Saturday 7 May 2011

Chapter 4 : 17 Years Old [ "I can't even sing anymore . . ." VI ]






The Year End

I wrote my New Year's cards. I only knew a few of the postal codes-including 440 (for Toyohashi City) and two or three others. I came across various codes this year, partly because I got to know my teachers and friends at Tokayo. Japan is a huge country.

Everyone's busy doing the year-end cleaning, rice-cake making and shopping. What should I do?
"Aya, you're in good condition, aren't you?" Said Mom.
"Can you wipe the floor?"
"Sure"
Mom squeezed the wet rags for me and then placed them on the floor a certain distance apart.

I'm losing my excitement about the New Year. Why can't I feel refreshed and think about some New Year's resolutions? I cried out loud, feeling that I've gotten stuck somehow. My stock keeps falling.

A teacher at Higashi High once said, "What's important for solving a problem about modern Japanese is to grasp what the question is asking and follow it with an open mind. To become open-minded, you shouldn't have any preconceptions. For that purpose, you must read a lot of books. The more you read, the less you will have preconceptions."

Yes, I will read a lot of books and associate with the many characters in them. I've just realized that consideration for others and their feelings is also fostered through reading. From time to time, I stop talking when I decide I can't be understood however much I try. Too many times I've regretted that later, thinking that I should have done something different. That's why I keep getting depressed.

I decided to write my first calligraphy of the year. I took out a new thin writing brush and rubbed down an ink stick. It's difficult to do calligraphy without a model. Life without a mode is even more difficult.

After practicing for a while, I wrote a good copy: the character sunao (meek).

No comments:

Post a Comment