BUT:

I’d like to run more often, but I never feel like I have the energy.

I’d like to stop procrastinating writing assignments, but I have trouble feeling motivated to write.

I’d like to get in involved with more clubs on campus, but I have trouble keeping track of events and meetings.

I’d like to experiment with cooking, but there is no kitchen in Baker.

I’d like to make more new friends, but it can be scary to introduce myself to new people.

AND:

I’d like to run more often, but I never feel like I have the energy. So I should plan set times to run into my schedule.

I’d like to stop procrastinating writing assignments, but I have trouble feeling motivated to write. So I should visit the Yonkin Success Center’s writing and procrastination workshops.

I’d like to get in involved with more clubs on campus, but I have trouble keeping track of events and meetings. So I should use my calendar on my phone to remind and update me.

I’d like to experiment with cooking, but there is no kitchen in Baker. So I should borrow cooking tools from the front desk, buy ingredients at Kroger, and use the kitchen at Smith-Steeb.

I’d like to make more new friends, but it can be scary to introduce myself to new people. So I should remind myself of how everyone is in a similar position and push my comfort zone.

“Everything is kind of up in the air, like I don’t really know about the future.”

This is Mayu. In 2005, her family moved to Cincinnati from Japan for her father’s work. Mayu was only eight years old and didn’t know the language or have any family who lived in the United States, so the transition was a hard one. Over the years, she settled into life and learned English. Despite living the majority of her life here, Mayu has one distinction from many other people living in the United States; she is not considered a citizen. This distinction prevents Mayu from being employed and pursuing her passions. Although she is artistically talented she would not be able to develop her skills in a U.S. college because she would have to choose a major that would make her attractive to companies that sponsor academic visas. She will soon move to California to live with her mother. For the next year while she tries to obtain her green card she will be able to work at a family owned ramen shop. She is worried about the move, her relationship with her mother and stepfather, and making new friends while staying in touch with the old. Hopefully she will be able to get her green card and soon thereafter begin attending college. Mayu does not know what the future has in store for her, but we are all hoping for the best.