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I was born in Japan, and Japanese is my first language. When I became an elementary student, I was enrolled in an international school, and that was my start to learning English. Before I enrolled in the school, I had almost no prior knowledge of English. I remember studying English at 'Kumon', but I only studied simple dialogues — and the matters of being able to speak English and being able to read English were different. This meant that I had to be in a community of English without not knowing any English. If I had to go through the experience right now, I would probably feel really nervous, but as a child, I only felt excited without any worry nor anxiety about joining a new community....

Over the course of the 3 years in high school I have been an active part of the Student Council community serving for the local community. It will be my third year in student council in senior year. The student council must undertake certain responsibilities and organize such events to fulfil the student bodies expectations. It is imperative that the student council tries to satisfy their needs in order to have a better school environment. In order to do this, we have installed an idea called the student concerns box. In the meetings we have groups that are specifically assigned to address the concerns. The concerns could be as small as changing the paper towel quality to as large as conducting whole school surveys to address mental issues that students may have....

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Personal Project was a huge part of my Grade 10 school life and it was the project that required me the most management and organization skills out of all other projects and tasks I've done both at school and outside of school. I started this project at the very end of Grade 9 and continued in Grade 10 until March 9th, which is more than half a year. For this project, I made a goal to "spread Japanese culture to YIS community, specifically to young students". This project required me a lot of things: researching, planning, contacting teachers, going to the ELC class, creating the product, evaluating, setting up the exhibition and writing up the report. Since there were so much things, it was a must to plan out all of the things we had to do. I created an action plan with columns for tasks, time required, resources, notes/reflection adjustments, ideal date complete and a checklist. I also added small milestones so that I can focus on getting things done step by step. Here is a screenshot of the action plan:...

Global Understanding This summer, I had the opportunity to intern for a group called Sailors for the Sea Japan. It is an NGO based in Minatomirai that tackles issues of ocean conservation. During the first few weeks, I would attend meetings and takes minutes. It did help me reach out to other NGO’s and be involved in a debate that was significant especially for an island like Japan that is surrounded by water. But, I realized that the ocean is connected. For example, I saw an article that stated about radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant has traveled in the sea and has been detected on the coast of California. This made me question a lot of the things surrounding my life. What influences from the ocean are unconsciously affecting our daily life. By engaging in different cultures, I realize that Japan consumes a lot of different species of fish. When we go to the supermarket, we see aisles of sashimi. This is part of our culture. But, what supports this culture is myriad business overfishing and bringing species to mass extinction. There’s no consumer awareness that tuna, a vital part of our Japanese culture, has been consumed at alarming rates in the past 20-30 years. In fact, in the past 20-30 years, we have consumed 96% of the tuna available in the ocean. There’s no consumer awareness that we have consumed 99% of Japanese eels available in the past 20-30 years. Because of this, it is now considered “endangered” according to the Red List. These are things I would’ve not known without the internship and my international background. To tackle these issues, I have created presentations in English on behalf of Sailors for the Sea Japan to try to raise awareness. I have looked into what other fish-eating cultures have done to tackle this discrepancy in the supply and demand chain. The EU, for example, have member nations such as Spain, that are mass fish-eating countries. In 2012, the EU invested 155 million Euros to ban catching Tuna. Since then, the population of tuna had more than tripled. For later generations to be able to consume the same foods as us, we need to start knowing what supports our life. On top of issues regarding fishery, there are issues of pollution that we need to tackle. Pollution can be separated into four types: ocean trash, oil spill, water discharge, and radioactive contamination. I deemed that oil spills, water discharge, and radioactive contamination are issues of large businesses around the world. I knew I had to start with something smaller, something I can continue after school has started. So I looked into ocean trash. Coincidentally, an issue that I addressed in my personal project. I attended meetings regarding household plastics ending up in the ocean and affecting the marine ecosystem. So I took action. The institution contacted the Inter-Continental hotel in Minatomirai, and we started to abolish single-use plastics straws. In preparation, I was responsible for researching various laws regarding plastic straws around the world. For example, the EU is aiming to abolish all plastic straws by the end of 2030, and four states in America have monetary sanctions of up to 1000 dollars for companies that use plastic straws to serve to costumers....

