Choosing to Study Japanese

I took Japanese all throughout high school, and so wanted to continue in college. My previous language classes focused on reading and writing, and I came to rely heavily on both regular and kanji dictionaries. As a result, I have a grasp of grammar but unfortunately have limited vocabulary and speaking skills. Because of this, I decided it would be beneficial for me to relearn the basics.  I am extremely excited to expand my vocabulary and become more and more comfortable speaking. Over the first month of class, I have found that I have actually forgotten some the subtleties of the language. For example, my hiragana has become sloppy over the years, so I found it difficult to remember the difference between sweeping, stopped, and hooked strokes. I have also become accustomed to speaking in a "flat" tone, and so now find it difficult to speak with the correct inflections.

じこうしょうかい

はじめまして。クリスティー・コーンです。十七歳（じゅうななさい）です。コロンビア大学（だいがく）の学生（がくせい）です。一年生（いちねんせい）です。アメリカ人（じん）です。ニューヨークから来ました（きました）。どうぞよろしく。