Anime is something that has been in my life since I was a kid, and it holds lots of good memories for me. It was hard growing up watching anime because a lot of people did not understand it and would make fun of it, but this did not stop me from watching it.

I never changed the things I liked because of what others thought, I just thought they did not understand and made fun of me for it. I have never stopped liking anime but my taste in anime has changed a lot the older I gotten.

The older I get the more my taste changes when it comes to things that I like. Anime has been hard to keep watching over the years, but I have always found something to make me want to keep watching anime even if I took a break from it.

It has been such a tricky thing growing up liking things that others did not understand because I have always been called weird and people did not understand me at all.

The names I was called have never changed the way I am, but I have come to see being called weird not as a terrible thing but as a good thing because it just means I am different.

The thing I do like now is that anime is more accepted by people and more people are watching it which causes anime to get a lot of support. Anime is still seen as childish by some people but that is only because they might not understand it.

I used to get so upset when people did not understand anime and made fun of it but now it does not upset me anymore because I can understand some people just do not like it or just do not know what it is.

Anime is not the only thing I care about either; I love all types of things that are seen as different and weird, but it is just because people do not understand the things that I like. I now enjoy learning all types of subjects and understanding things that I do not normally know.

I find it fun but also interesting to learn new things including unfamiliar cultures to me. My love for learning new topics has made me want to be journalist and has changed the way I see the world around me.

This is how anime has changed the way I see the world and how I interact with people, knowledge, and cultures. Anime has made me a more understanding person and helped me have a great imagination that has changed the way I see things that affect the way I write.

Anime and the other things that influence me have helped me grow as a person and I hope that the older I get the more things I become inspired by. Anime has helped me be open to new experiences and doing things that are new for me.

Karyne Allen is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at kkallen3@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.