The 90s, when I hung out with friends without even realizing I was being 'mounted'

In the manga "Momo & Ume," there is something called MMBR (Mounting Mountain Battle Royale), which depicts women in the breakroom who want to one-up each other. It makes me laugh out loud, thinking, "Yes! That's exactly what women are like."

I am 49 years old now. Social media did not exist during my youth. Therefore, mounting battles took place in real life. Getting a good education to join a top-tier company—that was the definition of a winner in life! It was an era where you had to show that off vividly in real-world settings.

Even when I was being mounted, I would reply, "Wow, that's amazing! Good for you!" and although I honestly felt like they were just bragging, I would brush it off with a "Well, whatever." I was a timid person full of inferiority complex, thinking I could never beat the winners.

It was largely influenced by our parents' generation, for whom a child's success was the ultimate boast, making it a status symbol to get into a good university or a famous company.

By the time I entered the workforce, the spread of mobile phones from PHS meant that human relationships began to be connected through email, and the era of social media mounting arrived.

Isn't my generation a rare breed now, having experienced everything from analog friendships to relationships mediated by digital tools?

The other day, I met a friend from my junior college days whom I hadn't seen in over ten years. We had a reunion where we said things like, "It's been so long I didn't recognize you from afar, I had to put on my glasses and confirm, 'Oh, it's Tomo!'" (My friend, did I not change much? Hehe.)

Why did we meet after not seeing each other for so long? We had both reached 49 while harboring the same feelings somewhere. When we exchanged updates during New Year's greetings, I felt we might share the same thoughts (and the same sense of unease), so I suggested, "Let's meet up!"

Many things happened while we were apart; we misunderstood each other, and looking back now, I realize I hurt people back then, and I hadn't even realized my own feelings.

Yes, we didn't even know the word "mounting" back then. Decades later, I realize that perhaps when we were being mounted constantly, we just smiled vacantly and lost ourselves in the process.

Even now, our generation, raised by parents who experienced Japan's high economic growth period, might still be living with the mindset that a high level of education equals being a winner.

But we now realize that even for those who have "lost" along the way, there are various stories and lessons to be learned. After talking everything out with my friend, I received this LINE message from her after I got home.

I was so, so, so happy. That day, I told her, "I'm not working right now because I feel like I can't handle being employed by someone else anymore." It was embarrassing to tell her, as she is still working at the same place, but she listened kindly.

Moreover, I was deeply moved that my writing and photos, created by someone who is "nobody," made even one person—let alone an old friend—think, "I'm going to find something!"

And so my feelings overflowed, and I felt excited to share the small thrills in my heart with her, saying, "You know, this happened too."

I am not someone with a success story of introducing tangible things or achieving any major results.

But I intend to write about it here every time I get moved by some small challenge I take on.

We, who didn't even know the word "mounting," are now finding new lessons from the things we felt about people who used to mount us constantly.

It's okay, I am who I am. We are the same as we always were. But I also have friends I can talk to, saying, "We're lucky to have reached such a wonderful time, even if we have changed!"

This post turned into a gift I wanted to send to my dear friends; thank you to everyone who read this far.