the time was I constantly felt like I couldn't be doing what others were doing. Nothing was just "clicking". Not to mention, dealing with a lot of mental health issues in high school and college. At one point, I even used ajatt as an excuse to never leave the house, like it just "worked" with my depression. But I was still not picking things up as fast as everyone else. I just felt like such a sad and dumb woman. Turns out, going to a bit of therapy when I still could (wow i miss having insurance!) was insanely helpful. I learned to be way more self-compassionate, like you were talking about!, and that helped me with all the things I was trying to do in life. I'm unable to work right now due to PTSD, but I still make the most of my time and I have an incredibly supportive significant other. My biggest push to just...keep on going, actually happened at the beginning of this year when my grandfather passed. He was always very supportive, and was so happy for me when I did have a job briefly that involved my japanese skills. I'm definitely still studying for me, but I became afraid of not being able to lead the type of life I wanted. When you said Language learning was now just a part of your every day life, I FELT THAT! Because that is what I do now. And especially after finding your Notion sentence mining video.....It finally clicks for me. No more extremes. Just vibing and doing me. Sorry this was a bit rambly. I LOVED this video and really resonated with several parts here, and honestly I'm just really proud of you too. And i'm becoming proud of me as well. Have a good one!

[@LeaflingLearns]

Ok I nearly stood up and applauded when I got to "No more extremes." Please do not apologize for this comment, because I LOVED RECEIVING IT SO MUCH!! Thank you so so much for sharing some of your story with me, it really means so much especially after how kind of lonely and defeating that time of my life was too. I also felt dumb. And that's the unfortunate thing about ajatt imo, the extremeness of it can kind of feed into bad things going on in one's personal life. it can feed into depression and isolation, it can feed into feelings of superiority over/judgement of others, etc. etc. I think when you put it like that it makes me realize that it may have kind of cemented my feelings of not needing to talk to people as well even though at that time some genuine in person human interaction probably would have done me wonders. ANYWAY I also wanted to say that I'm so sorry about your grandfather - that's actually also a weird connection we have. I lost my grandfather summer of 2020 and he was 10000% my most supportive family member. He was always rooting for me and always interested in what I was up to. And because of him and his passing, (this is where it diverges slightly, but still thematically similar haha) I finally started actually pushing onward with my health and fitness because I knew it would've meant so much to him for me to take care of myself. I'll stop rambling now. I'm really proud of you too. I'm glad to hear we've made it out of some dark forests. I know there's no like finish line for this kind of stuff, but I'm happy we both have better skills now to prioritize ourselves and our health/happiness. Stay in touch

[@TheMandazor]

@@LeaflingLearns Bless! So sorry for your loss as well, he seemed so so wonderful. also definitely not crying! nope thank you!

[@creaturespuppet]

This is really so encouraging. By chance as I was looking for language templates/ideas to get into notion and your sentence mining one came up! I had the opportunity in 2016 to have my local school get a Japanese native to do some lessons that I sneakily could attend through my sister despite not being at that school anymore. Was really enthusiastic about it then but with my own school work and unrealistic expectations, I have not really done anything since. (same with wanting to pick up French again for 5 years..) Anyway, I'm so happy to have found your channel and being introduced to different approaches to learning a language despite how I was taught through school. And new resources to look at which is fun! Sometimes simply finding certain media that has you interested in and keep you wanting to improve is so important. Had to realize that it really just takes time to advance in a language especially when I look back that I've been studying English for more than 13 years. Only in like the last 7 years have I've progressed so much to even pass the highest Cambridge level which I would never have dreamed of. Crazy to think I used to hate English lol. Sorry for this long story but it's so reassuring to hear that you don't necessarily have to speed-run a language to enjoy the process of learning it

[@LeaflingLearns]

Nothing to apologize for, I loved hearing about your experience!!!! Bravo on your progress in English, that's amazing. But yes definitely do NOT have to speed-run despite how that seems to be everyone else's goal haha. I just kind of reached the point where comparing myself with people who were moving really quickly became so detrimental that I more or less had to reject any & all ideas about efficiency in language learning. And honestly.... it feels so much lighter and more fun now to explore this new language. And when you zoom out and think about it, how cool that we get to have a lifetime of learning now that we've welcomed new languages into our lives. I want new discoveries for all years of my life, thank you!!! ANYWAY haha I'm happy you're here - this is definitely a perspective I want to talk about more and I may or may not be working on another notion template right now so I hope my future videos will be useful to you as well!! I'd love to hear how your journeys with Japanese/French/any other language move forward!

