Among my earliest memories are the many times my mother refused to turn back. Whether she had just walked out the front door and remembered something she left behind, or she had driven beyond her intended destination, her words were always the same, “Never turn back.”　

As a child, and even into adulthood, I never questioned the sageness of my mother’s advice. And so, I have lived a life of never turning back, unconsciously and consciously. It has only been over the past few years that I have begun challenging this thinking.

Certainly, there are times that one should never turn back. However, there are times when turning back is exactly what needs to be done, and may lead us further along our intended path than if we had just continued going.

So, by now, you may be wondering what this has to do with studying Japanese. Well, recently, I have been making a concerted effort to learn Japanese, not for work, or for a test, or even for life purposes, but because I just…want to properly learn the language.

It’s like the title that 1980’s song, “Here I go again,” by Whitesnake. Of course, the rest of the song may or not be applicable to my life. The main point is that I am learning that returning to something may not be such a bad thing.

Beyond returning to studying Japanese, I have started picking up old projects, dusting them off to finish what I started. I am reflecting on all of the things, situations, and people I left behind in my rearview mirror because of a lesson learned a long time ago.

How about you? Is there anything to which you would like to return? Is there a lesson that you learned that you are challenging?

Until Next Time,

D