I achieved my dream. But I chose again.

I sometimes look back on the dreams I had at the time.

When I was a high school student, I used to think this:

“I want to be a teacher at a school for the deaf in Osaka.”

Thinking about it now, that dream has changed its shape a little,
and has been “half” fulfilled.

Right now, I am in Osaka.
In my previous job, I worked at a facility for elderly deaf people. It was a job where I used sign language to interact with people who shared the same disability.

I wasn’t a “teacher at a school for the deaf,” but
the desire to use sign language to support people with the same disability was certainly fulfilled.

And now.

I am working as a child development support worker at a multi-functional facility.
I am in a job that involves working with children with disabilities.

“I want to work with children with disabilities.”

That dream, too, has changed its shape and been fulfilled.

But there is one thing that is different.

I did not become a teacher at a school for the deaf.

And now, I don’t even want to be one anymore.

The reason is simple:
I realized that “teaching” was difficult for me.

Giving lessons.
Conveying something to others.

I just couldn’t imagine making that my job.

After entering the workforce, I learned my own capacity.

What I can do and what I cannot do.
What I am suited for and what I am not.

In the midst of that, I felt it was “okay not to do it.”

But now, I am involved in “teaching” in a different form.

I am doing recreation activities at a multi-functional facility.

At first glance, it might look like play.
But it is not just play. It is therapeutic education.

There are no textbooks.
There are no correct answers.

That is exactly why it is difficult.

What is good for that child,
how far to get involved is the right way,
I am fumbling through it every time.

Even so,
there are moments when I think, “Oh, that might have gone well just now.”

The joy at those times is greater than I had imagined.

I thought I couldn’t teach classes.

But now, I am facing someone in a different way.

Rather than saying I gave up on my dream,
it feels closer to having chosen again.

It is different from the shape I first envisioned,
but I think this is also one way for a dream to be “fulfilled.”

Are you still chasing the dream you envisioned long ago
exactly as it was?

Or have you had the experience of “choosing again” somewhere along the way?

I would be happy if this reaches others who have chosen again along the way.
Please leave a comment if you’d like!

This article is based on an article from my high school speech contest.
Please take a read ↓↓