n a m e .|. Sanyu
b o r n .|. 24 September '90
a g e .|. 19

I'm a 19 year old aussie girl who acts nothing like an aussie, but acts 100% like a girl. I'm a very flighty* person when it comes down to it, picky, a little bit shallow, outgoing, but not without my shy days. I've been a lot of different things in my life and my interests seem to sway in the gentlest breeze. I suppose that isn't a very detailed idea of my interests or who I am though, is it? I'll elaborate!

As a 5 year old I enjoyed watching Sailor Moon and running marathons in my house after jumping on the trampoline for a whole day. At 8 or so, whenever it came into popularity, I discovered Pokémon. Next was Digimon. Cardcaptors (the dub, hahaha!) came in there too, somewhere before the next phase of Dragonball Z. The Dragonball Z phase took the hand of my tomboy side. Gundam Wing and gaming - roms and PC emulators, Ranma 1/2 and Dragonball Z games - reinforced that side. I think it is safe to say I was an otaku as a child, before I even knew about Japan or animé for what it was.

Skipping over my more, ehm.. misguided (and, I'm convinced, clinically depressed) years through primary school and junior high.. And picture some blonde foils in my hair. My cousin was training to be a hairdresser, so she would dye my hair sometimes. I came back to my interest in animé and Japanese culture some time in early high school. Cue, Japanese pop culture, specifically the music scene in the early 2000s. I met a boy in year 11 when I came into a new school, and we discovered that this music was a common interest of ours unique to many others in the school. He would become my boyfriend of now over 3 years. My interest shifted again then, and I began to like "the scene" (or, emo, as it has been wrongly labelled lately) - when it wasn't particularly well known, let alone popular, here in Perth, and listened to a lot of "indie", alt rock, soft rock. I donned the fly eyed sunglasses, the skinnies, the black nailpolish, and I dyed my hair black because times between blonde were taking a good 6 months and it was getting too ridiculous. Black, however, I could do myself. I found myself often playing DS at school at this stage, getting into some MMORPGs but not lasting long, and watching my high school darling play bass and game, and taught him a lot about a big outside world he had severly missed out on during his childhood.

During 2007 I discovered Japanese street fashion, in particular I picked out Lolita. I was active in the Jrock community on LiveJournal at the time, but it was slowly dying. There were Lolita communities on LJ, so I joined the main, rather large one, and eventually found my way to perth_lolita. The moderator of this community was (and still is) Princess Skye. Come time for the local animé convention, I decided to dress up a bit. It was my first convention, after all! I picked out some items from Baby The Stars Shine Bright, a popular Japanese sweet Lolita brand, and spammed my LiveJournal with pictures and cries for approval! :P Soon, Skye asked me if I would like to model for her Japanese Street Fashion panel as a sweet Lolita. This boosted my motivation a bunch. I didn't know much about Lolita at the time and it pushed me to understand it better. Instead of just a dress, I bought a whole set. Dress, blouse, headbow, socks and shoes. No kidding Lolita is an expensive fashion: this one outfit cost me $600. I was lucky it wasn't all in the same parcel, or I may have been hit by custom fees. Waicon 2007 was a brilliant experience, and I met so many new people. I got closer to the cosplayers and some more Lolitas over a fairly short period of time, my world was opened up to so many new people, I felt so at home and lucky.

I graduated high school that year, as well, drifting apart from most of my schoolfriends, and focusing more on fashion. I started working early in 2008, and had little time or energy to devote to hobbies. My interest had shifted again to clothing; I was looking at webstores all the time and taking a (much less serious) shine to happy-go-lucky Jpop, even just to keep me sane. I hated working. After a while it became a solid routine to simply get up, go to work, come home, eat and sleep, just to do it all again the next day. I quit my job after 2 months when I realised I was losing who I am by repressing my personality, and I couldn't do it anymore. I was a lot happier once I had more free-time. Skye and two others invited me to cosplay with them for the Winter convention, Supanova. It was my first time cosplaying. We decided to perform the Lucky Star dance (it was not as popular then) and worked for months, practising and practising. In comparison to other performances I've seen I'll say I'm very proud of the outcome, but there's always room for improvement!

Skye and I took up ballet when our dance practise was over. It's far away, and the trip home was stressful as I had to wait for public transport and it was late. I stopped going after a while, but have regretted it and want to go back. I did a couple of lessons in Kung Fu but found them all too stressful! I must get fit! :P I intend to go back to ballet eventually. :3

My interest in fashion died down a little here, and I discovered a bit more Chinese and Korean music, then, eventually, French and a few other European artists' music. I began wanting to learn French and more languages, to expand my horizons so that I could experience new cultures and material to their fullest potential. After I got started on this, I regained my interest in fashion, with help from mon petit ami, Craig, as he also began to want more stylish clothes. For me, though, it shifted from Lolita into gyaru.

For Waicon 2009 in January, Skye gained a slot after the Cosplay Competition for a bigger fashion show than last [year]'s. We had the whole stage! I wasn't going to participate, but had been getting more interested in hime-gyaru. On a whim, I asked if I could borrow some clothes to model for hime-gyaru, and a wig. Skye arranged to lend me her dress and Sab's wig, while I went on an accessories hunt (and found the most adorable shoes). Craig even agreed to participate with his new kodona-wear!

Having browsed Jesus Diamante, the epitome of hime-gyaru, I realised it's a lost cause on my current budget (poor student). Now, I've begun to settle with girly, feminine, cheaper Asian fashion. I like Asian drama, and still watch animé sometimes, mainly the old ones I liked as a kid (but the original Japanese versions rather than bad adaptions - for those who had bad dubs - now!). I don't view webstores as much and avoid wearing a lot of my old clothes from middle school (though they still fit). I love learning Japanese, struggle a little at French but am trucking on, and have become more materialistic than I have possibly ever been before, but I like it.

My relationship is strong, my passion for travel and hope for discovery and exciting exploration keeps me going. I don't game much anymore, I don't act on many of my interests very often, like sewing or dancing, photography, and take full advantage of my vulnerable-looking demeanor. I like it. I just want to be happy.

Happiness is the most important thing, and happiness - true happiness - is hands down the best feeling I've ever experienced in my life. I know that now, and I won't let go!