My first post about learning Japanese talked about how I switched schools to earn an associate’s degree in Japanese, but I don’t think I mentioned that the new school term starts a month later than the original one. …

Without having any official technical writing experience — At my first job out of college, I created internal process documentation to help myself remember my responsibilities and how to perform them. When the company was audited months later, the auditors asked me to walk them through my process and were impressed when I handed them my written procedures. …

A journal to celebrate small steps — I’ve been writing in journals for a long time, and I’ve been hybrid art-bullet journaling for almost 2 years. …

If I only knew then what I know now — Especially as an inexperienced young person, interviewing for jobs can be scary, and just by virtue of fewer years, you probably have less experience in jobs and in interviews. I also used to be intimidated (petrified might be more accurate) by anyone I perceived as having higher authority than me. …

Taking a page out of the Japanese handbook with my version of oosouji — As the end of the year fast approaches, I’m thinking about how I can prepare for the year ahead. I haven’t historically been into celebrating New Year’s Eve or Day — if I’m going to make a change or resolution, I won’t wait for January — but this year is…

And it applies to everything in life — In the past, I was too intimidated to try National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) because writing 50,000 words in 30 days seemed like an insane idea. I just didn’t think I could do it. …

What I truly wanted grew in its place — I dreamed about being a freelance writer and editor for years before I took steps to make it happen. Part of me was convinced that freelancing wasn’t the life for me because I’m comforted by the illusion of stability as an employee. Once I got my current job, I didn’t…

Kaki’s Minimalist Japanese Kitchen program teaches the Japanese meal template to getting fit without eliminating anything — When I was a kid, vegetables didn’t get much attention. My mom would cook some meat and rice, then one of us kids would microwave frozen vegetables, mix in some butter and salt, and call it a day. …

A look at my first NaNoWriMo-esque challenge after finishing early — I was minding my own business, writing to process thoughts, emotions, and life in general like I always do when it started to take the shape of a nonfiction book. Over the last few months, I have been doing quite a bit of inner work and felt like I was…