Alyannah Cambaliza is a newly-graduated student in the Philippines.

She is also a huge fan of Japanese manga and anime One Piece.

Recently, Cambaliza wrote an introspective Facebook post about the One Piece characters and storyline playing an "integral part" of her life.

One Piece inspired her to chase her dreams

In her post, she expressed gratitude to Eiichiro Oda, the manga artist behind One Piece, and One Piece characters for inspiring her.

She described how One Piece has been with her for the past five years, including her academic journey.

It also taught her to "never give up and to chase after [her] dreams".

The post is accompanied by a graduation photo where she holds Monkey D. Luffy’s straw hat close:

Luffy's straw hat is an important thematic symbol in the world of One Piece.

It was loaned to him by his friend and one of the four emperors, Shanks. A major plot point of the story is how Luffy tries to reach Shanks to return him the straw hat.

Cambaliza's pose is also reminiscent of the episode where Luffy sends a message to his crew, asking them to reunite in two years instead of their originally planned five days:

Deep.

Since it was uploaded on April 2, the post has gathered over 30,000 shares and 8,000 comments.

This is her reflection in full:

"It may seem silly for some people but One Piece has played an integral part of my life. It taught me to never give up and to chase after my dreams. Luffy and the Strawhats taught me to love my family and friends and to never give up on them no matter how many times they pushed me away and vice versa. ?

Throughout the years, I feel like I became part of their crew, and most especially I became their friend and I theirs. I know I sound crazy but this is the truth. ?✌ Every character has taught me a lot of things; even the villains actually did leave lessons that I may use in this real world. ?

To Eiichiro Oda-sama, Luffy and the Strawhats, thank you for inspiring me so much. Thank you for being with me for the past 5 years. Please take care of me as well for the coming years until we reach the final point of this journey. I may not be there when you first set sail but I promise, I won't leave until we finally make it to the very end. ? As a sign of respect and gratitude, I offer this photo to all of you. ?? Thank you so much! ?"

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