um… when you’re learning a character, try to think of it as a little picture. like… the hiragana for “ha” looks like a happy man with a walking stick, and the katakana for “su” looks like a superhero. so just think of little pictures for each character and and just… repeat to yourself constantly with those little pictures in your head. so when you think of the character “ha” you’ll think of a happy man with a walking stick which will help you write it. 

yes, i am learning it by stroke sequence and yes you should. well, try to any way. but if it looks exactly like how it’s supposed to look and it feels more comfortable writing it your way, it should be fine as long as no one see’s you writing your way haha

sorry! and no worries /: