Light-heartedness
Izumi and I were in different classes again, but I no longer bothered rekindling our friendship and started to make friends with other girls in the same class. Sayuri had […]
Essay on discrimination – part 2
I asked the progressive reverend for help when I saw him for an English lesson at the church. The progressive reverend held an annual rock concert with local youth at […]
Essay on discrimination – part 1
Soon after the third year started in April 1992, we saw the news about a riot in Los Angeles. A video was released of a man named Rodney King, pulled […]
Meeting Jane – the aftermath
No novels enthralled me as much as Jane Eyre. I was unable to read past a chapter of anything. Many books that we were encouraged to read were written by […]
Meeting Jane – part 2
Becoming a governess was possibly the only means for her other than marriage to earn her living. She took a job at Thornfield, where she met Rochester. He was no […]
Meeting Jane – part 1
Age 14 was the year I came to a turning point in my reading life. I had been consuming library books voraciously until I came across Jane Eyre by Charlotte […]
Aloneness
My friendship with Izumi and Kei was changing. I often visited them in their classroom during recess. Whenever I visited, Izumi was surrounded by other girls, and it felt awkward […]
Madonna’s “Sex”
In the year I was in the 2nd-grade of junior high school (8th grade in the US), Madonna released a photography book, “Sex,” which caused quite a sensation in Japan. […]
Izumi’s boy
Autumn was approaching, but I wasn’t enjoying the theatre club as much as the previous year. Izumi had started “dating” a boy whom I loathed. He would take pleasure in […]
Aftermath – new girls’ rules 3
From the following week, I started to play with my hair – ponytail with a cute scrunchy, two braids, headbands. The fun of it released some tension of being 14 […]