Even if it doesn't feel like much, it might be worth attending your Coming of Age ceremony.

Congratulations to all the new adults.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were some regions where the ceremony didn't take place,
so some of you might have mixed feelings about it.
However, attending the Coming of Age ceremony isn't everything.
I think we become adults little by little.
Even at 30, I feel like I still have parts of me that are a child.
I would like to share my own memories of my Coming of Age ceremony.

Perhaps because we lived in the countryside,
my grandparents really wanted me, their grandchild, to wear a very expensive furisode.
Even though I was the one who would actually be wearing it, my grandparents and the shop staff
were more enthusiastic, and I started to get tired halfway through.
I was thinking, 'I look good in blue, so why are you choosing red?'
I was inwardly fed up.
In the end, when I tried on the furisode that my mother and grandparents said was good, it felt the most right.
It was white and red, and the hair ornaments and press-on nails were also red, but
I found a wonderful furisode.
It became the furisode that everyone agreed on.
I had my makeup done for the pre-shoot and took lots of photos.
Looking back now, I think that choosing a furisode and doing a pre-shoot means that not only the person themselves but the whole family is looking forward to them becoming an adult.
We were talking about how the ceremony was the next step.

The reason why she is a 'former' friend is because
various things happened when I was in high school,
and after graduation, I said goodbye without even giving her my contact information.
However, this was in the era of contact lists. Since we were in the same class, she knew my home phone number.
And she managed to get my mobile number by asking a mutual friend.

Calls came alternately from both my home and mobile phones.
I was terrified.
Because my combined junior and senior high school was private, many of my friends commuted from other prefectures.
If the ceremony was held at the municipal level, there would surely be childhood friends from elementary school and other friends from my secondary school there.
But I would definitely be dragged around by that girl.
Classmates who knew the situation made sure not to be with her during our class reunion.
But the Coming of Age ceremony was unavoidable...
I curled up under my blanket, feeling terrified.

And then, the day of the ceremony arrived.
Idecided not to go.
I wouldn't die if I didn't go, and I didn't want my memories of the ceremony ruined by meeting her and being pushed around.
Of course, I had made various reservations, so
I had to cancel them.
My mother, who knew the situation, said, 'That's fine.' She called them and told them I had come down with something.

When I see the news about the Coming of Age ceremony, I remember that I didn't go.
It's a shame, since I had chosen such a nice furisode.
I wore a furisode when I participated in my younger sister's pre-shoot two years later,
and also at the graduation party for university, but
the furisode I would have worn to my own ceremony would have been different.
If I have a daughter, I will dress her up as beautifully as possible.

I often see news about kids acting rowdy at the ceremony, so you might think, 'Why bother going...'
But as the saying goes, 'there is significance in participating,' perhaps there is a feeling of resolve that comes with the ceremony.
Attending the ceremony isn't an obligation,
and you won't suddenly become an adult just by attending,
but I recommend attending for the atmosphere of the ceremony and the joy of meeting your classmates.
After the Coming of Age ceremony, there are no other events where people of the same age gather at the municipal level like this.

To all the new adults,
take it one step at a time, and let's become wonderful adults.
From a senior (?) who is a little bit ahead of you.