Anime Lectio: Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Season One

                                                           1. Why do Anime Lectio? 

Anime Lectio is a time for us to stop and take a breath. Between work, activities, family life, and social media, our minds are always moving. We rarely take time to contemplate and ask, why am I watching this anime? What’s the point of all this? And, how is this making me feel? 

2. Put away all distractions 

(phones, work, etc.)

We are so enslaved to things that stimulate our minds. Let this be a moment for us to free our minds, look inside of ourselves, and be at peace.

3. Deep Breathing

Take several deep breaths. Let your mind relax. If you’ve had any questions, desires, or struggles that you’ve been hiding or stuffing away, let them rise up to the surface. 

4. Open yourself to God’s Presence

Remember God places all our thoughts and desires inside of us, and He uses them to draw us closer to Himself. God gives us a community to help us understand who we are and what He is calling us to do. The faces of other people you know and don't know are like signs of God’s presence.  

5. Think About What’s on Your Mind in Relation to the Anime

Think about what’s been on your mind in relation to the anime.  The following is an example of such thoughts written by me. 

It can be difficult to tell someone how we feel about them.  Doing that in ways that we can understand and think that who we want to tell how we feel about them doesn't understand is one thing that we can do to let our feelings be known, but hide them too at the same time.  However, are you really hiding your feelings for someone if they can understand what you think they can't understand?  An interesting answer to this question can be seen in the first season of the series Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian.

6. Brief and written explanation of the anime

Pay attention to how the brief and written explanation of the anime seen on this blog, or seeing the anime for yourself since that's better than any explanation, might “speak” to you or shed light on the things that have been on your minds.

A girl likes a boy, but doesn't want him to know that, so she occasionally lets him know that by communicating these feelings in Russian.  While the girl doesn't think that the boy she likes understands Russian, what she doesn't know is the boy that she likes actually does understand Russian.  What makes this more interesting is that the reason that the boy learned Russian is so he could talk with a girl he was friends with when he was a child that spoke Russian, which happened to be the sister of the girl who likes the boy now.  The sister of this girl, as well as a bunch of other characters, spend time together at school due to their student council work, as well as for other reasons, and over time, learn more about each other and get closer, which will most likely continue in the second season.

7.  Reflect on the anime

Has this brief and written explanation of the anime shed any light on what's been on your minds?  The following is an example of a reflection on the anime from me.

Feelings are weird and difficult to understand, which is why it takes time to understand them. Hiding them and revealing them at the same time is an example of why feelings are weird and difficult to understand. This is especially true when hiding them isn't really hiding them because the person who you think you're hiding your feelings for from, but think you're revealing them to without them knowing it, understands what you're hiding without telling you for some reason (Does the boy revealing that he actually understands Russian happen in season 2 or eventually?). Anyway, however it (letting people know how we feel about them) happens, it has to happen.

8. Final Prayer

Please voice any prayer intentions for friends, family, or people around the world that relate to this anime.  The following is an example written by me.

Let us pray that we can let people know how we feel about them.