It is amazing what we can accomplish when we let our passion lead us.  It’s magic! In April this year, I was inspired to create colourful and more enjoyable flashcards for kids to help them succeed more easily while studying Japanese and hopefully fall in love with Japanese (like I did when I was 13 years old).

Excited and motivated, I began learning all I could to make this new dream a reality.  Firstly, I had to learn Adobe Illustrator, now was that a challenge!  Illustrator is completely different to any of the Microsoft programs I had used and so after watching numerous training videos and a lot of trial and error, I finally had the hang of it (yeah!).  I was working full time and would be up until around 2am working on the flashcards.  It is amazing when you love something, it doesn’t feel like work. Three months later, I had a full set of 104 Hiragana flashcards and an awesome box design to send to a printer for a sample.  I spent a lot of time researching paper sizes, widths and the various printing options as well as talking with many printers to ensure I had a high quality product by a quality printing company.  I knew these cards would be used regularly and so I wanted to produce a high quality, durable set of flashcards and box to ensure they would last.  The sample box of Hiragana flashcards arrived in September and it was AMAZING!!!  I was so thrilled and it became clear that this was my future and that it was time to dedicate my attention and energy to my passion and dream.  

Seeing the product that I had independently created provided me the strength and courage I needed to take the plunge and make this passion project/business a reality.  I resigned from my full-time position to allow me to take the leap of faith and dedicate all my time to creating the Japres business and resources.  The katakana flashcards were next on the agenda and with the vision of black with multicoloured stars I set out to make these a reality and now both sets of flashcards have been printed and are on their way! I am SO excited and cannot wait to share them with those who are studying Japanese and make their journey that little bit easier and enjoyable.  I am currently working on flashcards containing essential Japanese words, phrases and sentences to not only help primary school and high school students studying Japanese via the Australian curriculum, but also adults who want to learn Japanese or those who wish to travel to Japan (the most amazing place btw) and would like to be able to speak a little Japanese while they are there.

I am passionate about helping our kids learn and enjoy Japanese and I have a whole range of ideas for educational tools and resources.  The Japres brand and resources will grow over time and I cannot wait to create games and other fun activities to make learning Japanese fun.  I have shared my story of teaching my daughter Japanese when she was 10 years old to teach her all she needed (and more) to sit the entrance exam to be accepted into her high school of choice on the Japres website (www.japres.com.au).  We truly had the most wonderful time together and created some terrific and fun memories during this period.  It is four years on and I can see that I will have further opportunities to assist more kids with having fun while learning Japanese.  I don’t know where this amazing adventure will lead me, but I am open to all the wonderful opportunities and connections with people that will be coming my way.  It is a very exciting time!

Are you passionate like me?  Leave me a comment and let me know. 🙂