During my time at KCJS I chose to take semi-private shodō, or Japanese calligraphy, classes. My teacher, Tanaka-san, is a professional calligrapher and he guided me during this time. Some of the things I learned was how to position my arms, both the one holding the brush and the one not, how to control the amount of pressure I exerted, how to manipulate the brush to move how I wanted it to, how much ink I needed, and most importantly to never stop the flow of the brush as it glided across the paper. There is a lot more to the world of shodō than simply painting the characters, you must write with intention and meaning. The type of brush you use, the style of writing, and where you position the characters on the paper are also important in conveying not just the meaning but the feeling to the viewer. I recommend incoming students to put themselves in challenging situations–situations where they will encounter new things, or listen to Japanese above their level, or have to speak to strangers. Tanaka-san communicated with me in broken English and Japanese in order to teach me shodō because he wanted me to learn and no language barrier could change that. As long as you show that you are actively trying and putting effort, there will be people willing to help, and you in turn with grow.