I am a stay at home mom of 3 children.  I home school my kids and end up doing very little for myself.  Japanese has become my “for me” thing that I do.  I started learning because I thought it would be fun to learn something challenging and different, plus I was curious if my favorite anime and manga were different in their original language than they were in English.  Not the best of reasons to get interested in doing something as labor intensive as learning  a new language, but I’m a bit weird when it comes to what I consider fun.  I regret not being able to finish school and get my teaching credential in English/Linguistics, so for me this is a way to make up for the things I missed out on when life took a sudden turn.  I enjoy learning more than anything and I’ve made quite  a few friends around the globe already from my interest in Japanese.  I’m learning a lot about other countries, not just Japan, and I’m also expanding my ability to teach others.  I think learning Japanese has turned into something much more than just broadening my own horizons.  I am hopeful that one day I can find a way to use the  languages I have learned to teach others English.