Portrait of a Japanese Person

For my portrait of a Japanese person, I asked one of my Seminar House's Japanese roommates, Tamaki, to pose for me. 

Tamaki, or Tama-chan, is one of the sweetest, most genki people I have ever met.  Ever since I moved into Seminar House 1, she's always been ready with a smile and a compliment.  I think that one of the things I like the most about her is that she has such a bubbly, sweet attitude but she's also incredibly diligent.  I've seen her literally stay up all night to study, which is one of the reasons I chose this picture.  I wanted to capture both her amazing smile and her diligent nature.

When I think of her I also think of a story that makes me feel simultaneously guilty and grateful.  In our dorm kitchen, we have had a problem with people not properly cleaning their cooking utensils.  Especially in the case of rice cookers, this can get somewhat disgusting--rice crusted into the bowls and all.  One morning, Tamaki cleaned all the dishes and rice cookers.  Even though they weren't mine, I felt such a sense of collective guilt for my fellow students and appreciation for Tamaki.  I feel really priveleged to have met her.