#13 I am a cheerful coward - Self-introduction

Nice to meet you, I am Atsuko (a cheerful coward writer).
I have just turned 60, reaching my sixtieth birthday.

● Living with my husband who has retired. I have started working full-time in his place.
● I am kept busy with caring for my mother, looking after my grandchildren, and being pushed around by my science-minded husband.
● I have lived in a two-family house for 27 years.

I have loved writing since I was a child.
So, I will look back on my writing and my life up to now.

Writing and I

When I was a student
I started reading newspapers naturally from elementary school (Asahi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun).
Newspapers taught me how to write.
My first submission to a newspaper was in my third year of junior high school, for the "Hitotoki" column in the Asahi Shimbun.
My love for newspapers was influenced by my father.

When I was a new graduate and working professional
During the high economic growth period, I had busy days as an office lady in Tokyo.
By the time I got home and ate dinner, it was already past 10 o'clock.
Reading the newspaper slowly after that was my modest way of relieving stress.

After I got married
I quit my job and became a full-time housewife. I worked part-time occasionally. My days were busy with raising children.
I joined Twitter when it was just starting, and began writing a blog about junior high school entrance exams on Rakuten.
There were almost no blogs about junior high school entrance exams, and my blog was a pioneer.
As if remembering, I submitted to newspapers.

The latter half of child-rearing
A woman with many faces: mother, wife, daughter, and temporary employee.
I took on the challenge of a correspondence education course at a university.
I wrote endlessly for reports, exams, schooling, and my graduation thesis.

Present
Child-rearing has finally ended, and I have experienced caregiving (which is ongoing).
I love using my Apple Watch. I have written an article on Fitbit sleep analysis.
I participated in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun's "Nikkei's Big Questions".
I have submitted to the Asahi Shimbun Re-Life Project.
I have also written a report on pressure cookers (Nikkei BP).
I gathered my courage and challenged myself to use Note. I am currently attempting continuous posting.

My dreams are

My dreams can be broadly divided into three.

Dream 1: To write articles that are useful and bring peace of mind

Having turned 60, I seriously thought about how to spend the rest of my life.
Even though we live in an era of 100-year lifespans, the time I have left is definitely decreasing.

Regarding how I use social media,
In my 30s and 40s, it was mainly about reporting my own recent status.
Even if I connected with people, it rarely lasted long.

I had almost no feeling of doing it "for someone I don't know."

I should have worked hard at child-rearing, self-improvement, filial piety, and my relationship with my husband.

But...

The protagonist was always me. I was only thinking about myself.

When I became conscious of the end of my life, this was a very natural emotion that emerged.

I want to achieve that through writing.
I will write articles that bring peace to someone's heart or are useful.

Dream 2: I want to send encouragement to fellow cowards

As my handle name suggests, I am a coward.
Because I look cheerful and have a loud voice, people don't get that impression at first glance.
But my timid nature is quickly found out.
I am embarrassingly cowardly.

When people tell me things, I cannot argue back strongly.
I end up feeling like what others are saying is actually correct and that my own opinion is wrong.
I am too considerate. I lack confidence.

Because of that, I have had many sad experiences.
I even started to dislike myself.

But I have lived to be 60.
I have finally realized that being a coward is not such a big deal.

Through my writing, I want to send encouragement to fellow cowards.

Dream 3: Let's say 'I am a writer' with pride

I have loved writing ever since I was a child.
I will always love it.

I have started working as a writer, but
I haven't reached the point where I can say it out loud.
Just the other day, I was asked, 'Can you write SEO-conscious articles? Do you have a track record?'
Since I don't have a track record yet, that was the end of it.
A track record...

I want to be able to make a living as a writer.

I will predict that by the end of this year (2021), I will have left some form of mark as a writer.

→I have received work as a writer (as of April 3, 2022)
1. I wrote and submitted 11 articles regarding foreign workers (including technical interns), and they have been published. (However, there is no byline.)
2. Writing articles about employment for people with disabilities (byline article, currently published).
3. I am writing two articles a month for a site aimed at middle-aged and older people as a reader writer (currently published... though not under my real name).

My next goal is an article with a byline. ← This has been achieved.

I will create a page on note to solicit work.
I will write articles that resonate with people's hearts. I can also handle economic column articles.
・Stories about retired husbands
・How to interact with the grandchild generation
・Stories about parenting and the world that I only understand now that I am 60
・Useful gadgets to use, such as the Apple Watch

Dreams are worth having precisely because they come true.
I will do my best to update my note in my own way.
I don't know how things will connect, but moving forward like this must be a good thing.

I hope to get to know various people and learn from each other.
Thank you for your support.
I am cheerful and have a loud voice (lol)