A Short Introduction to Myself

Big Bird walks into the store lost, starving, and in search of some lunch. He asks for some fish he sees on a display, the cashier says something, but Big Bird is completely clueless. He doesn’t know Japanese. At first, I was in Big Bird’s shoes, completely befuddled. Aside from Dora the Explorer, this was my first experience with a language other than English. I was intrigued, so I kept watching. The cashier keeps refusing Big Bird, but he eventually gives in as Big Bird gives him some money, Big Bird desperately takes a bite into the fish only to realize that it is glass. This scene from the Sesame Street franchise Big Bird in Japan sparked an ember that would soon grow into an inferno, my longing to go to Japan. 
I live in the middle of absolute nowhere, a very small desert town called Helendale. There’s nothing but sand and dead bushes for miles outside of here, and very little to do as a teenager, and I fully blame this bland living situation to be the cause of my immeasurable lack of opportunities. Venturing to Japan would shape me into a severely different Lukas. In America, I am a good student with good grades, I am on the student body, and I am on the cross-country team. In Japan, I will still get good grades, but many more opportunities would be given to me, I’d learn a new language, try new sports and activities that are taboo in my home country, and so much more. It will bring out my fullest potential and present me with the opportunities I’ve been waiting for my whole life.
As strong as my longing is, what it really boils down to is that my lack of money is stronger. Receiving donations decides if I am able to achieve my goal of going to Japan or not. I’ve worked some odd jobs such as moving tables and dog-sitting, but that money just isn’t cutting it at this rate. I’m inching towards being able to fully pay this off, but I primarily rely on donations and fundraisers at this point.
Japan is going to provide a lot of eye-opening experiences for me. When you stay in one place for your whole life, you tend to be heavily influenced by those around you, lots of people are affected by this and tend to have a one-track mind, I am, or, at least, hope that I am different in my way of thinking. I don’t want to be one of those people who have been shut off from parts of the world, I have a genuine and strong drive to learn about new things. I have always been pretty accepting of new and alternate ideas as well as cultures. Japanese culture has been the most enthralling out of all the ones I’ve taken time to look at.
I love all sorts of things from Japan, from things like Nintendo games to the food. One thing in particular that’s played a major role in my life is Pokemon, it is through this game that I have been able to draw lots of parallels between Pokemon and Japanese folklore, events, and history. I love both the traditional and modern aspects that Japan shows, it is a culture that stands out above all others in the entire world. From the olden temples and varying bugs to the bustling cities flourishing with abstract entertainment, everything is just so interesting. 
I would really love to see and do everything possible in Japan, and I’d especially like to do it while I’m still a kid. I don’t have much time left in my childhood and I’ve yet to do so many things. I’d love to connect with more people and explore more diverse environments than I’ve ever been able to back home. Making these connections and being exposed to new things will be able to provide me with the vital experience I will need to find myself a place in society outside of my tiny hometown. Undergoing this journey while I am still a kid is very important to me as these next few years will be the last that I’ll have these opportunities available to me, I will have nowhere near the amount of spare time I’ve been blessed with as a kid.
        Over the past year, my parents have been separating and undergoing a divorce, my dad has refused to help financially in any way. He was abusive and a hoarder, but he had a job. Now that he is gone, we don’t get as much money as we normally would, I probably wouldn’t need any outside funding. However, that is not the case, and I desperately need any money that I can nab. In fact, if anything, he’s been making us lose money, numerous court appearances and legal fees have added up to a good amount of money, but still he has yet to show any real support for me and my financial problems with studying abroad. 

It’s a blessing and a curse, the fact that I’m in this desolate town. Without the sixteen stagnant years of my life here, I could have never came to the conclusion that I want to go to Japan. I could live a hundred years where I am and I could learn and grow half as much as I could in a year overseas; I’d rather venture out than be comfortable. So I guess you could say I’m like Big Bird, lost, starving, and in search of some lunch. 

I am going through the AFS program, and would be leaving around March 19th 2019 and return to America in early February if the money is raised.

The widget at the top says I need to raise $3,000, but that is only the starting amount, once we get closer to the goal, it will be raised gradually, a way to directly donate (if you don't want to make use of the widget above) would be to contact my Study Abroad Specialist,  Jo Jordan, available Monday-Wednesday from 12-8 EST, and Thursday-Friday 10-6 EST; her phone number is 646-751-2086.

Thank you for even reading, and thank you even more if you even considered donating, or as they say in Japan: arigato! (ありがとう！)

Some pictures of me:

Front middle, with some friends at the California Science Center on my 16th birthday.


A solo picture of myself the day before receiving my haircut.

A solo picture of myself right after receiving a haircut. (Required to go to Japan.)


Left, a picture of me, my mom, and my two younger sisters.

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