Mika Douglass, 28, works as a watchdog reporter for The San Francisco Journal and hopes to become the Bay Area’s top journalist. She reports on injustices that affect San Francisco’s underserved and marginalized communities. Mika, whose father is American and mother is Japanese, lives in Marin County, California. She is friendly and active in her community, but she worries about a world that feels more harsh and unforgiving. Mika is determined to face her own struggles and grow in self-awareness.

Mika escapes daily stress by spending time in a quiet spot behind the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. Her grandfather, Eiji Nakajima, who practices Zen, teaches her how to reach satori, or sudden awakening, using traditional Buddhist methods.