One

One. In Japanese, ichi. One is the simplest of all kanji to learn - it's one single stroke. But it is said that mastering this kanji is the critical foundation upon which all other kanji study is built. Indeed, in any undertaking, nothing is more important than that first step. Today, all of our Academy members took their first step on a journey that will be entirely unique to them. We took this first day as an opportunity to learn about each other, share our stories, and talk about what brought us here. We learned what makes each of us unique, and also what makes us all similar. This is our team. These are the people we will make this journey with. Tomorrow, we will begin the heavy lifting of our core Japanese language classes, and learn from some very important guests who will share their own fascinating language learning journeys with us. In the Japanese language, when meeting someone for the first time, we use a set phrase: よろしくおねがいします！ Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!  It means "please look after me." This phrase is a simple reminder that we are a community. We work together, we grow together. We are one.