(Photo by Alexsandar Markovic)
Uninhibited, dynamic and multi-talented, she’s a rare find in Tokyo. A previous campus celebrity and a Her Campus Waseda contributor starting this semester, Lena-Grace Suda is back with part 2 of her interview sharing more of her accomplishments and exposing a more intimate side of herself exclusive to our readers! In our last interview, Lena talked about her TEDxWaseda U speech on feminism and what it meant to her. I had a second chance to sit down with her and refresh on what she’s been up to since her last interview.
Amy Yonemoto: In our last interview, you gave Her Campus Waseda readers an idea of what to look forward to for your talk for TEDxWaseda U. You did an amazing job of being a voice for women in Tokyo, a progressing but difficult platform to speak out on. It’s been awhile since your actual TED Talk, but what was the most culminating part of the whole experience?
Lena-Grace Suda: Thank you for having me! I don’t know if I can speak on behalf of women in Tokyo, but I do like to think some people share my ideas.To answer your question, well, I got my first ever hater comment, if that counts! Seriously though, I remember a man coming up to me right after the talk, and he said my talk resonated with him on a really personal level. That touched me because, as narrow-minded as this sounds, I didn’t expect a man to relate to my story! The fact that some people were really listening to what I had to say was the best part.
A: Okay. Change of subject. Do you mind if I ask you about your singing?
L: Sure! Go on.
A: I know that you’re an amazing singer being with you most of the time, but you’re so humble about your talent that most people don’t know this. Recently, you competed in a school singing competition that required you to sing a song in Japanese and you were awarded the Judges Choice award! Congratulations on that. Is singing something that you want to pursue?
L: You got me on that one. I can talk forever about singing. But like you said, I’m not very upfront about it so it can be quite difficult for me to go deep into this topic. When there’s something you really love, and I mean this in a die-hard way, you don’t want to mess it up. I’m a bit of a perfectionist in that way. I wouldn’t even want to talk about singing or let alone sing unless I’m 100% confident and sure about myself. During your adolescence, you’re much less prone to self-censor yourself. But as you grow older, at least in my case, you start to develop a filter. I feel as though I’m at that point often. But that doesn’t detract from the fact that I do want to give singing a shot again. I used to do a whole lot of singing and dancing when I was younger at places such as Club Asia and Disney Sea. I stopped when I was 15 due to circumstances uncontrollable by me but I do want to sing seriously. I’ve been talking with a friend of mine who makes music recently, and we’re working towards collaborating together. I’m no poet, but I do enjoy writing, so I’m trying to push myself to do more songwriting whilst my friend does the producing. Nothing is concrete yet but I’m starting to finally get out of my comfort zone, which is great. (PS if you’re looking for a singer/vocalist/whatever- I AM YOUR GIRL!)
(Photo taken by Aleksandar Markovic)
A: Ah! Sorry to change the topic again, but on top of that you released your zine, LOOK UP. And there’s even a second coming on its way. I swear you can do anything. What were some of the inspirations that helped you put it together?
L: Aw shucks, thank you! Well, Aleks, a dear friend of mine, and I started the zine together. He does fashion photography, and I like writing, so we instantaneously knew that we had to make something together. The first issue’s theme is: Lost. You can read more about it in the actual zine, but being in Tokyo could be mind boggling and disorienting most of the time re Lost in Translation but far less romantic. You could be physically and emotionally lost, but I reckon that’s imperative if you’re a creative person by nature. Sometimes, you have to lose sight of where you are and where you’re heading in order to gain perspective. The most recent one is about discovery. We delved into our inner selves to look for something we’ve never found. You can find portraits of people that relate to the topic taken not only by Aleks, but other creatives as well as poems/prose about discovery and identity by myself. Discovery is pretty much the antithesis of being lost, but I believe the chaos and initial rush is similar nonetheless. Hope I don’t sound too pretentious.
Keep up with Lena-Grace through her instagram: @lenagrrr
As well as her zine, LOOK UP: @lookupzine