Life Lessons

I will share life lessons that I have learned so that when I get lost, I can come back here,

[lifesuckshard1]

love

There are different forms of love-- romantic, friend, family, neighborly, etc. In order to have a great relationship with even a stranger, you need some kind of love. Sometimes it is really hard to love someone. What I learned from past years is that love requires some form of respect. You don't need to respect everything about them rather respect their existence. Respect their life stories and you need to be okay not being able to fully understand them but separate your personal experiences. 

[lifesuckshard1]

ノルウェーの森

ノルウェーの森を読み終えた。現代小説の中で最も有名な書物の一つなのだから、読むか、と。とても面白くて、２日足らずで読み終えた。日本の小説の面白いところは、完結せず、しかも、特に男性作家の場合は、性的描写が多いところだ。何箇所かは正直なところ、飛ばしてしまった。読み終えたあとは、なんだかブルーな気分になってしまったと言っても過言ではないであろう。

[lifesuckshard1]

嫌われる勇気・幸せになる勇気

嫌われる勇気はとても良くまとめられていた。私自身、大学1年生の面倒を一年間みていて、学んだことがほとんどであった。他者との分離とは本当に、難しいが大切であることは確かである。私の生徒さんのほとんどは、私が共有した情報の殆どを使ってないであろうと言うことは、解りきったことであったが、改めてこの本で、”私が共有した情報を使うか使わないかはその生徒次第であり、それ以上のことは何もできないのだと”改めて思った。また、幸せになる勇気も、面白かった。自身、教育の道に進んでいるものとして、”交友”というアイディアはとても不思議であると同時に、わかる気もした。大人の英語のクラスを教えていた時に、私が個別のレッスンをすると、相手のことをもっと知ることができて、また生徒自身、私のことを教師としてだけでなく、”人”としてみてくれて、だからこそ、スムーズな関係を築けたのだと思う。恐らく、またこの本を読み直すだろうと思う。

[lifesuckshard1]

二つの祖国

アリゾナに住んでいる身として、これはとてもいい刺激になる本だった。高校1学期までを日本で過ごし、それから今に到るまで、アメリカ・アリゾナ州で生活をして、時には、自分もアイデンティティに関して少し悩まされたことがあったから、アメリカの市民権を持っている日系人は、もっと難しい問題だったのだろうと思わされた。幾度も、アメリカに対しての忠誠心を問われるのは、快適な思いではないだろうとは、考えるまでのことであることは確かではあるが、実体験を基にしたフィクションを読んでみて、たくさん出会う日系アメリカ人に対しての思いは大きく変わった。高校2年生の時に、第二次世界大戦中の日系アメリカ人に対する扱いについては歴史として習ったが、今現在もその経験をした方々は健在で、色々なところで活躍をしていると思うと、やはり尊敬する。もし、自分が彼等の立場に置かれたら、どの様に対処するであろう？と何度も考えせられた。また、極東国際軍事裁判については、ここまでの詳細に目を通そうとも思わなかったので、もう少し、勉強し直そうとまでも思った。四四二部隊についても知ってはいたが、もっと調べようとは思ったっことがなかったので、これは良い機会になった。歴史とは、ただの教科ではなく、また同じ問題を繰り返されない様に習うわけなのだが、現在の学校教育では、暗記科目と思われているのは、少し不愉快であると同時に、学ぶべきことを学んでおらず、同じ間違いを犯してしまうのではないかとも思ってしまう。それ以上に、戦後の歴史の授業では、歴史が塗り替えされたり、都合の悪いことは除外されたりと、意味のあるものなのだろうか？それは、日本に限ったことではなく、世界各所（恐らくほぼ全ての国）で起きている問題であり、それについて文句の言う者は気狂いだの呼ばれている。私達はこれから、どこに向かうのだろうか？将来が不安でたまらない。

[lifesuckshard1]

Don’t have fixed mindset.

During my work training and meetings, we often talk about a fixed mindset. Yesterday, I told Christian that it is impossible to lift 10-gallon water jugs (two 5 gallons ). First two tries did not work. Christian told me a trick, then I lifted them. I was convinced that I can’t do it, but you just need to know the trick.

