At some point I became a morning person. Maybe not necessarily socialable, but I am getting up and moving around by 6:30 or so. This week I started using some of that morning time to begin running again. Thinking by starting in August it’ll only get more comfortable as the weather cools down. So I wake up and immediately go for my run. My eyes are still struggling to open, but I am out the door. Getting that blood pumping. Sweating like crazy in the humidity. I get back, take a quick shower, and have a small breakfast. Do the usual internet reads and find that the JLPT results are up! About a year ago I set off towards passing JLPT N2 and took the test last month. Based on some practice tests, there was a chance that I would pass, and there was a chance I would fail. My first thought was: try to stay calm; it’s not a big deal. But the kick drum in my chest had a different idea. My blood started pumping more than when I was running an hour before. I already decided if I failed, I would attempt it again in December1 and I barely… passed. It’s not a good score, but passing is passing. A long time personal goal for me that just got checked off.
Current plan, I am going to continue my JLPT class just so that I can get more mileage out of the book I already have. Then switch over to a conversation class around November. The closer I approached the appropriate level for this test, the more I understood of how little I know. I know that you can communicate really well with the things that I’ve studied already2. I am just bad at pulling those things out of my head. Which is why I’ll switch over to a more conversation focused course again later. For now, I’ll do my best to review and try to hold on to what I have in my head. The test took a lot of time in terms of trying to prepare. Now I can do less cramming and try to solidify what I know. I have zero motivation to go on to take the final level. I have way more to gain by focusing on actually getting good at the language and not just trying to pass another test. I am bad at language learning, so it’s going to take me a while.
With the goal checked off, I am going to allow myself a little more space to do some of my other hobbies again. Itching to draw and paint some more.