Graduation Day. I don’t have a big flash, and they kept the gym a lot darker than I though they would, AND I had stuff to do after the ceremony, so I only caught a few groups of students on film.
See you, boys.
See you, girls.
Another year’s worth of memories to be filed away, to slowly fade into nostalgia. On April 7th, it starts all over again.
More to come.
As of March 19th, Masako and I have been in Japan for a year on our current stint. I’ve lived here for just under seven years total now, or just about one-fifth of my life. Odd to think of it in those terms…
As another year passes, so too does another school year. The 9th graders are gone now, and the 7th and 8th graders are finishing out their time and getting ready to move up a grade. In early April comes a new crop of newly-minted 7th graders and it all starts over again.
Class 3A, the old crop of ninth graders, in our last class together. One guess who the most outgoing student was… ?
3A, with my colleague Mr. Katsuki working the floor.
Class 3B, our last together.
3B, busy with an an assignment. The lyrics of Poco’s Crazy Love are on the board (I had them listen to the song and fill in the blanks). My other English-teaching colleague, Mr. Kunieda, is leaving next year, having been transferred to another school. They usually rotate teachers out of schools at five to six year intervals. I’m going to miss him.
I gave a little speech to the 9th graders, and it went something like this:
Take advice. Listen to what your friends and family have to say.
BUT
It’s your life, not theirs. Do your own thing, and pursue your own dream. Do something that makes you happy.
Happiness is more important than money, because happiness cannot be given and cannot be received. It cannot be bought or sold. It is made, inside of you, and if you’re not happy, nothing will make you happy.
If you’re happy doing something, you will be good at it. If you’re good at it, someone will give you money for it. Money comes from happiness, not the other way around.
So do what makes you happy.
It took me thirty-five years to learn this lesson. I hope just a few of them get it before I did.
More to come.
On March 3rd, I finished another novel-length manuscript. Four days after that, I finished a 40-page short story (12,000+ words). I continue to rock along. This makes the third novel-length work and second short work I’ve completed while in Japan.
More to come soon.
