If It Wasn't for Yuzuru, I'd Never Have....

[rockstaryuzu]

Since we're all feeling, to put it mildly, a bit shell-shocked after Yuzu's rollercoaster Rostelecom experience, and to take our minds off just how  very upsetting it is that he's injured yet again, I thought it might be nice to take some time and think about all the things Yuzu has been the catalyst for in our lives, and share them here. Being his fan has taken satellites around the world and sparked friendships we would never have had otherwise, for example. 

 

So, what's your 'Without Yuzu, I'd Never Have..' thing? It can be silly or serious or sweet or surprising, or all 4. Whatever you feel like sharing.

 

 

I'll go first:

 

Without Yuzu, I'd never have learned to recognize the Japanese national anthem from the first three notes. 

[4Nessie]

1 hour ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Since we're all feeling, to put it mildly, a bit shell-shocked after Yuzu's rollercoaster Rostelecom experience, and to take our minds off just how  very upsetting it is that he's injured yet again, I thought it might be nice to take some time and think about all the things Yuzu has been the catalyst for in our lives, and share them here. Being his fan has taken satellites around the world and sparked friendships we would never have had otherwise, for example. 

 

So, what's your 'Without Yuzu, I'd Never Have..' thing? It can be silly or serious or sweet or surprising, or all 4. Whatever you feel like sharing.

 

 

I'll go first:

 

Without Yuzu, I'd never have learned to recognize the Japanese national anthem from the first three notes. 

 

Thank you for this. This is great! So my turn:

 

Without Yuzu, I'd never have started to learn Japanese and I wouldn't have loved the learning process so much.

(Oh, and I wish Yuzu would do Kanji classes. His handwriting is so beautiful...)

[ralucutzagy]

If it wasn't for Yuzuru I wouldn't have turn back to watching figure skating and I wouldn't have learned to recognize jumps, steps and spins like I do now. 

[dorkyiceprince]

Without Yuzu, I'd never have continued studying Japanese. I did start it because of him, but without him around I couldn't have pushed myself to continue every time I felt like giving up. 

[MagicFS]

If it wasn't for Yuzu, I wouldn't be such a gigantic fan of figure skating now. I would just watch it whenever I had the time and Eurosport decided to show it on TV. I would like some skaters more than others, but I probably wouldn't care too much. I wouldn't have my whole legion of favorites I adore. I probably wouldn't care much for ladies, as they never were my favorite discipline before, and I really like them now. Yuzu brought me back to figure skating, reintroduced me to it's beauty, made me a crying mess at his emotional performances, and in the process allowed me to start caring about so many other skaters. I don't know why it works this way, but when I have an absolute favorite I adore, I start liking everyone else far more--maybe because i watch them far more. I don't know. All I know is Yuzu helped me love a lot of skaters I would only casually like if it wasn't for him. And he rekindled and magnified my passion for this sport-art that usually makes my life brighter, happier, and more exciting. Thank you, Yuzu!!! 💖 None of this would be true without you, you amazing magic being!

[raebia]

If it wasnˋt for him, I would never have started going to figure skating competitions and I would quit earlier every time I do my weight training...I have  more willpower with this thinking of him training and not letting go...he helps me more staying motivated than the medical reasons I do it for.

[rockstaryuzu]

21 minutes ago, raebia said:

If it wasnˋt for him, I would never have started going to figure skating competitions and I would quit earlier every time I do my weight training...I have  more willpower with this thinking of him training and not letting go...he helps me more staying motivated than the medical reasons I do it for.

That's so interesting about the weight training, because I do that too! And every time I feel like complaining to my trainer that the workout is too hard, I think of Yuzu skating at COC14 and I stop whining.

[Bilge]

If it wasn’t for Yuzu, i would never have started skating, following competitions, learning elements. Also i’ve always wanted to learn japanese because i like anime but my motivation have never been this high so i started learning it and am going steady

[MeowZu]

Without Yuzu, I wouldn't have believed that I can have my own WC 2017 moment. Just like him, my life is full of drama, ups and downs. Through him, I was able to realize that your life's *short program* is not the end, you still have the *long program* to turn things around. 

 

I remember what Shae said: Yuzu wins because he believes. 

[Winnie_20]

I never would have gone to Helsinki (almost twice, even, sigh) or to Barcelona two years in a row, or Milan. 

I am, however, addicted enough now to figure skating to want to continue to attend major events in Europe, if I can, regardless of him coming or not.

[raebia]

1 hour ago, rockstaryuzu said:

That's so interesting about the weight training, because I do that too! And every time I feel like complaining to my trainer that the workout is too hard, I think of Yuzu skating at COC14 and I stop whining.

 

Yes!   

[rockstaryuzu]

Here's another one:

 

If not for Yuzuru, I'd never have realized how much better it is to see competitions live. I'd never have realized how much I take skating for granted because I grew up with it. I'd never have found myself explaining the sound the blade makes on ice to someone from Hawaii who didn't grow up with winter, which made me realize afresh how wonderfully diverse this planet is.

[Murieleirum]

If it wasn't for Yuzu... I wouldn't be the person I am today. I owe everything to him and yet I owe him nothing. 

[Neenah]

I have done a lot of things only because of being a Yuzu fan

- Started following FS when I didn't even know there was such a sport before 

- Went on a trip alone to a foreign country for no other reason than to attend an fs competition he wasn't even in  

- Learned how to wake up and go to sleep at weird hours just to watch competitions and practices on dodgy streams  

- Learned how to find said dodgy (and not so dodgy) streams and even paid for on 

- Learned the rules of the sport and added the technical panel's handbook to my studying schedule 

 

Most importantly, Yuzuru helped finish my thesis and overcome a very bad period of my life by showing me it is possible to come back from any misfortune. His fight at 4CC and Worlds 17 was the inspiration and motivation I desperately needed when I was ready to give up on my studies. Back then I was depressed and stuck thinking it was over for me, that I was not good enough and that I should just quit, but he showed me how believing in yourself and fighting till the end is the way to go.

I am graduating in two weeks and I would really love to be able to send Yuzu a copy of my thesis and to tell him "Thank you"  

[river]

If it wasn't for Yuzu, I never would have started skating or started to watch skating. Figure skating was always just my favorite sport to watch at the Winter Olympics until PC. (Ironically, I didn't get to watch any of Sochi because I was busy with school.) I still remember watching his SP and thinking "wow, this Hanyu guy is really good! I've never seen anyone skate like this before." Then I learned about his back story and saw some of his other programs, and I've loved skating ever since.

 

I also probably wouldn't have restarted studying Japanese.

 

More seriously, though... I was in a really dark place in my life after the Olympics this year. There were some days that I barely had the energy to do anything or get out of bed. One of the only things I remember actually enjoying for those months was watching videos of Yuzu skating. Between watching those videos and seeing how many challenges he's overcome and how resilient he is... I don't know where I'd be without him. I don't know that I would have been able to finish my training program without his inspiration.