The joy, difficulty, and fun of self-expression.

The baton has been passed to me from Asuka Sakurai.
Please be sure to read Asuka-san's article!

This is a membership-exclusive project by Saka-sensei.

#ConnectingTheSpringNoteBaton

"I can't tell what you're thinking."

Until a few years ago, I was often told that.

That's right.
I was bad at self-expression.

Inside my heart, my emotions were spinning around like a roller coaster,
but I was really, truly bad at putting that into words.

A mysterious person who was always just smiling.

That was me.

I started studying various things, and ended up just taking in information.

Seeking a place for output, I arrived at note.

At first, I thought, "No one is going to read this, right?"

Then, "likes" and comments started to appear here and there.

Some people even told me it was "easy to understand," which made me incredibly happy.

"Wait, my writing is easy to understand? Seriously?"

I couldn't believe my own ears.

After all, I was bad at Japanese class.

But, I learned the joy of expressing my thoughts on note, and the pleasure of being able to connect with someone through my own words.

Now, note has become a daily habit.

Through note,
I have been able to meet so many wonderful people.

Within these warm connections,
I have gradually become able to
feel confident in expressing myself.

Truly, I have nothing but gratitude!

Even now, self-expression is
still a work in progress for me.

But, more than before,
I have become able to put my thoughts into words.

By repeating the process of input and output,
my thoughts have become organized,
and I think I have come to see what I really want to convey.

If there is anyone out there who, like I once did,

"I can't convey my thoughts well"

"People tell me they don't know what I'm thinking"

is struggling with these things,
please try putting yourself out there.

At first, it might be a little nerve-wracking.
But, I am sure you will be able to meet a new version of yourself!

Next is the 14th runner, Bookmark-san

I'm counting on you!