#yuzuversary

[hanyuninare]

My 9th Yuzuversary

Every year without fail I log back on here after a long hiatus to commemorate this very special day.

It's been 9 years since I first found out who Yuzu was, and since I've already said every sappy thing that can be said about that, I figured this is all that's left to say:

how it started:

how it's going:

[yuzuruspoohsan]

Thanks to @hanyuninare and her lovely post about having “Yuzuversaries” 

This blog will have Yuzuversaries on September 1st from now on.

(I don’t actually remember when, but considering I just started working in my current job around then or before, I decided to come up with an easy date to remember. For those who care to know, yes. I started liking Yuzu around Sep last year. Haha. But I’m the type to research a lot on someone, so don’t worry, I’ve watched/read nearly all if not most of what there is on about Yuzu....which isn’t too much....)

[hanyuninare]

My 8th Yuzuversary

February 6th is a very special day for me - it's the anniversary of the first time I ever saw Yuzu at the Sochi Team Event (which I lovingly call my "Yuzuversary").

I try to celebrate somehow every year, so this year I took an embroidery project family photo 💕

Me 8 years ago never would've thought we'd be here. No part of this road has been easy, but there have been so many wonderful, amazing, over-the-moon moments that make it all worth it. Sometimes it's a Super Slam and sometimes it's just a video smiling and waving and thanking us for our support.

I've gushed about this before but I know I've experienced a lot of things because I watched Yuzu skate at the team event in Sochi - I've sung Hana wa Saku at different concerts, I met you all, and I graduated college with a Yuzu quote on my cap and the Swanyu scrunchie on my wrist.

Nothing's been easy but I am so very thankful I've gotten to support him all these years. I wouldn't trade that day for anything. As long as he is good and kind, I'll be cheering him on for whatever he does from wherever I am.

Thank you for your kindness and for the hope, strength, and comfort you've given me over the years. May you stay healthy, happy, and safe, and may these Games be successful and wonderful for you 💕💕💕

[hanyuninare]

My 7th Yuzuversary

Wowie! I’ve been a fanyu for 1/3 of my life now!!

It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 years since I saw Yuzu on TV doing the Team Event in Sochi, but so much has happened since then. Really, I owe a lot of what I’ve experienced these past 7 years to Yuzu, and I’m really thankful to have wonderful fanyu friends around the globe who remind me everyday how amazing the world is.

Thanks to Yuzu for continuing to fight and be a person you can’t help but love and cheer for and want the best for. Thank you for skating with every bit of heart you have.

Here’s to many more wonderfully golden fanyu years~

[hanyuninare]

My 5th Yuzuversary

For those of you who didn’t see last year’s post, “Yuzuversary” is a term I coined in 2015 when celebrating a year since seeing Yuzu for the first time. As you can tell by the title, this is my 5th!

These past 5 years have been wild. Injury after injury came success after success. Yuzuru Hanyu proved to the world that he is the greatest of all time. Record after record after record after record after record...

I look back at pictures from Sochi, or even 2014/15, and I realize how much he has grown up. It feels weird to say that, when I’m currently how old he was when he won in Sochi, but you really can see it. I feel that he’s grown both physically and mentally, and all for the better.

Yuzu has really helped me in ways he’ll never know. Programs like Haru Yo Koi and Notte Stellata are on another level of beauty. Watching them immediately calms me down and gives me strength. His performance is so moving that I can see some of the choreography just by listening to the piece. There is a calm strength in both, and Haru Yo Koi has an optimism about it that I find I need a lot recently.

Up until those two programs, I would always watch Hana Ni Nare. As you can tell, I love it a lot. You can tell that he’s grown into the kind of skater who can express themselves with programs like Notte Stellata and Haru Yo Koi, but older programs like Hana Ni Nare are still very, very special to me.

February 6, 2014. Sochi Team Event. Parisienne Walkways.

This is the performance that changed my life:

[hanyuninare]

My 10th Yuzuversary

It's getting late here and I'm very tired from work but tumblr is the last place I have left on my list to post, so a quick little blurb and then off to relax...

10 years ago today, I was sitting on my couch when Yuzu all of a sudden appeared on my TV screen, and immediately I was hooked. I was just as blown away by his performance then as I am now. I fell in the swamp fast, and I've been real deep in it almost since day 1.

It hasn't been easy the last 10 years, but for every setback and difficult time there have been a million smiles and laughs and cheery moments to brighten up the lonely darkness of the night sky or hug my heart warmly and tightly like it so desperately needs.

I owe a lot to Yuzu. I've truly done a lot of growing with this guy present in my life, and I owe a lot of where I am in life right now to him. Truly don't think I'd be here like this if it weren't for all the ways he's impacted my life.

Off to celebrate with a Ghana treat, but thank you, Yuzu, for everything these past 10 years. Here's to so many more years of happiness and great memories 💕

[hanyuninare]

Yuzuversary Part 6?!?!?!?!?!

Hello everyone!! (Yes, I’m still alive!)

I’ve returned today to do my annual sappy post because it is currently February 6, which means that it’s my Yuzuversary!!!!!

For those of you who haven’t seen any of my Yuzuversary posts, here’s the explanation! I’ve gushed about it on my Twitter already today, but today is special for many reasons. 

Firstly, it’s a Thursday. February 6, 2014 was also a Thursday. That’s just wild to me.

Secondly, it’s a new decade. Following Yuzu into a new decade is something that I’m so thankful to be able to do. 

Thirdly, this is my sixth Yuzuversary. Six. Years. I still can’t believe it. When I first learned about him, I don’t think I expected everything to last this long. Back then, I didn’t even know the World Championships were a thing.

Being able to follow his journey to PyeongChang was incredible, with all its twists and turns. It was a difficult journey, but oh so rewarding. Saying “two-time Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu” will never get old.

Every day with him since PyeongChang has been a true blessing. Another blessing is seeing him go back to programs for 4CC where he feels like himself and watching him really shine through them. 

2014 me didn’t know what to expect when she fell headfirst into figure skating again. I’ve definitely watched Yuzu with some anxieties, but I don’t regret for a second supporting him. Supporting him makes me feel supported in return, somehow. 

We all know that Yuzu has touched each of our lives in some way, in a way unique to each of us. Sometimes I think about how I learned about him in middle school and now I’m a full-blown adult. Still, I have six years worth of pictures and phone notes to look back on and remind myself of how much his presence in my life has truly helped me. Of course I get sad and heartbroken when he gets injured or doesn’t win, but there’s more to him than winning. It’s his wise words and the way he carries himself that make him all the more impressive and lovely. He’s worth supporting because his skating and his character seem to give support to us. 

I’ve often wondered in these past six years what my future as a skating fan will be like. For now, though - for today - I’d like to relish in the past and thank my middle school self for paying attention to that Sochi Team Event.

Actually, I heard his name announced, took pictures of my TV, and was absolutely mesmerized by this performance:

“What was his name again?” I thought as he finished. I had my notes open and ready.

“Yuzuru Hanyu”

A name I haven’t forgotten since, and I don’t think I ever will.