I am in love with 東村アキコ (Akiko Higashimura).

She's a manga artist and comedian, and I've never met her, but I know her voice from the hilarious podcast she hosts, I've read some of her comics about her backstory growing up in Miyazaki, and I've realized that falling in love is helpful, perhaps even necessary, if you want to maintain your Japanese study long term.

Love can provide the obsession and dedication that drives the 継続力 (keizoku-ryoku, ability to sustain efforts) necessary to overcome setbacks or difficulties. These obstacles sometimes aren't even that high; reading a Japanese comic and listening to a Japanese podcast aren't difficult tasks, but they are relatively more difficult than doing so in your native language. These microdifficulties might be keeping you away from your study.