I am in love with –|´å¥¢¥­¥³ (Akiko Higashimura).

She¡¯s a manga artist and comedian, and I¡¯ve never met her, but I know her voice from the hilarious podcast she hosts, I¡¯ve read some of her comics about her backstory growing up in Miyazaki, and I¡¯ve realized that falling in love is helpful, perhaps even necessary, if you want to maintain your Japanese study long term.

Love can provide the obsession and dedication that drives the ¾@¾AÁ¦ (keizoku-ryoku, ability to sustain efforts) necessary to overcome setbacks or difficulties. These obstacles sometimes aren¡¯t even that high; reading a Japanese comic and listening to a Japanese podcast aren¡¯t difficult tasks, but they are relatively more difficult than doing so in your native language. These microdifficulties might be keeping you away from your study.