Student Blog

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Hello, everyone! It’s Mizuho from SPA! Summer vacation is almost over. Did you spend a meaningful time?
Also, did you plan your fall semester? I haven’t decided on anything concrete yet, but I’m planning on being positive and challenging myself.
This time, I will introduce that process and what I learned from it!
Many APU students, after spending some time in AP House, go downtown to live by themselves or in share houses, but not many do renovations like I have. From the time I was a 1st year until the first half of my 2nd year, I renovated my room. So, this time I want to share that with you

Before demolition（above）After demolition（below）

I renovated a 1LDK apartment in Beppu City. It took more than half a year. To help with renovations, my father came from Saga to Beppu, a 2-hour ride one-way, once a week. However, he only has 2 days off in a week. After leaving AP House, I was in a share house with friends for about 3 months while I worked on the place by myself.

First, we did the demolition work. Please look at the picture on the left! This is just one picture of how we removed unnecessary parts and rebuilt them. It took a lot of strength... Truthfully, while working I wanted to quit as I couldn’t see an end in sight and didn’t feel any sense of accomplishment.

We demolished the bathroom, kitchen, toilet, and tatami room. The bathroom took a lot of work in particular. Originally, it was a unit bath, but to separate it from the toilet, we had to dismantle all the plumbing. We also had to call professionals to help us...
Then, we turned the tatami room into flooring. One by one I had to measure out the length of each piece, but because I was doing it alone, I had only completed about half the room in a whole day. However, as I continued working at it, the atmosphere of the room changed and I began to feel my progress. Compared to the demolition, it was fun and I felt a sense of accomplishment.

Replacing the ceiling

Halfway in, I asked my friends for help. There are tasks that even we students can do, painting walls for the first time, reupholstering ceilings and floors, carrying heavy loads, etc. After that, with the cooperation of many friends, the work progressed steadily, and the workshop was filled with laughter and chatter as it was nearing completion.

When it was finally complete, I felt with great accomplishment, “It’s finally done! I can finally live here!” I am so thankful for my father and the friends who helped me out. They lent me their hands even when they were so busy with classes. I am really happy we were able to create something together.

（Left）My room, completed over a year with the help of many people
（Right）Before rennovation

Through this rennovation project, I realized the importance of a room. We spend time in our rooms taking for granted how how many processes and how much labor it takes for us to live safely with working electricity and water.
I also felt that behind-the-scenes work and building the foundation were the most important. When renovating, I spent the most time and effort on dismantling. By doing this work properly, the next steps will go smoothly. I felt that it is very important to proceed to the next work after building a solid foundation.
I will make use of this realization in my studies and in my daily life, and strive to build a strong foundation every day. If you put your heart into something old, you can transform it into something beyond your imagination. If you have knowledge you stopped updating, please try to revisit it. By doing so, it may have great power in the future.

Mizuho Ueno

Hello, everyone! My name is Mizuho, and I am a 4th year student in the College of Asia Pacific Studies. My hobbies are dancing, getting in touch with nature, and playing with animals! I used to do aikido, so I'm strong! :) I hope to interact with many people through SPA activities!