Now that I can work from home, I am so grateful to myself for jumping into the IT industry back then

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Hello, it has been one week since I returned from maternity leave.

I basically work remotely, but I went into the office for the first time in a while for one day to say hello.

Wearing heels for the first time in a long time, my ankles were slightly bleeding from the unfamiliar shape of the shoes, and the train was as crowded as ever.

I was standing there, twisting my body into the crowd, wondering, 'Is this some kind of acrobatics?'

On the train ride there, I felt sick from the crowd and thought I might faint from anemia,

and on the way back, I managed to get home while telling myself, 'This is just muscle training... leg training!'

This might be a common sight for people working in Tokyo, butfor me, it was a day that reaffirmed, 'Ah, commuting to the office really is a test of physical strength...'

Because it was that kind of day, I felt the gratitude of being able to 'work from home' deep in my heart.

If I hadn't jumped into the IT industry back then, I wouldn't have been able to achieve this way of working.

That was many years ago.

At the time, I decided to change careers from a completely different industry to the IT industry.

The department head at the company I joined as a new graduate even threatened me, saying, 'The IT industry will only make your life harder, you know?'

But rather than those words, I trusted my own feelings of 'I want more skills, I want to make things more efficient with IT.'

It didn't mean my salary would go up.

Since I had no experience, it might have even gone down.

Even so, I thought, 'I want strength now for my future self.'

(Is that like saying, 'Give me your energy!'? Haha)

Since I had no experience, I kept getting rejected even after casual interviews at first.

I spent my days taking half-day leaves to go to interviews without my company finding out.

Online interviews weren't the norm yet, so I spent every day wearing a suit, carrying my resume, and traveling to locations in person.

The company I joined after job hunting didn't exactly have the best conditions.

But I decided to give it a try for at least a year and worked as hard as I could.

I also showed my face at IT events, thinking that since I lacked knowledge and experience, I would at least build connections.

One day, I met a very vibrant female CEO.

For some reason, we ended up going out for drinks, and I passionately told her, 'I really want to work harder!!'

Then, about half a year later, she asked me, 'Would you like to help me with some work?'

From around this time, the option of working remotely started to become a reality for me.

If I hadn't gathered the courage to jump into the IT industry back then.

If I hadn't told that CEO, 'Please give me work!' back then.

Truly, those steps I took one by one made me who I am today.

A way of working that allows me to balance childcare and my career.

Days where I can flexibly adjust my schedule.

A life where I can work at my own pace while still being firmly connected to society.

Thank you, me from back then.

You did a great job, self.

Believing that this current environment will push me even further forward, I will continue to take more action.

That was how I felt during my first week back.