Because just knowing it changes the world a little

I'm quitting my job in a week.
I've almost finished the handover, so all that's left is to wrap up the remaining work.

The news seems to have reached my colleagues, and various people have come up to me saying, "I heard you're quitting?" I'm grateful for that.

"I'm going to take a year off and travel abroad."

When I say that, most people respond with, "That's great!" Of course, many are also surprised.

Amidst all this, I've also started being asked, "Why did you make that choice?" quite often.

One reason is likely that I'm single and unencumbered. Also, I have a strong desire not to have any regrets. I think the final reason is that, for me, "that option already existed."

A woman from America I met when I was in university. A trivial conversation with her increased my options.

Small encounters increase our options and lead us to where we are now.

Just by knowing, the world changes a little.

＊

When I was doing research at university, I once went to a nearby "English conversation cafe."

As the name suggests, it's a cafe where you can converse in English. It's a place where foreigners temporarily staying in Japan for travel provide English conversation in exchange for lodging.

At the time, I had just been crushed by English while abroad, so I was desperately hoping to improve my English skills.

We would split into groups of three or four at each table, with Japanese people wanting to learn English and foreigners having conversations. When a certain amount of time passed, the groups would be shuffled.

I feel like I talked to various foreigners. But the only thing I remember is talking to just one American woman.

She said she was in Japan for sightseeing. She was staying at that English conversation cafe for about a month and would continue traveling around Japan after that.

I asked her casually.

"Are you a student?"

She looked quite young, and I assumed she must be a student to be taking such a long trip. The answer that came back was unexpected for me.

I work as an airplane mechanic in America (I think she said mechanic). If you work for ten years, you get one year off. So, I decided to travel the world.

There is something called a sabbatical leave that university professors take. After teaching at a university for about ten years, they can go to a university abroad for about a year to conduct research. It is exactly like that.

Isn't one year for studying? Can you do whatever you want?

I thought that even if it was called a vacation, it was for studying, so her answer was a shock. That is why I asked.

It is fine. Of course, there are people who study, but I decided to travel.

She talked about her travel plans so excitedly.

That is as much as I remember from the conversation with her.

I have forgotten the rest.

But this trivial conversation would stay in my mind forever.

It is not that I thought this conversation was important and kept it carefully. It just somehow remained in a corner of my mind.

Hmm, so there is a world like that, I thought.

*

Just a trivial, small trigger.

I think it was an encounter I found because I was interested in "overseas" and had my antenna up. And because my antenna was up, it probably remained as a memory.

So, if you have your antenna up, will you encounter it?

If you ask that, it is interesting because that is not necessarily the case.

Encounters that stay in your heart happen in places you never expect.

Looking back, it is not just about leaving for overseas.

I feel that no choice is something one creates from zero. Someone else was doing it, and I just added it to my own set of choices. I chose that option because the timing was right.

But if you do not know, nothing happens.

It doesn't even come up as an option.

That is why I meet people and talk to them.

Encounters can be found in places you would never imagine.

If you take an interest and dive in, you might have an unexpected encounter.

You might even realize that later on.

I look forward to that as I go about my day today.

Thank you for reading.
See you in the next article!

Click here for the story of how I was crushed overseas.