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Small thin layers of cardboard on the sidewalks, old grey haired men dressed in unwashed layers of clothes, and the smell of urine. I remember when I was in the fifth grade, I would see a homeless man lying down on his uncomfortable-looking cardboard 'house' and surrounded by a couple of garbage bins as if trying to hide away from the world. Motomachi street during the day Motomachi, the area where I live and spent my childhood in, is full of clothing stores, cafe's and restaurants all lined up along the clean street, people and visitors from different parts of Kanagawa Prefecture and Tokyo,  would usually walk along them, taking photos, window shopping and even walk their cutely-dressed dogs. Although further down the street near Ishikawacho station, turn right and walk approximately three-hundred meters, you will enter a district called "Kotobukicho" where we meet the non-profit organization, Sanagitachi that do direct visits to serve for the homeless people. There was a drastic difference between the environments in Motomachi street and the Kotobukucho area, such as the colors and quality of the buildings and houses, and what people wore, and even the luxurious cars that were frequently parked along the side of the streets. During middle school, I had joined the GIN Chiku group, where we had mainly served food for the homeless, but joining the GIN Sanagitachi group had made me see where the homeless had spent their nights and the living conditions that they were facing. The main feelings that I had usually taken out of the experiences during the patrols were appreciation and gratitude for the lifestyle I had, and the need to raise awareness of the homeless community in the Naka-Ku area. ...

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MUN, or Model United Nations, is an activity that involves representing a country and debating with other delegates assigned to other countries world issues. I have been in this activity since freshman year. Once a topic is chosen, each student chooses a country to represent and does research on the position of the country regarding the topic. From here, the delegates come together to debate on the topic and agree on a solution. One interesting thing about this is that often students will stand for points or opinions that they do not agree with. In turn, this means that students who take part in this activity not only have a greater understanding of world issues but also understand individual attitudes countries have on many of them....

During our time in Nigata, we participated in an expedition that went along for 5 days. Of those 5 days three of which we went hiking through the mountains as a whole grade. The first night when we got to the camp we started with some group activities to get to know the leaders, as well as the leaders, get to know us. Though this has been a trip with our grade the new students that had joined were also new faces that I personally got to know better through this experience. The second day was when we left for the next three days and two nights of hiking. Which was not as pleasing as it was forecasting for rain and cold weathers....

  During our field studies, we went to Niigata. I achieved a change in mindset. The reason for this is because I realized that there is more in the world than just the city we live in or the cities we've lived in the past. I also realized how beautiful and peaceful nature is, something that I don't usually see very often since I live in the city. The reason I decided to go on this trip to Niigata with my classmates is that I wanted to see a different place in the country I live in. I also wanted to achieve a change in mindset which is something I did achieve. What I thought I would get out of is enjoying the beautiful views while being with my friends at the same time. I was very worried about almost everything about this trip. Walking so much for three days straight was something that was kind of new to me, as well as sleeping two nights in a tent while it was raining and not being able to shower for three days straight was also something that worried me. I was very excited about spending time with my friends while looking at beautiful mountaintop views. All my worries and excitements made me into a better person and achieving a change in mindset....

Out of all the Expeditions I have experienced over the past years, one of my most memorable trips was the 10th-grade snow expedition in Niigata. ...

三ヶ国語・Trilingualism ・三语 Whenever people ask me what my first language is, I often struggle to make a decision between Japanese and English. From a very young age, around the age of four, my parents had put me into the current school that I attend; the Yokohama international school up the Motomachi-chukagai station. It is difficult to remember specific events in my experience at the ELC, but I know for sure that the classes were taught in English with English-speaking teachers. Although, because my parents were non-native English speakers, they would speak to me in Japanese and Chinese, and these two languages would be what use at home. Yet, out of the three languages, I would prefer English over them. Growing up, I had usually surrounded myself with friends from a Japanese background, as I had felt a sense of comfort and familiarity with the language and culture. At the same time that I entered the ELC, my parents had put my sister and I, into a music school every Saturday at Ferris University (Yamate campus). The environment there was a huge contrast to the internationalism at school, as my classmates were Japanese, who attended a Japanese school, surrounded by Japanese teachers and school traditions. I was part of two worlds and language was a tool that helped me survive and socialize with the people around me....

