You can pave your own path while raising children! Career design through combination and updates [Report on the 21st Session]
Hello.
NEXT2035 Editorial Department here.
This time, we are bringing you the report on the
21st NEXT2035 Parent-Child Seminar.
Our guest speaker was photographer Kirika Shirobayashi. We talked about many things—career, parenting, living abroad—but the words that left the strongest impression on the participants were these:
“A career is not something that progresses smoothly.”
On social media, before you know it, you only see the “people who are doing well.”
But reality is much more mundane, and a continuous series of trial and error.
Ms. Shirobayashi’s talk was a time that showed us that “reality” in the form of hope.
Kirika Shirobayashi Profile
Photographer.
After graduating from university, she worked at an advertising agency in Osaka. After gaining experience in the field of advertising production, she moved to the United States and went on to graduate school to earn a master's degree. In New York, she was hired by a television production company, then moved to an advertising photographer's studio, and while working in the field, she launched her own studio.
While active in the field of advertising photography, she also participated in artist-in-residence programs in Japan and abroad as an art photographer. She has produced and presented works on the international stage, pursuing expression that crosses genres and fields.
After giving birth to her first child in 2010, she refrained from activities involving long-term stays and shifted to a creative style based at home. Although she is currently somewhat distanced from photographic expression, she continues her creative activities through the production of art books and participation in book fairs.
In addition to her experience in diverse media such as photography, video, and art book production, she continues to explore flexible creative styles in response to changes in life stages, and hopes to share heartfelt tips and perspectives with those who are struggling to balance creativity and daily life.
The mundane but certain things that “people who keep going” do
What became clear through the seminar was not a flashy success formula, but the things that people who keep going are calmly accumulating.
✅ Keep going for a long time, even if it is thin
✅ Change your methods to match the times, from analog to digital
✅ Don't stick to one thing, combine and expand
Because this accumulation does not yield results immediately, you want to quit halfway through.
But, the more you keep going, the more it pays off later.
This was also deeply connected to the “way of living in 2035” that NEXT2035 always values.
In an era of rapid change, what is needed is not “searching for the right answer,” but the ability to update while continuing.
Having a goal put into words, not “someday”
Another thing that was impressive was that Ms. Shirobayashi does not leave her “goals” vague, but puts them into words.
For example,
“I want to go to graduate school”
“I want to get a green card”
“I want to buy a house as an investment to continue the activities I love”
What is important here is not the size of the goal, but
setting it as a “tangible goal.”
And, the following two things were demonstrated in the process of moving toward that goal.
💡 Asking those around you how to make it happen [Questioning ability]
💡 Honestly executing the advice you receive [Ability to take action]
It is not just about talking about dreams, but knowing how to move forward as a set. I felt that this attitude is the driving force that moves life forward.
Because “housework never ends,” put your future time in “first”
And here is the phrase that many participants nodded along to, saying, “That is... so true.”
“Housework never ends”
……It really is true, isn't it?
That is why what Shirobayashi-san embodied was the mindset of
not “starting your own life after everything is finished,” but
incorporating “your own future time” into your daily life.
Once a week, or even once a month, is fine.
Secure even just a little bit of “time for your own career.”
That is a realistic way to keep your life moving, even in a busy daily routine.
To children living in 2035: What is needed is the “ability to continue while rearranging”
In the coming era where AI and technology evolve,
what is needed is not just “one specialty.”
Rather,
adapting to change by changing how you do things
Combine several things to create a path
Even if you fail, keep going while getting back on your feet
This “power to keep updating yourself” becomes the axis that supports your children's future.
Ms. Shirobayashi's talk showed us exactly that power, not as an idealized stretch, but as a
practical example of how to nurture it while balancing life.
Finally
Once you finish reading, please take just 5 minutes to pause.
“If you had to choose just ‘one’ thing today for the future of yourself (and your family), what would it be?”
Whether it's studying for a certification or preparing for work,
“looking something up,” “asking someone,” or “putting it in your schedule”
is a small enough first step.
Career and life rarely change dramatically overnight.
However, if you gently insert actions of a sustainable size into your daily life,
there will come a moment when you suddenly think:
“Oh, I really was moving forward.”
Housework, childcare, and work never end.
That is why, instead of waiting until “everything settles down,”
set aside time for the future within your current life.
That accumulation will truly, definitely pay off later.
【Next Seminar Announcement: Accepting Applications Now】
22nd Session
“Be water - Improvisation? Mind, Technique, and Body - The flexibility of comprehensive strength creates the future”
Speaker: Shinobu Noda (A dancer who works freely)
In the next NEXT2035 parent-child seminar,
we will welcome
Ms. Shinobu Noda, who is active in Hong Kong and is a practitioner who has rebuilt her career across countries and industries without relying on academic background or a single specialty.
The keyword is “Be water.”
Rather than just improvising,
Mind (values), Technique (skills), and Body (actions) are not separated,
and she will talk based on her own experience about the power to keep moving forward while changing shape as needed.
Not only for those thinking about their children's career paths,
“How should we live and act in the future, in the AI era and a society where the future is uncertain?”
I believe this will be a time where parents who hold such vague anxieties and questions can also take home some hints.
22nd Session: February 15, 2026 (Sun) 20:00-21:00 JST
“Be water - Improvisation? Mind, Technique, and Body - The flexibility of comprehensive strength creates the future”
Speaker: Shinobu Noda (A dancer who works freely)
💻 Held via Zoom (Free, first 300 groups)
◆Click here to apply
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If you would like to read the reports of past sessions all together, please check this magazine👇
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