Early Childhood by the Sea (20 facts about me — part 1) 🌊🌸

Hello deer, this is Seri 🌸

From the sea breeze of Miyazu to the soft hills of Kobe, these are little fragments of the girl I was. This post is a quiet walk through the seasons of my childhood from birth to eighteen. It's not meant to be a full story, but rather, scattered seashells of memory, some tender, some bittersweet. I wanted to write this to remember, and to honor the people, places, and feelings that shaped me. Maybe somewhere in these lines, you’ll feel the wind, the waves, or a little girl's quiet wonder.

Facts about me from 0 to 18 🌊🌸

🌱 I was born in Miyazu, in Kyoto. I had a twin brother named Seijun, but he didn’t survive our birth. We didn’t speak much about him in the family, so he wasn’t very present in our everyday lives but I still carry his name gently in my heart.

🌱 I spent my early childhood in Yosa, until I turned five. Back then, I lived with my parents, grandparents, my father’s siblings, and their children. We were a big extended family, and I was mostly raised by the women—mothers, aunties, and grandmothers who cared for us all together.

🌱 I grew up surrounded by the sea. My grandfather was a fisherman.

🌱 My grandmother (father side) is from Okinawa. She moved to the Kansai region in her twenties, and thanks to her, I can understand the Okinawan dialect.

🌱 A little before my sixth birthday, we moved to Tarumi-ku in Kobe, where I lived the rest of my childhood.

🌱 I have two brothers Sadaaki, born in 1994, and Sakon, born in 2005.

🌱 My father has always lived in Kansai, but my mother is originally from Hokkaido. She moved to Nagoya, then later to Kansai after meeting my dad.

🌱 My grandmother was like a second mother to me. She and my grandfather moved closer to us a few years after we settled in Kobe.

🌱 I also have a cousin I’m very close to. We were raised together by our grandma too, but when she was six, she moved to Switzerland with her father, who is Swiss. After she left, I started to want to learn French just so I could feel closer to her.

🌱 When I was ten, I became passionate about figure skating. Around twelve, I began taking classes. My dad used to accompany me to almost every lesson.

🌱 My family traveled often together. We went to South Korea many times and visited Hokkaido occasionally as well.

🌱 I started learning Korean and French even before I studied English.

🌱 Before high school, I didn’t have any friends. I was always with my family, which was more than enough for me at the time. My first real friend was Asuka, and she’s still my best friend to this day.

🌱 I’ve always loved nature especially the sea and the ocean.

🌱 I grew up with both Shinto and Christian influences. My grandma followed an animist belief from Okinawa, while my mama grew up Christian. I personally was Christian for a couple of years during my youth.

🌱 I’ve always been a “pink girl.” I loved Hello Kitty when I was little, and penguins were my favorite animals back then.

🌱 I read a lot of shojo manga in middle school, though I’ve forgotten most of them now except for Nana. Later, by the time I turned twenty, I became more interested in seinen and gore-themed anime.

🌱 As a child—until around 14—I was extremely shy and introverted. I usually hid behind my dad and mostly spoke only to my family.

🌱 I used to garden with my father. We grew things like tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers. We also trimmed shrubs and collected fallen leaves together. My mom was a flowers lover too.

🌱 By the age of 18, I already knew I wanted to study social sciences. I had always dreamed of being a florist, but my deep interest in cultures and people led me toward social studies.

🌱 My curiosity about other cultures really bloomed during high school. Since my own family has diverse cultural roots, I naturally wanted to learn more about the world around me.

Conclusion 🌊🌸

Looking back, I see a quiet, soft-hearted girl with salt in her hair and curiosity in her heart. I wasn’t loud or brave in the ways people expect but I was always listening, feeling, noticing. I was shaped by women’s hands, family laughter, faraway cultures, and moments by the sea. This was just the first part of my story before the world grew bigger, before heartbreaks and healing, before I began to walk more alone. I’ll continue soon… but for now, thank you for reading this small part of my tide.