Welcome fellow durtles to the inaugural edition of “Wanikani Ekiden”.
I planned to make my Wanikani journey into a three-part journey (20 levels for each part). On October 22, I finally completed the first leg of my journey by reaching level 21.
Level 20 post - Run with the Kanji - Wanikani Ekiden. Theme: Run with the Wind
Level 40 post - Tobe High - Rolling Kanji. Theme: Haikyuu!!
Level 60 post - My Kanji Academia - Watashi ga KITA!!!. Theme: My Hero Academia
Cue - Yuki Hayashi music 
This is the story of my journey to reach the steepest mountains of Kanji…
わにかにの漢字は天下の険
A PLACE CALLED HOME
Frodo has Samwise and The Fellowship
Harry has Ron, Hermione and The Dumbledore Army
Luffy has Shanks and The Straw-Hat Pirates
Naruto has Kakashi and Team Seven
Hinata has Kageyama and Team Karasuno
Despite overwhelming odds,they fight and win. What do each one of these protagonists have in common? People who believed in them, People who improved them and People who loved them.
I have Crabigator and The Awesome WK Community
I have tried a lot of apps and websites over the years. And I haven’t come across one such as WK. I believe the single strongest indicator of success in reaching level 60 is the supporting community. I wouldn’t have made it this far without all of you my lovable durtles
A special shout out to the wonderful folks from the “Level 21 before 2021 Thread”. This thread is the reason I visited forum during the early days. It made me feel safe, welcomed and loved. I learnt a lot from them.
Tip
Find a thread you can call “Home”. The more you stick with the forum/community the higher your odds of success.
MOVE AT YOUR OWN PACE
You will find a lot of posts on people completing the levels in 7 days or less. DO NOT feel pressured to match their pace. If you are anything like me, at one point of time your mind entices you into a speed race which spoiler alert does not end well for most folks. I made that mistake earlier at Level 7 or 8, and saw my recall,accuracy and confidence plummet. It was an excellent lesson to learn early and ever since I have moved at my own pace.
If you are the kind of person who can only go at full speed or quit -Yay to your full speed. If you handle full speed like a fish in the water - Yay to you. If you do not handle full speed, do not be disheartened. 99% of the folks do not move at full pace. Do regular course corrections - try 9 days, 12 days, 15 days etc. and see what suits your schedule and life style.
Tip
Remember, this is a journey.
PRACTICE,PRACTICE,PRACTICE
In “Inheritance Cycle” series (Eragon,Eldest,Brisingr,Inheritance), the protagonist Eragon is a newbie Dragon Rider with zero experience.
Eragon: I know nothing about being a Dragon Rider.
Brom: You will learn.
Eragon: How can I become a better Dragon Rider?
Brom:Practice,Practice,Practice.
Most of us are newbies at learning Kanji. We will make a whole lot of mistakes. And it is okay. That is the point of SRS, it will teach you. Trust in the system and practice reviews. There will be good days and bad days. Practice every day - at least one review- to keep the momentum. The results will show up soon.
Tip
Practice,Practice,Practice.
Note: The most important thing is to Be kind to yourself and others
When I started this journey, there was a lot I didn’t know and it felt like i could recall nothing. It was quite difficult.
After a while, I still didn’t know much but i trusted the system and accepted the pain.
There were a lot of times when it felt extremely difficult for me and the community has been there to support me with all their heart.
Thanks for all your support, my dear fellow durtles 
In “Run with the wind” the character I feel closest to heart is “Ouji” san. We both love books to an extreme. We are both hopeless newbies. We are both sticking with it despite the difficulty. We are not the strongest or fastest and we move forward one step at a time. No matter how hard it gets, we look forward and advance.
Good luck with your journey. I wish you the best. 
We are happy to have you here 
During my early lurker days, I followed your instructions to others a lot of times and my journey has been better thanks to that. I didn’t get a chance to say Thanks back then, so “Thanks” once again Prouleau san. Your actions have positive impact far beyond measure 
There is still a long road ahead of us 
I am rooting for you!
I am glad my posts were useful. Good luck.