Happy New Year 2024! Because this year is the year of the dragon, I wrote the kanji character for “dragon” on my New Year greeting card. Although it was a rough start for the new year in Japan, wishing everyone a year full of health, happiness and love. 新年明けましておめでとうございます！本年もどうぞよろしくお願いいたします。２０２４年は辰年ということで、今年の年賀状は「龍」の字を書いてみました。 日本では、新年早々に災難が起こってしまいました。これ以上被害が拡大しませんように、被害に遭われた皆様の回復とご無事を願っています。 皆様にとって良い１年になりますように。
Happy New Year 2022! I know it’s a month late, but I really wanted to share this Japanese-style New Year’s postcard I made (yes, it is hand-written!). 2021 was an interesting year for me – it was a pretty rough start to be honest, but I was somehow able to turn things around by the … Continue Reading
A letter to myself in 2012: ２０１２年の自分への手紙： Dear Samantha, I’m writing to you from the year 2019, a very life-changing and important year for you in your career and personal life. You just moved from California to Japan on your own with just two suitcases, no concrete plans for your future but lots of hopes … Continue Reading
Birthdays come and go quickly, but resolutions can stick with you if you put your mind to it. As I get older, I realize more and more the importance of reflection and self-improvement to always be ready for that next step or phase in your life. While I do preach the “go with the flow” … Continue Reading
“Why is this blog post titled ‘A New Start’?” you may ask. Well, for one thing, I completely changed my look into one of the edgiest looks I’ve ever done in my life. And second of all, as of last week, I am completely freelance. The reality of this new change in my life hasn’t … Continue Reading
2018 was one hell of a year for me full of many life-changing moments. It’s easy to go into the new year with fresh prospects, expecting amazing opportunities to fall into your hand. Even though my 2018 didn’t start out the best, I also didn’t expect it to be a year of so many blessings. … Continue Reading
In just the last two months, so much has changed for me. I chopped off my hair, I changed jobs, I had the honor of guest speaking at Portland State University, etc. etc. If there is one thing I can say about all this is that all of these recent events have changed my perspective … Continue Reading
Yes, like the Christina Aguilera album that marked a change in her overall style and presentation. For me, back to basics means stripping down whatever I feel is unnecessary and making the decisions that I’ve always wanted to make, including my new haircut. バック・トゥ・ベーシックス。そう、クリスティーナ・アギレラ新しいルックとスタイルをデビューしたアルバムのように。私にとってのバック・トゥ・ベーシックスは必要じゃないものを捨てて、今までやってみたかったことを思い切ってやってみること。このヘアカットもそのひとつです。 My dream haircut Sporting an super-short haircut has always been a … Continue Reading
Starting a brand new life in a different country is never easy. Even if you’ve visited many times and can speak the language fluently, there are so many things you can learn from totally immersing yourself in a different culture and surroundings than the one you grew up in. This is exactly what happened for … Continue Reading
It’s surreal to think that it’s already Christmas Eve, and that in just one more week it’ll be 2018! The older I become, each year passes by more quickly than the previous one, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who feels that way. And it’s already that time of year for reflection … Continue Reading
