Author Archives: mana.kanatsu

Hi guys I guess this will be the last blog post since we only have two more classes 🙁
i really enjoyed our freshman seminar, small homie class. I really gained a lot a new info from this class that i will hopefully be able to pass down to the new coming freshmans next year.
So what I like about Baruch so far, three day weekend (everybody enjoys that), the fact that I thought the core curriculum classes would all be boring but ended up being really good and useful (except for music), freshman seminar, and the club activities. what i dont like about baruch is that it’s a commuter school so it’s hard to make connections with people unless you really engage in the school activities. oh i also like the libraries and especially the scenarios where people take up two sofa chairs to sleep 🙂
That’s about it. I hope we all keep in touch even after this semester ends!

 I’m full Japanese born in NY, raised in several countries; most people just assume I’m a Japanese American from the tropical land of Hawaii. As of my family, I have a mom who cooks amazing food and beats me in tennis, an obtuse dad that obeys what mom says no matter what, and a crazy loving sister that likes to control everything I say, own and act. Many of my friends tell me that I’m not the typical Japanese girl; they say I’m funny, joke around a lot, do crazy outrageous things as if there’s no tomorrow, a good listener, entertain people, and challenge myself. I am probably pretty self-conscious because the Japanese culture, which I was brought up in, was based one standard and most of the Japanese people followed it. So if you don’t look or behave similar to others, you are a total misfit. It was honestly very hard for me to fit in not only in Japan but wherever community I was in. Anyways, if the world was to end tomorrow, which is the question I like to think about all the time, I will go to a warm deserted island with someone I care about a lot. If not, I’ll fight against the sharks in the Atlantic Ocean. What I love to do is go to the beach near my house in Japan and watch the waves, sunrise, sunset and feel that you are living the moment.

 I really think my mood swings due to the weather. As I was born in October, I love the season of fall the most; crispy autumn breeze tingling your face and brushing your hair, wearing a light scarf with some earthy colored layers, not too humid and sticky hot like in the summer but not freezing cold, the leaves changing its colors to reddish yellow. Fall is the best season to eat warm apple pie with vanilla ice-cream mmmm….

What is it like to be dead? Will your soul still be there? What is the purpose of living your whole life if you’re gonna be dead anyways? Live a short life with drama or a long life with lots of memories? Whenever I think about what will happen in my later life, I just get creeped out and can’t think about anything anymore. But the more I think about what will happen after I die, the more things start not to make sense to me in the current life I am living in; why are we living? Why are we trying to compete with each other to have a better life than them? (but the sarcastic part to this is that I ask this kind of question to myself and hoping to major in finance at Baruch and eventually work wallstreet getting somewhat annoyed by the wall street hippies.) Why are we trying to be the best in everything when you’re gonna end up dead anyways? But the more I think, the more I get miserable not being able to find a solid reason that I can agree on so I just think like this; Live the life you love. Love the life you live.  Life is only once; do what ever you got to do. Don’t be scared, just do it. Makes loads of mistakes; whatever you do, at the end it’ll be your history.

People want what they don’t have. Keep on desiring. Because you won’t get it until you actually stand up and make an action.

How to write a letter to your professor when you missed your midterm;

Dear professor,

I am writing a letter to you regards as I could not take the midterm last week. I had to go to another state to attend a funeral for one of my relatives that day. Will there be any way for me to take the midterms this week or the following week?  I would like to talk to you in person if necessary.

Thank you for your time

Kind regards,

Mana

I’ve been doing several community services throughout high school and I have learned a lot of things you can’t learn in school. The one community service I was involved in the most is called KOTO (Know One Teach One) which is a NPO for street kids in Vietnam. I taught the kids who are similar age as me English and Japanese. Through the interaction with them I realized that they appreciate every single thing they receive; from clothes, food, teachers teaching them lessons and so on. The kids taught me I should be thankful for what I have as I am not satisfied with what I have and try to get more. Just by hearing the words thank  you made my days and made me want to help them even more.

Another community service that I have done is called Operation Smile, which started from the states. Operation Smile mostly helps children who were born with cleft palletes and give them free surguries so they obtain nomad lips and are able to eat and suck liquids. Other than cleft palettes, Operation Smile helped people who were severely burnt in Vietnam. When I was in Vietnam, I went on a 3 day trip to the south to help doctors with their surgeries for adults, babies and kids who were burnt all over their bodies and faces. It was shocking and painful to hear all the stories of how they got burnt; but when I saw the patient’s and their families’ smiles and satisfaction after the patient received a successful surgery, there was nothing more to say. I admire the work the doctors have been doing for people who are in need and it made me want to help others who need support from others. So after all, I believe community service not only helps the people who need a helping hand, but also grows yourself into a new person with more knowledge, caring thoughts and a warm heart

The club fair was completely different from what I expected: music, chill and friendly atmosphere. All the clubs seemed entertaining and fun to join. I signed up for a couple of clubs which interested me the most and hope to become a member in the near future. The best part of the club fair was the dougie contest; Tomiko was amazing. she kicked butt the contest! I was amazed by her super skills. The part where each club was trying to attract people by giving out snacks and drinks were cool too.

I’m Mana Kanatsu, a full Japanese college student who is satisfied with where she stands (at least for now). I was born in NY (Rye) and lived there till I was five. After NY I moved to Shanghai for a year during one of my kindergarden years. The country after Shanghai was Japan. In Japan, I changed cities three times and schools four times. Spending half of my life in Japan, next came Vietnam, which was from 2009 till I moved to NYC. So when someone asks me “so where are you from? who do you think you are?”; it’s clearly hard to describe it in one sentence and most of the time they get confused what I am. I think I am passionate in whatever I am fond of, for instance, traveling, running, drumming, reading series books, cleaning, washing dishes, picnics, chilling at beaches and many more. From  what I have experienced in several countries including developed as well as developing countries, I like to tell my unique stories to people and make them laugh. Throughout my life I’ve done so many things so make people laugh. I’m also a good listener, and like to comfort people when they are in a bad mood.  Some people say I look scary at first sight, but that’s just because I always stare at one place and locked up in my own world. So no need to worry.

My top three concerns during freshman year are…

1. Failing classes and not getting enough credit for passing my first year (that will really suck)

2. socializing with people and making friends. As Baruch is a commuter school, I always had this as one of the concerns; rather than hanging out at the campus, people just go back home. Also since I didn’t go to a high school in NYC, I really don’t know anybody from this school.

3. making my own lunch everyday; I used to have cheap lunch at the cafeteria in high school; now it’s pretty expensive at our cafeteria with not many choices. Or should I just nibble on the $1 pizzas?!

I think joining club organizations will change my college experience different from my high school experience. Even though I joined club organizations in high school, the clubs in Baruch will expand your connections and even will give you the opportunity for internship for top notch companies. I also feel like I will be one step towards being an ‘adult’ as I have all the freedom as well as responsibilities to all the actions I take.

The first year of college will make me grow (even if it were one step) as a human being. I will need to decide everything by myself including time management, organization, self-decipline, etc. There will be tons of stepping stones throughout my freshman year for me to develop. The more I make mistakes, the more I will grow. 🙂