Don't compare yourself right?

[Angela962]

I have just past my year anniversary of learning Kanji here, (year and a half of classes) I am on level 15 now. Just searched year anniversary on here and find someone soo far ahead of me makes me look like I was not even trying. My welcome email says I should have been able to get here in a few months!

I love doing the lessons and reviews: find speaking the most difficult of all (like everyone else I know)

So I know I should just enjoy the journey and not worry about it

but I do worry

Angela

[severian]

Your path is your own.

I know it’s hard not to compare, especially when you see someone and think “well, why aren’t I there?”, but remember there are so many factors that go into it.

Maybe people have more free time, or time at a desk where they can do reviews whenever they pop up, or they’ve already had more exposure to the language whereas you maybe started off a little fresher. I can’t even go into all the different scenarios, because I would literally be here listing them until you hit 60.

We all have our own speed as well as our own circumstances. It’s not a race, especially when we’re talking language learning.

Congratulations on a year! You’ve stuck to this for a whole year, and however many more it takes to reach your goal absolutely doesn’t take away from the achievement

[Nemuitanuki]

I’m also about a year in!
Level 19 now

[hai-tan]

Angela - yes, as the email says, people can get to level 15 in a few months, but honestly those kind of people scare me! You don’t need to keep up such an intense regime to go far with the programme. Remember why you started, how far you’ve come (because as a level 7 I think level 15 sounds like an accomplishment and I hope to get there soon too!), and that at the end of the day, you are here to learn and to have FUN! Though I’m relatively new to WaniKani, I’ve been studying Japanese for several years and I can tell you that while progress may feel slow sometimes, your linguistic horizons are constantly expanding and you will be surprised at how much you learn without even realising it - just in exposing yourself to the language for an extended period of time! So yes, don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to where you were a year ago. You are a stronger, smarter, more accomplished person to-day! Keep up the good work!

[Theepieman]

Yeah, just like Severian said. There’s a difference to be doing all your reviews when they pop up and when “in a few months” should happen. I’m level 3, almost 4 and I’ve been on here for about “50” days. So I’m almost on two months. I doubt I’ll come even close to level 15 within that time with work and everything else going on in my life. It really just depends on your situation. The only thing I’d compare myself to is the pure stats/accuracy/ etc. Out of curiosity more than anything else.

Just go at it at your own pace. Enjoy the journey and learn what you want to learn.

[Epona]

Angela, this graph someone made will cheer you up (you can compare yourself just this once )

There you are on level 15 and look at all the people who must be dropping by the wayside before that. (I think it might mean that only 6 people in 100 who start, get as far as you).To stick WK out for a whole year is a massive achievement too.
Besides, how do you know whether people who are twice as far ahead will actually forget everything in no time? They might. Whereas you with your classes and exposure to speaking Japanese - you might retain what you’ve already learnt a lot better. You’ve learnt literally 100s of words and kanji.

So you said it yourself, enjoy the journey and don’t worry about it I will be well pleased if I can get to level 15 myself. Good luck!!

[Kets]

I mean I will just leave this screenshot for your reference. I’d say level 15 in a year, and you are about to catch up with me, that’s pretty good! It’s all about the journey! Nearly 4 years but still going strong!

[hellojakub]

Year and a half can mean completely different things for different people.
For someone who studies an hour every other day it’d be still under 300 hours.
Meanwhile for someone who studies 8 hours a day the number is getting close to 4500 hours.

But not everyone has the privilege to be able to spend 8 hours a day studying a language. Everyone is dealing with different circumstances and everyone is working towards their own goals.