First Year as a Working Professional, Starting Tea Ceremony!? [Koicha]

When you hear the words 'tea ceremony,' do you think of young people?
Honestly, before I started, I also thought it was a hobby for older people.

I started tea ceremony when I was in my first year as a working professional (at 22 years old).

The catalyst was a single comment from a senior colleague.

At 22, I had entered the IT industry with no prior experience, and I was gradually becoming exhausted by the unfamiliar daily routine.

Since I am not the most efficient person, I was desperate to catch up with my talented peers who had graduated from information technology universities, so I would secretly study programming at home, determined not to lose to them.

Go to work, study at home, and do chores in my spare time.
Combined with the fact that I had started living alone after becoming a working professional, my daily life consisted of falling into a deep, mud-like sleep at night.

Time passes quickly when you are giving it your all.
Half a year went by in the blink of an eye, and the gap I had hoped to close in three months remained, with my anxiety only growing.

At that time, I was also struggling with another problem.

Even after getting a solid seven hours of sleep, I couldn't focus on my work or my studies.
I don't think I lacked the desire to work hard, as I was certainly anxious.
It was a disconnect from my motivation; I could clearly tell for myself that my brain just wasn't working.

When you are fully aware that you lack the ability and you also realize you aren't putting in the effort, I think anyone would fall into self-loathing.

I, who had been full of groundless confidence when I first joined the company, began to think that my veneer was peeling away and that I was nothing more than a hollow shell.

I think those around me were worried, too.
A senior colleague invited me out for a drink after work.
I remember being happy that they told me 'don't rush' over and over again.

We talked about many other things, but their story about how a tea ceremony experience on their day off served as a refreshing change of pace left an impression on me.

That night, I looked up tea ceremony experiences, learned about the Urasenke website, and booked an experience by phone the very next day.

Driven by a mysterious sense of initiative without even knowing the difference between 'Urasenke' and 'Omotesenke,' I started attending a tea ceremony class after one trial session, and I am still continuing it now in my third year of work, marking my third year of tea ceremony practice.

Three years is still considered short in the world of tea ceremony, but for me, it is a hobby that I am enjoying and continuing in a way that is rare.
I am grateful to my senior colleague, thinking that it is 'quite lucky' to have encountered a hobby or lesson that I want to continue throughout my life, not just for ten years.

There are times when you need to be in a rush, but looking back, I think I needed a moment to catch my breath during my first year.

Working hard without looking aside is like
swimming while holding your breath.

Through experience, I learned that those who want to go far should learn how to breathe.
If you wait until you collapse to rest, it takes too long to recover, and you might even develop a resistance to working hard.

Like preventative medicine, I think of tea ceremony as
a good partner that helps me when I want to keep doing my best.

It can be hard to start tea ceremony unless you are driven by a mysterious sense of initiative, but it might actually become a partner that has a positive influence on you, too.