My elementary school class had 6 students. I didn't know the pitfalls of small-group education.
"Wait, six?"
That's usually what people say when I talk about my elementary school.
That's right.
My elementary school class had six students.
The entire school had about thirty-something students.
Naturally, there were never any class reshuffles.
We were the same group from kindergarten all the way through.
It felt more like we were siblings than just friends.
To me at the time, that was just normal.
The countryside scenery that was taken for granted
I grew up in a small town surrounded by nature.
All there was around me were mountains, rivers, and rice paddies.
When the rainy season arrived,
a great chorus of frogs would echo through the town.
At night,
their croaking would spread across the quiet town.
It snowed in the winter.
On days like that, without fail,
the whole class would have a snowball fight.
That was our annual tradition.
There were no delinquents.
There were no bad temptations.
There was just beautiful nature,
and that was our everyday life.
That kind of environment
was "normal" to me.
Surprised by the number of people in high school
I left home for high school.
I went to a high school in another prefecture.
That was where I received a shock.
There were eight classes per grade.
To me at the time,
it was an unbelievable number of people.
There were about 40 students in a class.
The moment I entered the classroom,
I was first surprised by the number of desks.
They were packed tightly together.
It was a completely different world
from what I had known until then.
Until then,
I knew the faces and names of everyone in the school.
But here,
I would graduate before I knew everyone.
That's what I thought.
I was afraid of giving presentations
Being called on during class.
At that moment,
my legs would shake uncontrollably.
The moment I stood up from my seat,
my mind would go blank.
I couldn't remember what I wanted to say.
The words wouldn't come out.
I would give the wrong answer,
and the atmosphere in the classroom would become awkward.
Honestly, it was hell.
Up until then, I had almost never
had the experience of speaking in front of a large group.
I had no successful experiences either.That's why I was scared.
Don't you have that too?When you're called on in class.
When you have to present in front of people.
That moment when your mind goes blank.
Is it okay to stay like this?
One day, I suddenly thought.
Am I going to live my life
avoiding standing in front of people
like this?
Is that
really my own life?
It's scary.
But,
I honestly didn't like
the person I was like this either.
A small challenge
So I decided.
I decided to raise my hand in class.
It's okay if I'm wrong.
It's okay if they laugh at me.
Even so,
I'll try taking one step forward.
Just that much.
But for me,
it was a big challenge.
Before I knew it, I was standing at the front
Little by little,
I got used to being in front of people.
And before I knew it,
during my three years of high school,
I was class president twice.
I was vice president twice.
None of these were self-nominations.
They were class votes.
For school festivals and sports days,
I had also started standing at the front to lead
class decisions.
Of course,
there were days when things didn't go well.
There were times when class meetings
became disorganized.
Even so,
that experience undoubtedly
became my treasure.
The pitfalls of small-group education
Looking back now,
the small-group environment
was a very warm place.
But at the same time,
I had almost no experience
expressing myself among a large group of people.
That might have been
the "pitfall of small-group education" for me.
Of course,
small-group education is not bad.
It's just that,
every environment
has invisible weaknesses.
I only learned that
after entering high school.
People change with a small step
People can change
with just a little bit of courage.
There is no need to suddenly take on a big challenge.
A small step is fine.
But that step
will definitely move the future.
If there is a version of yourself you dislike
If right now,
there is a version of yourself you dislike,
why not take
a step forward together?
It is too scary to keep disliking yourself
for the rest of your life.
There are days when things don't go well.
There are days when you feel down.
I want to be someone you can remember
at times like that.
I want to be
a companion who takes that step with you.
I would be happy if I could become
a small part of your happiness.