Yuna

From Realspira

Yuna (born 城下由紀奈;　Japanese: Shiroshita Yukina; Chinese: Chengxia Youjinai) is an American postgraduate student attending East China Normal University in Shanghai, China. She is currently studying Chinese language in preparation for her major in Chinese literature and linguistics. Aside from language and literature, she is currently being re-trained as a classic soprano singer after an eight year hiatus. She is the admin for this site.

Contents 1 Early Years 2 Life as an Undergraduate 3 From undergraduate to postgraduate 4 All the Rest 5 Trivia

Early Years

Yuna was born in the state of Florida to a half-Japanese father and American mother. Due to circumstances beyond her control, she was taken to be raised in Michigan by her maternal grandmother and step-grandfather, resulting in a very tiring and somewhat tragic childhood and adolesence. Growing up, Yuna was both an athlete and a singer, participating in competitive swimming for eleven years as well as both local and honours choirs. Due to rising pressures, she would leave the classical singing world for eight years but finish her swimming career at the end of high school.

It was also during this time period that Yuna would learn of her Japanese heritage and it would heavily influence her life from there on out. She began to teach herself Japanese around the age of ten through television, radio, and various books. In high school, Yuna would meet Noriko Rosen-sensei, her Japanese language teacher that would change her life. She became like a mother to Yuna, and it was through Rosen-sensei that everything about Yuna would change. Her mannerisms and thinking were almost completely mentally re-written.

During middle school she met Paine and Kimahri; it was in high school that they became best friends. This circle of friends would expand to include Rikku and Wakka later on in college. She is very proud of her Japanese heritage and would love to meet her Japanese family one day (her father was born in Hiroshima, so that's probably where she'll start looking), though she has been to Japan twice; once in high school and once during her freshman year of college.

Life as an Undergraduate

After high school, Yuna would go on to attend Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. It was during this period of time that everything for her quite literally changed. When she was a sophomore in college in the year 2005, Yuna met Peimin Ni, an accomplished professor and scholar at the university she attended, who mentioned a programme he and another professor Yuna previously had, Geling Shang, happened to run every summer. This programme was a three month study abroad in China, based in the city of Shanghai at East China Normal University. She immediately signed up for the programme and attended it with twenty other students, including Rikku, where the two became very close friends. During that time they also befriended Auron, and the three of them dubbed themselves Teh Unholy Trio and had many misadventures that they still remember to this day.

Yuna considers her experiences in China to be the most important in her life, as she not only discovered herself, but her eyes opened to the world and she was able to learn a great many things about life, living, and especially love. It was also in China that Yuna discovered her love for Chinese philosophy and literature, two things that would become her future goals in life. The two professors who sponsored the trip are also very close to Yuna, and consider her their daughters. Yuna, naturally, feels the same and has bestowed upon them the nicknames of 'Daddy Shang' and 'Papa Ni', though both are equally important father figures in her life. Ni's daughter Sophie is also considered her little sister, and Shang's son Christopher is her little brother.

In the summer of 2006, Yuna and Rikku both journeyed to Taipei, Taiwan where they enjoyed a six-week study abroad with the genius Professor Curtis Smith and nine other students at National Taiwan Normal University. They studied Mandarin Chinese as well as deeper aspects of Chinese culture while in Taipei. At one point the two actually were able to find Professor Smith's house (he had asked Yuna to find it so she could recieve an allowance and Yuna had taken Rikku along for the ride) despite the fact that they had gotten ridiculously lost. They spent a lot of time shopping and drinking Bubble Tea while improving their Mandarin Chinese.

From undergraduate to postgraduate

In the year 2007, Yuna returned to Shanghai to finish a few extra credits as well as assist her Papa Ni and Dad!Shang on the 2007 Summer China Study Programme. She was Shang's teaching assistant. That time, not only Rikku accompanied her, but Wakka, Paine, and Kimahri as well. Once The Gullwings left China, Yuna lived alone in Shanghai for six months as an English teacher before returning to America to fulfill the remainder of her degree at a local community college. She received her diploma from GVSU in August of 2008.

