Starting from a single 'like', it has reached 40,000

◆Introduction

Today, I received a notification from note.

"The number of likes on your articles has exceeded 40,000."

40,000.

When I see the number written out, it is a very large figure.

I was a little surprised myself.

When I first started on note, I never imagined that a day would come when I would see a number like this.

I didn't aim for 40,000 likes from the very beginning.

I didn't start this with the intention of having tens of thousands of people read it either.

I simply wrote about the things I have experienced so far.

The things I was thinking about at the time.

And what I think about them now.

I have been turning things like that into articles one by one and posting them.

And today.

The 'Likes', which were only one at the start, have piled up to reach 40,000.

◆The first 'Like' was, as expected, a happy moment

When I had just started on note.

Even when I posted articles, naturally, they weren't being read by many people.

I had almost no followers either.

I didn't even know what kind of writing I should be doing.

In the first place, I didn't even know if anyone would read my writing.

That is where I started from.

After posting an article, I would check my notifications.

Then, I would see one 'like'.

I remember how happy that alone made me.

Someone, somewhere, had read the writing I had thought about and written all by myself.

And then,

"I read it"

they pressed the Like button as if to say that.

Just one.

But that one meant so much to me at the time.

Writing and publishing text is a strange thing.

Until you post it, the words belong only to you.

But the moment you publish it, that text reaches someone else.

What kind of person is reading it?

Where are they reading it?

What kind of feelings were you having when you pressed 'Like'?

I don't know.

Even so,

'It reached someone'

That is the only thing I know.

I feel like that small realization became the strength to write the next article.

◆Looking only at the number 40,000, it doesn't feel real

10 times.

100 times.

1,000 times.

10,000 times.

And 40,000 times.

Strangely, the larger the number gets, the less real it feels.

40,000 likes.

Even when told that, to be honest, I cannot quite imagine the scale of it.

But when I think about it, these 40,000 times were not a single block of "40,000" from the start.

1+1+1+1...

It is the result of them piling up one by one.

Someone opened the article.

You read my writing.

And finally, you pressed the 'Like' button.

That has piled up over and over again, and today it reached 40,000 times.

When I think about it that way, the way I see the numbers changes a little.

On the other side of the number 40,000, there are people who read it.

On the other side of every single 'Like', there is someone.

It is an obvious thing, but precisely because the numbers have grown, I want to make sure I don't forget it.

◆ Before I knew it, receiving 'Likes' became a part of my daily life

Thankfully, now when I post an article, I am able to receive 'Likes' from many people.

I sometimes receive comments.

There are also people who come to read almost every day.

To the version of myself when I first started note, this is something I could never have imagined.

However, humans are strange creatures, and we gradually get used to anything.

At first, I was happy with just one like.

That turned into 10, then 50, then 100.

And before I knew it,

'How many likes did I get today?'

'It was less than yesterday's article.'

'This article didn't perform as well as I thought.'

That is how I end up comparing numbers.

It would be a lie to say that I don't care about the numbers myself.

Since I went to the trouble of writing it, I would be happy if many people read it.

I am happy when the number of likes increases.

Of course, I am also happy when the number of followers increases.

That has not changed even now.

But I also think it is a little scary to get used to the numbers.

Instead of seeing 100 likes just as the number "100",

100 times, someone pressed the button.

I want to make sure I don't forget that.

I want to occasionally remember myself, who was happy about that very first one.

◆The result of writing every day turned into numbers later on

Looking back, I haven't done anything particularly special.

It's not that my writing suddenly got better.

It's not that I've become a famous person either.

I have written one article every day.

What should I write about today?

Thinking that, I look back on my past or pick up things I've noticed in my daily life.

And then, I turn them into writing.

Post.

When the next day comes, write again.

It is just a repetition of that.

If you look at just one day, it is truly a small thing.

I posted one article.

That is all.

But, when you continue that 'that is all' for a long time, before you know it, you may find yourself in a place you never imagined.

I think 40,000 'Likes' is one of those things.

I have not been running toward the goal of 40,000.

I was writing today's article, and then the next day came.

I wrote again, and the next day came.

By stacking up the days in front of me like that, the numbers followed later.

◆Through writing, I have changed myself as well

It is not just the numbers that make me glad I continued with note.

Rather, what was significant for me was developing the habit of putting my thoughts into words.

Events from the past.

Work matters.

Relationships.

Time spent alone.

Things I wasn't good at.

Values that have changed as I've grown older.

I have been writing down things that would normally just pop into my head and then fade away.

When I try writing them down,

"So this is what I was thinking back then."

I sometimes realize.

Even things I thought were unpleasant memories can be viewed from a slightly different angle by putting them into words.

And then, for articles I wrote thinking they were just my own personal stories,

"I feel the same way."

"I understand."

"It felt like you were talking about me."

I have received comments like that.

My own experiences overlapping just a little with someone else's.

Perhaps that is the joy of writing.

◆Thank you for all 40,000

Of course, I don't remember every single one of the 40,000 likes.

Who pressed it, when, and on which article.

I cannot know everything.

Even so, the fact that the number 40,000 is here today is thanks to everyone who has read my articles until now.

To those who read it for the first time.

To those who come to read it again and again.

To those who leave comments.

To those who quietly leave just a 'like'.

To those who follow me.

To those who happened to find an article just once.

The 'ones' from many different people have piled up to reach 40,000.

Thank you so very much.

Looking at it as a number, it is 40,000, but each one is a reaction given by someone.

I want to keep that in mind.

◆Even after reaching 40,000, what I do tomorrow won't change

I have received 40,000 likes.

I am very happy.

I think it's okay to be a little happy today about what I have continued to do.

However, just because it has reached 40,000, it doesn't mean that anything will change significantly starting tomorrow.

When tomorrow comes, I think I will be thinking again.

"What should I write about today?"

And so.

Then, as always, I will write a piece and post it.

Perhaps, that is fine.

Next is 50,000.

Setting that number as a goal isn't bad either.

But rather than chasing only that, I want to continue writing down what I feel and think, one by one, just as I have until now.

I would be happy if that writing reaches just one more person.

If that person,

'I kind of get that'

thinks that, I would be even happier.

The 40,000 likes also started with just one.

When looking at a large number, it is easy to forget that.

That is precisely why, on this milestone day, I think about it once again.

I want to continue to remember the feeling of joy I had for that very first one.

Thank you so much for 40,000 times.

And tomorrow, too,

I intend to write one article, just as I always do.

Thank you for reading this article up to this point.🙇