In this blog post, I’ll summarize my academic efforts and school activities during high school, examples of my thoughtfulness and cooperation, as well as my motivation for applying and my career plans.
Academic Experience and Reflections
I’ve always been someone who sleeps a lot. People often told me I was too laid-back, and by 8:00 p.m., I’d get so sleepy that I couldn’t even concentrate during evening self-study sessions. At first, I thought it was due to a lack of willpower, but even after continued effort, my condition didn’t improve. After getting a medical checkup, I was diagnosed with low blood pressure. After I fainted once, my teacher, out of concern for my health, exempted me from evening self-study sessions. While this reduced my fatigue, it also meant I naturally had less time available for studying. Ultimately, I decided that ensuring I covered a similar amount of study material as my peers was the top priority.
So I started studying in the early morning. I wanted to take advantage of the fact that, while I was tired in the evening, I could maintain a clear mind in the morning. Getting up at dawn wasn’t easy, but I resolved to do so, believing that I could study with greater focus than at night. In the beginning, there were days when I just sat there in a daze, but soon I started going to bed after specifically planning the assignments and study material I would tackle the next morning. I would fall asleep each night with the determination that what I studied in the morning—and whether I succeeded or failed at it—would directly impact my grades.
I placed my textbooks and study materials in a visible spot so I could start studying immediately upon waking up, and after finishing, I checked the amount and scope of what I’d covered and marked it on my calendar. This simple routine improved my concentration, and the act of marking my achievements on the calendar itself served as motivation, allowing me to stick with it consistently. As a result, I recovered the grades that had dropped due to my deteriorating health and subsequently experienced a positive trend of steadily improving grades. I learned that finding the right time of day and study plan for myself is what determines learning effectiveness.
Major School Activities and Reflections
As class president during my freshman year, I observed student council activities up close and experienced conflict with the sophomore student council president. That president failed to adequately reflect students’ needs and appeared to neglect their duties, citing their own academic workload as an excuse. Witnessing this, I thought, “If I were student council president, I would do things differently,” and eventually ran for the position, winning the election with the support of those around me.
As Student Council President, the area I devoted the most effort to was “cleaning.” One of my campaign promises was to clean up areas where trash accumulated every day, but many people did not genuinely expect me to follow through. I believed that campaign promises are commitments that must be kept, so I arrived an hour earlier than my peers every morning to take charge of the cleaning. By carrying this out without fail for an entire year, I deeply realized that keeping the promises I made is what responsibility truly means.
Another key focus was facilitating smooth communication between the school and the students. At the time, communication between the school and students was poor; news about welfare policies and facility inspections wasn’t effectively conveyed to students, leading to growing dissatisfaction and mistrust. I took it upon myself to serve as a bridge, launching the Student Council’s Facebook page to promote the school’s welfare policies and available facilities, and I created seasonal posters to enhance information dissemination.
I also worked hard to collect students’ suggestions and convey them to the school administration. I requested improvements one by one for issues directly related to safety—such as broken streetlights or dangerous staircases—and worked with school officials to ensure repair work was carried out. As a result, communication between students and the school improved, leading to higher student satisfaction and a better school atmosphere. My efforts helped create a better learning environment, and the school administration began to listen more closely to the students’ voices.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
Even after stepping down from the position of student council president upon entering my senior year, I continued my activities for the school community. One such effort was proposing and organizing the “Anabada” campaign. I believed this movement—which encourages using things sparingly, sharing them, repurposing them, and reusing them—was an excellent way to reduce household financial burdens and make efficient use of resources. In particular, I noticed that many second-year students still had items they had used in previous grades, and I believed that collecting these would be of great help to the school community.
I explained the purpose of the initiative to the class representatives and began collecting items; my friends voluntarily brought in usable items. The collected items were stored in the basement, and we gathered so many that the storage room was soon filled to capacity. Subsequently, volunteer efforts led by second-year students to clean and maintain the items improved their condition and boosted student participation and interest.
The swap meet—where students donated their own items and received others in exchange—captured the interest of many students, and the atmosphere became even more lively. Based on the positive response from the first event, the school administration provided active support, and the “Anabada” movement became an established, ongoing event. Through this activity, I learned important lessons: that even a small initiative can bring about significant change when many people come together, and that a small act of sharing can be a great gesture of care for someone else.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
My motivation for applying to the Department of Political Science and International Relations stems from my desire to live a “life of participation.” When I struggled with low blood pressure during high school, many friends voluntarily helped me, and thanks to them, I was able to serve as class president and student council president. Thanks to friends who would make sure I had my notes and information first when I was sick, and those who trusted in and supported my role, I experienced receiving help from others on numerous occasions. That moving experience led me to become someone who helps others.
Consequently, as student council president, I actively participated in volunteer and community service activities and planned and executed the “Anabada” campaign. These experiences allowed me to truly appreciate how vital communication and cooperation are among people. I believe the Department of Political Science and International Relations is a place where one learns how to help people and society through politics and diplomacy. The role of mediating opinions amid complex interests and building bridges where communication has broken down held great appeal for me.
The diverse aspects of life and instances of communication breakdowns I encountered through volunteer work and student council activities made me realize that these issues must be addressed on a broader stage. In the world beyond my current experience, there are likely deeper and more complex communication challenges than those I’ve faced at school, and I aspire to be someone who can resolve them. I will grow into a communication expert by broadly studying and applying both theory and practice in your university’s Department of Political Science and International Relations.
