[Project] Why not create your own Pay It Forward tree?
What I saw after completing two rounds of the Pay It Forward project
There is a project called the "Pay It Forward Project" initiated by LaLaLa-san.
To put it simply, it involves sending a message of support to a note creator you think is wonderful, and then the person who receives it introduces someone else.
I happened to have the opportunity to go through two rounds, so this time I will write about what I saw and what I received during that process.
After doing two rounds, these are the things I found interesting.
✔︎Meeting people I had never encountered before
✔︎Seeing people who were writing alone no longer being alone
✔︎By introducing them, new readers are born for their articles as well
And, by trying to turn my own connections into a tree,I was able to see connections between people that I hadn't noticed before。
At first, I thought it was just a project to pass the baton, but after doing two rounds, the scenery looked a little different to me.
From here on, please let me talk a little about what I saw and what happened during that time🤭
To begin with, what happened when I participated?
I am relatively introverted and not the type to actively go out and increase my followers.
I remember that when I had been doing note for 3 months, I had 0 followers. By the 4th month, I had 9.
Well, I was active in a small world😅
Since I write a story called "Forest of Living," I naturally connect with people in the creative field. However, when it comes to people in completely different genres, I don't really meet them just by writing notes normally.
This time, I connected with over 30 new people all at once.
Moreover, it wasn't just that we got to know each other.
People I had just connected with read my articles a few days later and left words for me.
Strangers came to help me solve my problems
Just around that time, I posted an article for the first time where I wrote about my inner feelings.
Then, in addition to the people I am usually close with, 16 people I had just met a few days earlier through Pay It Forward came to the comment section.
Some came to say "thanks for the introduction," but others read the article as it was and left warm words.
Moreover, that article was a "case file".
People I didn't know, who I had only connected with a few days prior, came to help me solve my case.
This was quite a shock to me.
It is something that can never be explained by the number of "increased followers" alone.
It was the moment when human connections truly came to life.
People who felt "I am not alone"
This time, I read many people's pay-it-forward articles.
Among them, I saw the phrase "I had been writing alone until now, but I felt like I wasn't alone" many times.
Someone introduces your article. From there, you meet new people. You read that person's article and learn about someone else.
As connections increase little by little in this way, it changes from "I am writing by myself" to "there are people who know me."
I thought this must also be a source of strength to keep writing.
I think this aspect is also a major significance of this project.
And, LaLaLa-san is amazing
Following the second round, I thought about it again.
LaLaLa-san is spreading the word tremendously (laughs).
Every time someone passes the baton, they write an article about it, updating it almost every day.
As far as I can see, it has increased even more in the past week. This means that many people are passing the baton to someone else.
And every time LaLaLa-san publishes an introduction article, the note home screen displays "LaLaLa-san introduced your article."
The introduced person's article catches the eyes of yet another person.
In other words, they are not just recording the destination of the baton, but are also creating new exposure for the people being introduced.
It wasn't until I actually followed along that I truly realized how incredible the things LaLaLa-san is doing really are.
I only turned it into a tree because I was curious.
What I did was extremely simple. "I wonder what's happening with this right now?" I was curious, so I turned it into a tree.
I just wrote the names on the back of a large calendar and drew a line one by one to show who connected to whom.
However, once I started, I realized it was much more tedious work than I had imagined.
Opening one person's page, then opening the next person's page... checking them one by one. It took much longer than I thought 😓
But as I kept doing it, it started to become interesting.
What I thought was a single line kept branching out. The same person would appear in different places over and over again.
Even though they were supposed to be strangers, I started to feel like I knew them, thinking, "Oh, this person is here again," or "So this person and that person are connected."
By turning it into a tree, I became able to see the "connections between people" that I hadn't been able to see before.
Also, in the process of making the tree, I also had a
"Kindness Connection Map"
created.
With a map, you can see everyone's connections no matter how many participants join, so I thought that was wonderful and made it.
I am updating this as we go, so
please try to find your own name.
Once I made the tree, even my surroundings changed.
At first, I was just curious about the overall picture of the project.
But by making the tree, I connected with people I never would have met otherwise.
And there were people who were happy to see these trees and maps.
Some people were happy to find their own branch, saying, "I'm here," and some even went out of their way to write an article about it.
I was really happy about that.
Those people started reading my articles, leaving comments, and before I knew it, they even started coming to read the stories of the "Forest of Living."
And I myself, through note, have become able to put the worries I was carrying into words little by little.
Before I knew it, Pay-It-Forward was no longer just a 'project to introduce three people and pass the baton' for me.
I met people, my world expanded, and I even began to understand myself a little bit more.
For me, it had become a project with quite significant meaning.
That's why I want to create something that will make people happy.
As I was looking at the tree like that, another thing I wanted to try came to mind.
There were people who were happy to see the 'Pay-It-Forward tree' I made, saying, 'I'm here in this tree.'
If that's the case, wouldn't it be even more interesting to create a tree centered around that person?
Who did they receive the baton from, who are they connected to, and who is beyond that? If I turned those connections—the ones unique to that person that weren't visible in the overall tree—into a single tree, what kind of view would it be?
Once I thought of that, I wanted to actually try making one.
By the way, when I trace the baton I received in the second round, the branches spread out from the people before and after me like this.
Connections that I didn't notice when I was chasing names one by one become visible when I put them all on one sheet like this.
'Oh, this person and that person are connected here.'
Just looking at it like that is really interesting 🤭
First project: I will create 'your very own Pay-It-Forward tree'
So this time, as a first attempt, I've decided to try creating 'your very own Pay-It-Forward tree'.
Of course, this is a time-consuming task because I have to check the connections one by one, rearrange the branches, and finish it into a single tree.
Therefore, I can't make many of them for free, but since I am still at the stage of testing 'what kind of shape would be most appreciated,' I would like to make one for just one person as a monitor this time.
'I would like to see a Pay-It-Forward tree centered around myself.'
If there is anyone who thinks that, please send me a DM.
First, I'd like to try making one and see together what kind of tree is born.
Then, I hope to think about the future as well 🌳
※In case of multiple applications, I will hold a lottery at my discretion.
#PayItForwardProject
LaLaLa, thank you as always.
Thank you for spreading the pay-it-forward tree 🥹
These are the people who participated in the project.
