It is okay to take it one step at a time. There is no need to rush.

Hello, or good evening.
I am Mitoshi, an illustrator.

I am a former school refuser.
I experienced school refusal during my third year of junior high and my first year of high school.

That said, you do not need to think too much about me.

I am writing this message for those of you who are feeling down now that we have reached mid-September.
I am writing this message.

Are you a student?
Are you a working professional?
Perhaps you are a parent.
Or maybe you are elderly.

Now that September 1st has passed,
I think this is a time when schools, workplaces, homes, and communities
are starting to settle down.

I am the one who started the personal project on note called "#ToYouWhoAreAfraidOfSeptember1st"
and I am someone who was truly "afraid of September 1st."

During this time of year when tension always runs high,
I cannot help but wonder
how you are spending your September.

For this project, I mainly solicited articles aimed at children, students, and their parents.

There are people who responded to my still-faint call.
Those people's voices have also gathered here, sharing how they are spending September while struggling just like you, but cooperating with those around them.

Here, too, are words of encouragement
from people who are rooting for you.

If my words do not resonate with you,
I think it is perfectly fine to look for them here instead.

I have written articles several times,
but I do not know for sure
if any of them have truly reached you.

I keep changing my words and sending messages,
hoping that even a little bit,
you will think, "I am not alone."

However, I have not changed the important parts.

"You are allowed to choose."

"The future you choose is more wonderful than anything else."

"The fact that you are alive right now"
　is what makes me happier than anything else."

That is all there is to it.

Of course, being told that by a stranger
might not be pleasant or anything at all.

Just being alive and breathing
is a accumulation of small efforts.

I do not know what you will do from here on,
and I will never be able to know in the future either.

Even if I say things like this,
there is not a single thing
that I can do for you.

But I believe that any path you choose for yourself,
even if it is just one step, is not wrong.

Even if I were to get angry at you
after this,
as long as you are alive and taking a step forward,
I am happy.

As long as you keep breathing, anything is fine.

It is fine even if your feelings are negative.
Even if you are reckless,
even if you lack confidence, it is fine.

Everything else does not matter.

The days you spend making an effort
are more important than anything else.

It is fine to be tired and rest.
It is fine to be working recklessly hard.

I want to say thank you to you.

That is all.

That is all for today.

Thank you for reading this far.

Let us meet again.
I was Mitoshi, an illustrator passing by.

#ToYouWhoAreAfraidOfSeptember1st
#ToParentsWhoAreAfraidOfSeptember1st