[lifesuckshard1]

Challenging myself

I found out that I like challenging myself. I don’t know if “like” is the right word for this. Since I was young, people have been challenging me, so it is normal for me to be challenged. Since I’m older, nobody really challenges me so I challenge myself a lot. When I was in middle school, I was taking a math class. I already had the fixed mindset of “I’m not a math person so I won’t get it.” In the beginning, I was doing well because I was studying for middle school math in 6th grade. Once my school caught up with me, I started to be bad at math again. By the end of middle school, I was barely passing the class. At the same time, I was doing wonderfully in my English class. I started focusing more for my English class and doing better than anybody else. In 10th grade, I decided to do the high school exchange program to the U.S. I did very well and decided to transfer to my American high school. Now, I am approaching the end of my bachelor’s degree. I am graduating year and a half earlier than I expected. I am an overachiever, I hate failing. When I am so close to the bottom, I will crawl up. I don’t give up on tasks that I chose to take. Now, I look at my achievements, I can tell myself keep up with what I’m dong.  I hate when people say “you did a great job.” Because it feels like to me that that is the end of the journey. Because I am so used to struggling, when things are going great, it doesn’t feel good. I like when people disagree with me. Otherwise, I will think that they don’t care enough for what I’m saying. Obviously, I don’t like to be rejected or disagreed by whom do not know anything about the subject or what I’m talking about.

[philosophyquotes]

“Trust your heart rather than your head.”

— Jean-Jacques Rousseau

[philosophyquotes]

“Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said.”

— Voltaire

[lifesuckshard1]

Life sucks

I’m so sick of life, I wish I could end it today. Some may say I’m being dramatic but honestly, I don’t see a point of living anymore. I just don’t want to continue living anymore. Please someone give me a pill to turn me into a robot.

[lifesuckshard1]

Thinking about the future

I honestly think that the only thing that I do recently is to think about my future. I’m worried about what’s going up happen, where I live, who I’ll work for, etc. The thing is that I don’t have a high hope for it that I don’t even have a career I wanna do. High paying jobs tend to be a full of bullshit, and low paying jobs can’t afford our living. When I say I wanna work for XYZ, that are average paying, to others then they say that’s a waste of my skills. WTF do you want me to do, the universe??? I just want a normal, stable life with my own family...

[lifesuckshard1]

Future

Since I only have a year left in the States, I think about future a lot. Now, I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend for a year and 7 months, living with him for a year, and becoming twenty-one in couple weeks, I feel like I’m ready to be with him for rest of my life. Our relationship has not been the easiest though I am living the happiest moment of my life. Seeing how much he cares about me when he set up gas motored-bike for me made me feel so loved. We have many issues such as financial issues, immigration/citizenship issues, age issues, that are out of our control. But watching ridiculous videos together and sharing a laugh with him makes me happy and feel complete. Isn’t this about the “realistic” perfect-life looks like? :) 

[philosophyquotes]

It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.

Friedrich Nietzsche (via philosophyquotes)

[philosophyquotes]

The lonely one offers his hand too quickly to whomever he encounters.

Friedrich Nietzsche (via philosophyquotes)

[lifesuckshard1]

Neighbors

When you think that you had built a good relationship with your neighbors since you have been helping with them constantly, and even saved their and their infant’s lives, fixed their romantic relationship, they turn their back to you and gives you their middle fingers. Wow, people are amazing, aren’t they? 

[lifesuckshard1]

The Truth about Colleges

Since I have been working for a university, I know a bit more about the insight of them as well as I have been a college student and counseled them before. COLLEGE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. Some people succeed better in college than K-12 education, including myself. I was always the stupid one in K-12 schools; however, I love what I am learning right now and I have GPA 3.5 and graduating 2.5 years earlier. It is okay to listen to what you want to do. Your parents may tell you, “you have to go to a college” but without a purpose, you will fail. If the reason why you are going to college is your parents said so, you are not ready to go to college, or maybe you don’t desire to attend a university.

[mysharona1987]

[lifesuckshard1]

And, it is also okay to take a year off, as well as go to trade schools, and go abroad and volunteer/ mission/ internship. College is not for everyone. 

[lifesuckshard1]