9th June, 2024 — Excerpt From A Diary Entry
I first came across Haikyuu! around 2017 or 2018. I was very new to anime and started watching it on the recommendation of a friend, Caio. The first anime I ever watched was Blue Exorcist and I'm still very fond of it. After a while I lost track of the episodes as I think they were still being released. I'm almost sure I watched at least two seasons, but then I completely forgot about it.
I loved it so much at the time that I even bought a volleyball and knee pads. But then one day, when I was playing with my friends during a party, my ball was stolen and I was pretty upset. It wasn't cheap (a gift from Dad) & I spent time practicing with it in my room & outside for so long that I got discouraged. After a few years, during my senior year, I joined the volleyball class at school and started going to lessons on the beach. It was a very good experience because I was able to grow into my skills and had a team sport that brought me closer to some friends.
Unfortunately, my beach volleyball lessons were at night and they usually finished at 9pm, which was very late, so I always walked home exhausted. If you don't already know, beach volleyball is quite intense and much harder than gym volleyball. My legs always burned so bad at the end of it... It was during my senior year when I had to study so much for exams that I ended up quitting ballet. By that time I had grown into it, after a few years of reluctance, & I was progressing and it was great. I still miss it and hope to do both volleyball and ballet one day.
So, my obsession resurfaced after watching a video on youtube a few days ago about Kita's—from Inarizaki—philosophy [Anime's most inspiring philosophy (Shinsuke Kita) by Lessons From Anime]. It awakened something in me that I had missed. This manga pages gave me motivation to wake up & do things right—the best way I could—even if I was not in the mood for it. The feeling I had during my middle school years and the drive to be better at something that gives me joy. Now that I'm without my friends because of college entrance exams, it really gave me the company I needed and the comforting feeling of pursuing something, you know? Anyway, I'm so out of shape! Don't worry Shinsuke-san, I'll become someone you'd be proud to call a friend!
