The day I, who 'couldn't get a job anywhere,' was given a 'place to belong.' — The words of just one person that moved my life forward a little

That spring, I felt as though I wasn't needed by society.

I failed every job interview. No matter how many times I tried, whether it was entry sheets or interviews, the result was always the same. My close friends were gradually receiving job offers, and they were excited, talking about graduation trip plans and their new lives.

Amidst all that, I felt impatience and anxiety, and kept quietly thinking, 'What should I do...?'

'Maybe I am not needed by society.'

I had more than enough time to think things like that.
Since I went to university in Tokyo, I had no intention of returning to my hometown in Yamagata. But, exhausted in both mind and body because my job hunting wasn't going well, my father said one thing to me.

'Just come home for now.'

And, some time after I returned to my parents' house, my father suddenly pointed to a job advertisement in the newspaper.

'There's a position for a medical department secretary. You, try applying for this.'

Honestly, at that time, I thought, 'I don't want to take any more job interviews.' I had failed so many times, and my mental state was quite damaged. But, because of that one word from my father that sounded like a 'command,' I reluctantly applied.

When I went to the interview, a medical professor looked at my resume and said this with a smile.

'Ah, I saw your resume. You graduated from XX University, right?
A long time ago, before I became a professor, there was a secretary who really took care of me.
That person was also a graduate of the same university as you.
I believe that I was able to become a professor thanks to that person.
So, you too—I'm sure you will become that kind of person.'

I was surprised. I didn't know that senior's face or name. But, just because that person had once been 'trusted,' I was trusted too.

I don't know how to put it... but I still clearly remember feeling, 'This must be some kind of fate.'
Well, I'll just try working for now. It was that light of a feeling. Honestly, at the time, I even thought, 'It would be lucky if I could marry a doctor,' so I didn't have high expectations for the medical secretary job.

But, once I started, there was more to do than I had imagined.

Answering phones, organizing surgery photos, cleaning the medical office, transporting medical charts.
I was a 'jack-of-all-trades' for everything, even checking students' reports.

Even so, the things I was entrusted with gradually increased, and I began to see the doctors' personalities and timing.

'If I speak to this doctor at this timing, it's easier to get a response.'
'It's better to wait a little before speaking to this doctor.'
'If I'm told to bring a camera to the operating room, it's right now.'

In that way, I feel that the ability to read the room and the ability to imagine grew little by little within me.

One time, one of the doctors said to me,

'Ms. Oba, you are really fast at bringing the camera to the operating room. It's a big help.'

At that time, I gathered a little courage and answered like this:

'Actually, I think about it while I'm bringing it over.
'Maybe there's a patient who was just rushed in, and if it's a valuable case, they might want to film it for research.'
'So, I think, I have to deliver it quickly.'

The doctor laughed a little and said,

'I like that way of thinking. Actually, it's not that rare of a case, but you know, it really is a big help. It feels like you understand even without me saying anything.'

At that moment, I thought,

'Ah, maybe trust is something that is built little by little like this.'

I thought that 'trust' grows quietly in the midst of ordinary daily life.
During that time I worked as a medical secretary, I thought, 'The things I can do are only small things,' but looking back now, it was a time when I learned the essence of work: 'to grasp the other person's intentions and quietly be a strength to them.'

Before someone puts into words, 'I want you to do this,' imagine, 'Maybe it's this.'
And, move quietly.

Not just doing what you are told, but moving while being close to the other person's heart, even without being told.

That is exactly the way of being a sitter that I am aiming for now at 'Mofu-Mofu no Kuni' (Fluffy Land).

The pet owner might say, 'Please clean the cat's litter box and feed it.'
But, deep down in those words, there might be,
'I want you to make sure this child isn't lonely.'
'I want you to let them spend their time just like usual while I'm away.'
Such wishes might be included.

Therefore, I don't want to just do the 'task,' but rather,
'With what kind of feelings did that person make this request now?'
'How does this child feel most at ease spending their time?'
I want to be an existence that quietly stays close to them while imagining up to that point.

And, I want to convey that to the staff as well.
I want to convey from my own experience that 'trust is built by the accumulation of small moments of sensing.'
Mofu-Mofu no Kuni is still a small place that has just begun.

But I want to make this a place where 'you can entrust your precious things to someone you can truly trust.'

Just as I was once told, 'You will surely be fine'—

Just as I regained my confidence little by little, pushed by small words—

I want it to be a land where both pet owners and staff can think, 'I can feel at ease here.'

Pets, and pet owners too.
So that everyone can spend their days with peace of mind.
More comfortably, more happily.

For that purpose, today again, I want to quietly listen to each and every 'unseen feeling.'