[@deeyandra]

I hope those cats are thriving 🤌🏾 You've come so far! So proud of you ❤

[@LeaflingLearns]

heheh thank youuuuuuu. one day I will be able to speak fluently to those cats

[@deeyandra]

@@LeaflingLearns I bet they're ready and waiting for you 🥺❤ www

[@SayHelloToOblivion]

My gosh, listening to your journey, I can't help but think how similar it is to mine. I've stopped learning Japanese so many times over the course of 12 years now, I just want to kick myself. I keep thinking, if I just didn't stop, I'd be fluent by now. The first time I went to Japan in 2015, I literally cried. I was in a small town where they didn't speak a lick of English and it made me realize how minimal my Japanese is. I was so disappointed in myself. I am currently on a nearly 2 year hiatus from learning and I need to get back at it. The stress is immense just thinking about it.

[@LeaflingLearns]

Last night I was jotting down some notes to myself about what I'd want to say to someone who has been in your position (aka my past self) about how to get out of the hiatus/quitting loops. I know how stressful it is and how bad it feels. Thank you for sharing your experience with me, because it's just the inspiration I needed to start forming those little notes into an actual video that I hope can help you in your journey!! It'll probably take me a few weeks to put together, so my first word of advice that I'll leave is: try your very best to be kind to yourself, and really mean it. I know it sounds cliche and dumb, but the very first thing I needed to start working on was how I talked to myself - previously it was never kind and it never helped. Be back with more soon ♡

[@SayHelloToOblivion]

@@LeaflingLearns Thanks, sis. I appreciate the kind words. I will ease my way back into studying. It’s too beautiful a language not to know. I gotta get there one day.

[@baileyfortney]

I love this! I haven’t been learning nearly as long but I definitely know what you mean about feeling like crap when you drop Japanese. I always feel like I never do enough. But I know that I’m making more progress by trying than not trying at all.

[@LeaflingLearns]

Yesssss, honestly the mantra that got me through 2020 was "consistency over intensity." And not PERFECT consistency, mind you. But just those baby steps to keep it from feeling like a big overwhelming thing to even approach returning to.

[@deeyandra]

It's so hard to be compassionate and proud of yourself sometimes~ Claps for you! 👏🏾 And for your face and hair - STUNNING 🤌🏾💯

[@LeaflingLearns]

YOU ARE TOO KIND

[@deeyandra]

@@LeaflingLearns Speaking facts have nothing to do with my kindness! 😘🤌🏾

[@RubyDuran]

Ahh, your first kanji 😆 being afraid is, unfortunately, “normal” because no one wants to be teased, face ridicule, etc. but it’s a process. I can totally relate to that all or nothing mentality. It can be so detrimental! I’ve come to learn with my own journey that sometimes slow and steady wins the race. I’m rooting for you girl 💜

[@LeaflingLearns]

Yes 100% team slow and steady now!! thank you so much!

[@mirodemorte]

I completely feel you on the .. negative voice squad. Its hard. We really get in our own way sometimes. I would love to see how you ended up working your way through RTK! I would love help with breaking things like that down into .. manageable goals.

[@LeaflingLearns]

oooooh ok I'll look through my planner from last year and see if I can put something helpful together

[@mirodemorte]

@@LeaflingLearns Thank you! You are amazing

[@LeaflingLearns]

@@mirodemorte thank you so much, that's so kind!!

[@chisabell75]

🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@LeaflingLearns]

hehe hi friend

[@tinyquail]

When you come back to Japan please visit me!

[@LeaflingLearns]

yes please!!!!!

[@fanghuzhai]

Good story. Will recommend to my Chinese class students

[@LeaflingLearns]

thank you so much! I'm happy you found it interesting!