17- Where It All Came Together
Around that time, I heard a successful entrepreneur say:
“If you want to learn sushi, go to a school. One year—and you’ll be able to serve with confidence.”
That sentence stuck with me.
Then came a twist of fate:
Japan announced a COVID relief grant for small business owners.
The amount?
Just enough to cover a year at a professional sushi academy.
It felt like everything was aligning.
My English skills—honed over years of study.
My communication—from guiding travelers.
My photography—shaped by shooting over 300 restaurants.
And now, the dream I had buried for a decade was asking to be realized.
If I added sushi to the mix, I could offer something truly unique:
A private, premium sushi-making class for overseas guests—
rooted in real technique, personal storytelling, and heartfelt hospitality.
Maybe, by the time I graduated, Japan’s borders would reopen.
Tourists would return.
And I would be ready.
I made up my mind.
I wasn’t just going to survive. I was going to build.
Not just a class—
A bridge between cultures, born from a quiet dream and built with everything I had.
The camera had carried me this far.
Now, the knife would take me the rest of the way.
