You don't have to follow the beaten path ― What I couldn't tell my daughter back then ―

From a single "like",
an unexpected connection was born.

I write an article on Note,
and someone reads it.

I am realizing once again
that such a small event
can move the heart so deeply.

And that encounter
brought back a regret
that had remained within me for a long time.

■ A connection that started with a single "like"

The other day, someone
likedmy article titled "When the dots connect."

Curious, I went to read their articles,
and I was drawn to their self-introduction post.

What was written there was that
they had resigned from their company due to depression
and were searching for a new path.

Reading further,
I found an article quoting Steve Jobs,
and I deeply resonated with its content as well.

I couldn't help but leave a comment.

■ Words that moved my heart

In that person's article,
there were these words.

"Step off the tracks and create a new path from zero"

When I read those words,
my heart was strongly shaken.

And then,
a certain memory came flooding back all at once.

■ The moment I remembered my daughter

"Oh..."

I wasn't able to tell my daughter
these words.

The moment I thought that,
the feelings deep in my chest overflowed.

Unlike my mischievous son,
my daughter had been an honor student since she was little.

Aside from failing her university entrance exams,
she was a child who had walked her own path firmly,
without any major setbacks.

Most of her friends around her also knew no setbacks,
and were living lives of smooth sailing.

However, precisely because of that,
when she quit her job due to depression,

She was 35.
It was a time when life stages were changing,
not just in her career but also in her personal life with marriage and childbirth.


While her friends were moving forward smoothly,
she felt as if she alone had been left behind.


I have to go back...!
I'm being left behind...

I must return to where I was before.

She seemed to be cornered by that thought.

■ What I couldn't tell her back then

If back then,

I could have said, "You don't have to go back to the tracks,"
"In the first place, there are no set tracks to begin with."

If I had been able to say that—

I don't know if the outcome would have changed.

But,
I still regret not being able to say those words to her.

■ That is why I want to say it now

So, I said this to that person:



"I support that way of life."

This is the comment I received in return.

The fact that they took my words so sincerely
touched my heart.

■ What is born on Note

From a single 'like',
such a deep connection is born.

That is,I feel that is the power that Note possesses.

And at the same time,

I also thought that I could now
deliver the words I couldn't say back then to someone.

■ To you, who are reading this

If right now,

“I’ve fallen off the tracks,”
if there is anyone who feels that way,

please, remember.


“You don’t have to go back to the tracks.”
“In the first place, there are no set tracks.”

In life,
there are no set tracks.

There is also a path
that you choose and create yourself.

And that path
is by no means a mistake.