#3

To Whoever This May Concern,

I am a student taking Psychology 222 and as an assignment I would like to introduce myself. First of all, I am 20 years old and a Junior in Biology. I graduated from Leilehua High school in 1977. I was born and raised in Wahiawa. My mother is Chinese and my father is Japanese, and I have two brothers and one sister. Oh yes, I'm 5'10" and 165 lbs. with brown eyes and black hair. I hope I got all of the formal stuff out of the way; now for the interesting stuff. My interests are sports like footballs soccer, tennis, weightlifting, and skating. I also like the beach, the sun and the great outdoors. But, I think playing the piano is one of my favorite past times. I love to play the piano ^ to figure out songs that I here on the radio, and also to try different instruments. My favorite composers are Chopin and Bach. As far as night life's I like to go to the movies and the "discos," also going to parties and meeting people. Since I also like jazz music, I sometimes go to lounges to have a moderate drink and listen to the music. As far as school, I'd like to eventually get into Optometry school.

I feel that the family unit is one of the most important aspects of societal life. This is why I feel strongly about keeping strong ties or "forces" within the family. My father is a third generation Japanese and my mother is a second generation Chinese. The dilution of their cultures has resulted in our family having mostly American-traditions and customs (although a few of them are still held on to like blowing fireworks at Chinese New Years and the pounding of mochi at the American New Years. Our family is held together by a force of mutual love between members. My father is a family man-and enjoys going on family outings. Financially, we are moderately well off, I mean my parents have been successful at supplying us with the material needs but most of all they afford moral support when needed. They teach us and maintain high moral values which they feel will help us as good individuals later in life. They are very future oriented as they plan and help us to be better off in the years to come( housing, good schooling).They are careful in planning their future, too Although we have many problems in our family, and who doesn't, I'm glad to be in this family.

Actually, one of my interests is people. I spent my latest 3 semesters at the University of Houston in Texas. There, I met people who were not just different physically, but different socially. For example, a lot of people attend this university, and many times as I walk to class I may approach a person and if our eyes meet they would be obliged to say "hi" or "how 'r doing?" This, I found, was one of the most surprising differences that I experienced while staying there. However, I also noticed that people there are generally impatient. They expect things to be done right away, as if they were in a hurry or something. This is in contrast to the people here where pushy people are a rarity. I think that the cultural upbringing and the environment in which people live has a lot to do with this. I am a true Pisces and if you follow the Zodiac, it suggests a person who is generally sympathetic, idealistic, and sensitive. I feel this is pretty much true for me because no matter how weird a person is, I would think of that person as being "just different". I also like to confide in people and to talk over their problems. This results in a greater understanding of the person who I am talking to and it gives me a gratifying feeling when their problem is solved or gotten over. Well, after thinking about myself I guess I am a kind of mellow person. I like to contemplate on the aspect of self-realization and setting positive goals for myself. Having a goal in life is very important in fact, I feel one should have a different goal each day. Well, I guess I've presented enough of myself. Putting everything together, this is the physical and inner me. I hope you like it and I hope I get to meet you sometime whoever you are.

Sincerely,

Eryle Okamura