Developed a skill / understanding through interaction with our natural environment : Last spring I went on a hiking trip in the Nakasendo. The hike consisted of us walking on the roads and mountains that connected Tokyo and Kyoto in the Edo period. Many trades were made through these roads and the routes we walked on holds a lot of history which was very entertaining since it told a story about Japans past. This trip was very useful since it helped extend my appreciation of the outdoors, but also taught me some skills when it came to hiking on snow. It was my first time hiking on snow and my first time wearing the snow cleats, which scared me a bit since the snow cleats' area on the show was so small I questioned if it would be beneficial at all. Turns out it was very helpful, but did not mean I was able to put all the work on the cleats. I learned how to grip on to the snow, if you put a bit of pressure on the ground where the snow lies you reach beneath the surface of the snow and the cleats will be "stuck" and grip on the floor so you won't slip....

Committed to connect with and understanding others within and across cultures. Engaging with people in another languages and communicate thoughtfully and appropriately : This summer, I worked at a 海の家 which transaltes to Beach house in English. It was my first ever job, but also the first time I ever spoke Japanese for a long period of time. My mother tongue is English. Even though I grew up mostly in Japan and I occasionally communicate with my mum in Japanese, I only use very basic words and speak in a mix of English and Japanese....

Identify and understand an authentic need in local community. Taking meaningful action to affect positive change : Homelessness in Japan may not seem like a big topic. But it does not mean it doesn't exists. in my school there is a service group called Sanagitachi and it informs the school community about homelessness near the Kannai, Yokohama area but also we go on weekly patrols at night to give essential items such as blankets, socks, even soup to the homeless. Going to the groups meeting every week keeps my mind fresh on the issue and as someone who recognises the problem myself, it is also good to raise awareness of this....

Seek a personal understanding of how life in different countries varies relative to the interaction between power/privilege and economics, ethics, politics, religion, and/or the environment.Exploring multiple contexts through experience, and reflect on the growth of your global understanding as a result :...

Recently I took part in an international MUN (Model United Nations) conference representing our school in Bangkok, Thailand for the annual IASAS (Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools) conference. Personally, this was my very first MUN conference overseas and my first full stop. This trip possibly had the steepest learning curve I’ve ever experienced because of this. Unfortunately, this was one of the first times in my life that I came to realize my own ‘fragility’ through bad periods of anxiety throughout the trip, struggling to find the ability to speak as well as my confidence, which is normally one of my strong personality aspects. In addition to this, seeing it was my first conference I did not really know any technical procedures of conferences, how speeches and resolutions were meant to be formatted, and the preparation needed to have your voice heard throughout the three days of debating....

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During the summer of 2018, in between the end of Grade 10 and the beginning of Grade 11, I participated in an academic summer program called the Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) from June 17th to June 30th. The session that I got accepted to was the International Affairs and Security session and I was able to learn a lot about the topic that I would not have learned in my school curriculum. Over the course of two weeks, I had eight lecture, eight seminars, one simulation, which was like a Model United Nations conference, and a group project called the Capstone project where we had to decide on a topic and do a presentation about it on one of the last days. Some lectures that I listened to were from well-known professors and experts on their topic, so their lectures were really interesting and detailed. One lecture that I enjoyed was about the US intervention in Iraq from a person who used to work at the UN in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Jordan, and currently works at Yale University. Even though this topic was something that I was not very familiar with, I got to learn a lot more about it and understood the controversy associated with it; whether US's military intervention was actually beneficial to solving the problems occurring in Iraq and the Middle East. After each lecture, we also had a discussion class where I got to debate about the topic we just got lectured on and see different perspectives/opinions on it from students all around the world. Another part of the program that stuck with me was the seminars. The subjects of each of the seminars were all debatable and intriguing, making me think about them even long after it was over. The seminar that I found the most fascinating was a seminar about the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh and whether if international communities have the responsibility to intervene or not. This seminar raised many questions about what it means to be an international citizen and how countries should interact with each other in our current world....