| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | The experiences that are most memorable to me from my early childhood are when my mother and siblings would make the trip from the USA to Japan and vice versa twice each school year. The act of moving the whole family from one side of the globe to another for a period of 6 months was something that I knew was significant, even as a child. I understood from speaking to children from my schools in both countries that the families who traveled so frequently and for such a great distance were few and far between. Each time we made the long trip, I was reminded of how lucky I was not only to be able to see, but also to experience so much of the world at such a young age. These memories of traveling still resonate with me to this day and remind me of the incredible experiences I had in both countries. It made me appreciate my current life so much more. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | As much as I would like to state that I am most like my father for this question, I cannot due to the fact that I was unfortunately only able to see him for half of each year since I was very young.
It is actually my brother who I relate most to. We have the same sense of humor, similar interests, and most importantly, share the same aspirations. I believe that because of our family's somewhat unusual living circumstances, my little brother and I have been brought closer together, since we were the only two males in the household at any given time. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | Although there are countless traits that contribute to someone being a "good" person, there are some basic traits that would make me admire one person more than another. I believe that being true to yourself and other people is very admirable. It is difficult enough to tell another person that what they are doing, or thinking could be flawed, but it takes true honesty to look at your own actions and be self-critical. There are many people who seek to criticize others at any cost, but rarely do these individuals have the same honesty with themselves. I also look to befriend people who have the motivation to better themselves, not only for a financial gain, but to help others along the way. As difficult as it is to keep yourself on track to be the best version of yourself that you can be, it is even more challenging to attempt to help others to fulfill their aspirations. I have noticed that those who strive to help others are the type of friends that are worth keeping around throughout your life. The third and final trait that I admire in a person is determination to reach their personal goals. Today there are countless events that can make people feel unmotivated, lazy, and static. Those who can look past these undesired events and continue their quest to be a better person are the ones who will get to where they want to be in life. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | It would be impossible to say which event was the funniest thing to ever happen to me. However, I do recall a time when my friends and I were acting out scenes from a satirical play that we created. The act of exaggeration, and being overly theatrical is something that has always been amusing to me. It is definitely on my list as one of the "funniest" moments of my life thus far. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I am already incredibly thankful that I have been able to travel as much as I have in my lifetime, but if I were able to travel in the near future, I would most likely venture out to somewhere in South America.
I have always lived in a society where the general population has all of their basic living needs met each day. I have hardly seen cultures where life tends to be more difficult than what we are used to in North America. I would like to see a different side of life across the globe, in the hope that I can figure out ways in which to better the lives of individuals who are less lucky than I was growing up. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | If I were to have children I would give them everything I owned at the time of my death. I tend to take very good care of the items that I purchase, therefore these items tend to have more significant value to me over time. Giving these items to my kin would hopefully show them the significance of taking care of what you have. I want them to learn to live a more careful lifestyle, and to not take each item, tangible or intangible, as something easily disposed of. |
