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"A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art."

Born in Chiswick, London, Alyssa had a very simple yet happy life. Her father was a university professor and her mother was a well-known painter. They weren't particularly wealthy but they did well for themselves. Enough so to give their only daughter, Alyssa a comfy life. Alyssa went to boarding school from primary to high school. Like her mother, she had a love for art. When Alyssa was young, she would often sit in her mother's lap and watch her paint. Rose White, her mother often told her young daughter that art is the window to a painter's soul. When she painted, it was always what was in her heart. Maybe that's why Rose's paintings always captivated those who saw them. They were pure and beautiful, just like her.[break][break]

When Alyssa was in her eighth year of boarding school, Alyssa had the opportunity to take art classes as an elective. Naturally, she jumped at the chance to take them. It was then Alyssa discovered she had her own talents for painting. Her teacher sung her praises. Of course, this made some of her peers jealous. So much so, they would do things like hiding her art supplies before class. Alyssa thought they were childish and ignored their petty tricks. That was until something major happened. One of her classmates who came from a well-off family with ties to the monarchy had made a painting that was the same as Alyssa's for a class assessment. [break][break]

Naturally, this pompous girl accused Alyssa of copying her, and because of her family's unique status, the teacher sided with the accuser instead of doing any sort of investigation to find out who was truly in the wrong. If that wasn't bad enough, Alyssa was made to apologize to the girl, admit to something she never did, and even had her grade for that semester lowered from an A+ to a B- as punishment.[break][break]

After the incident came to a close, she told her parents about it, and although they were upset having their daughter falsely accused there wasn't much they could do. Alyssa decided to stay in the class despite her father's suggestion to drop the elective. It would be shameful to leave because it would be like admitting to having actually copied that girl's painting. If anything, it pushed Alyssa to do better and prove through her hard work and talent that she didn't need to resort to such shameful acts.[break][break]

In order to broaden her horizons, Alyssa asked her parents to buy a camera and to start taking piano lessons. She thought learning about other forms of art would help improve her ability to paint. Her parents were supportive of their daughter's endeavor and happily agreed to her requests. When Alyssa was in her 10th year of boarding school, she started seeing a piano teacher on breaks. It turned out Alyssa was multi-talented. Not only was she a good painter but she also played the piano beautifully.[break][break]

Alyssa developed an interest in Japanese pop culture. Like anime, manga, video games, etc. Her school's library had ordered some magazines that published manga stories that were in Japanese. Although she couldn't read the words, the pictures fascinated Alyssa. It motivated her to learn the language, which she did. When Alyssa graduated, she made valedictorian, beating out that snobby girl who had once accused her in art class. It felt great because it was a result of all her hard work. Alyssa decided after graduating she wished to study abroad in Japan, the land of cherry blossoms and anime.[break][break]

Although her parents were reluctant to send their 19-year-old daughter to a foreign country, they still agreed because she had received an offer to study at the Tokyo University of the Arts on a foreign student scholarship. They said goodbye to their precious baby girl as she boarded the ship bound for Tokyo. After arriving in Japan, Alyssa found it to be quite the adjustment, although she had somewhat learned the language so she could read manga, she was not very fluent, and her pronunciation was off. Still, Alyssa persevered. She moved into the student dorms of her school and began her classes. Eventually, she managed to make some friends in her classes and was able to have a nice life in Tokyo. She swore to herself as well as her family to work hard and never give up.