During the spring of 2008, Yuna received an offer of a full scholarship to East China Normal University for her postgraduate studies. She moved to Shanghai (again) in August of 2008 and currently lives in Shanghai with Rikku and Wakka, who also have the same scholarship as she was asked if she wished to bring any friends along. She is due to graduate in 2012 and has chosen Chinese Literature and Linguistics as her major. Currently she is working on studying/mastering the Chinese language for one year and taking the Chinese proficiency test (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi or HSK) in June of 2009. Her goal in the future is to obtain her Ph.D, or even perhaps a second master's degree beforehand.

All the Rest

Highly spiritual, Yuna is a Buddhist/Shintoist, though she is open to many different concepts, especially philosophical Daoism and some Celtic pagan influence. Politically she classifies herself as a liberal and (currently) leans more towards Democrat than Republican. Her favorite things are praying at/visiting temples, drinking tea at Chinese tea houses, warm summer nights, being with her friends and loved ones, practicing Tai Chi (though she's not as good as Rikku or Auron), learning whatever piques her interest, shopping, and playing video games. Yuna also enjoys writing and is still working on a novel she's been trying to complete since 2002. She is an ex-competitive swimmer; her best stroke was freestyle and she swam long-distance. Her style is best described as 'trendy-conservative' and she loves to cook for her friends.

Before she moved to China, Yuna lived in Plan B 215 with The Gullwings minus Rikku, who is in the Bikanel Desert, ironically with Auron. Yuna feels blessed to have so many friends, and even more so that they have all proclaimed themselves each as one of her Guardians.

Trivia

• She was first compared to FFX!Yuna in 2001 by her friend Lauren shortly after Lauren finished playing the game. Yuna herself did not actually play the game or see the full storyline until 2005.
• Her favorite flower has been the hibiscus since she was seven years old. The first yukata she ever owned is adorned with the hibiscus as well.
• In 2003 she almost became a Shinto Priestess at a shrine in the United States. She was deeply considering it, but her parents requested she finish college first instead.
• In middle school, Yuna was being classically trained as a singer in the soprano voice range. She performed solos both at the local church as well as with her honours choir during this time. She has traveled with choirs to New York twice, the first time touring various churches and the second time in 2003 to Carnegie Hall.
• Yuna is also an accomplished long-distance swimmer, having started swimming at the age of seven. She briefly considered seriously training for the Olympics but declined as she felt the height of her career emotionally was over.
• Her IQ was once professionally tested at the age of twelve and she scored a 156 (she has NO idea how that happened)
• She is hopelessly bad at mathematics and science, but excells in arts and humanities
• Her fist language was actually Spanish due to the fact that her mother was not around and her baby-sitter was Cuban. However native language is English with Japanese as a second and Mandarin Chinese as a third. She can also speak a little bit of Korean and tell people she is not Shanghainese in Shanghainese.
• She can write fluently in Kana and self-taught herself Japanese for five years before attending the class in high school. Her Japanese speaking/listening level is much higher than her reading/writing, as she was once near-fluent before she took a break and started studying Mandarin.
• Her bloodtype is O.
• Friends say that she cooks yakisoba and gyoza very well. Recently she got a Classical Chinese cookbook and will be experimenting with that this coming Winter semester.
• Her favourite fictional character of all time is Heero Yuy from New Mobile Report Gundam Wing. She has a three-foot tall plushie of him sitting on her bed back in America.
• She still loves her high school uniform from Japan and wishes she had been able to wear it all throughout high school.
• Her favourite colours are pink and teal.
• Her personality type is both INFJ and INFP. She first was classified as an INFP in high school for a career psychology exam, then later as an INFJ in her university psychology class only to finally settle somewhere in the middle between the two.