the basics

I'm a native English speaker who learned Spanish and loved the language learning process. Now I'm learning Japanese for fun  

Almost nothing!

im learning japanese so i can communicate with others when i go back to japan.

i lived in japan for four years as a child but i only know the basics of writing and speech.

I've been half-heartedly dabbling in Japanese studies over the last 3-4 years or so, but I wouldn't count any of that at all. I'd say I've been seriously studying for about 3 months so far. Hoping to get fluent in Japanese one day.

It started with anime and manga and Japanese games (like a lot of people I'm sure, nothing special here), but then grew to a genuine and general appreciation of the Japanese language and culture. I'm not sure about living there permanently, but I at least hope to be able to visit Japan many many times through my lifetime.

I am a beginner. Outside of kanji I don't yet know (and therefore can't read), and the occasional misread of a hiragana/katakana character, I'd say my reading skills are okay (advanced beginner maybe?).

My biggest weakness by far is being able to produce language output, whether that be speaking or writing (handwritten) or writing (typing).