This Week's Ran-Ran 2 (3rd Week of March, 2026)
It's graduation season, and yesterday I attended my eldest daughter's junior high school graduation ceremony. Next week is my second daughter's elementary school graduation. It feels like just the other day I was attending her junior high entrance ceremony, so it's surprising that it's already time for graduation...😅
The third-year homeroom teacher, who also served as the grade head, was a very passionate woman. During the homeroom session after the ceremony, she held an event where she handed out a 'Certificate of Award' to each student while sharing an anecdote about why they received that specific award, and I was deeply moved😭
Since there are quite a lot of students—35 in total—if she hadn't observed each one carefully and thought about it thoroughly, it could have felt perfunctory and fallen flat. But from what I heard nearby, and although I don't know the students well, the awards seemed to perfectly match the atmosphere of each individual, and judging by the students' reactions, it really hit home for them💘
By the way, the award my eldest daughter received was the 'Tenacious Challenger Award'😁 She looks quiet, but she's actually very competitive, and the teacher praised her for having an inner fighting spirit that drives her to take on various challenges...
I always tell my children that, in the end, the ones who can keep at it steadily are the ones who win, and that people who can turn tedious tasks into habits achieve great things—more so than those with special talent. I often quote Ichiro's famous saying, 'Accumulating small efforts is the only way to reach extraordinary places,' so I was happy to see that she is growing up with that mindset😀
I had felt that the current trend in society was a lack of connection, where older people are afraid to give feedback to the youth for fear of generation gaps or being accused of power harassment, but I was deeply impressed to see that there are still people like Mr. Kinpachi (too old-school...😅) out there.
I have many people younger than me at my company as well, so this served as a reminder for me to straighten up and ensure I am providing feedback that is well-observed and focused on their growth😷
So, I'm thinking of starting close to home and giving my own cats some kind of 'Award'.
First, there's my older cat, 'Ran.' She absolutely hates being held, but she's quite the attention-seeker and cries in my ear at night, so maybe something like the 'THE PROBLEM GIRL Award' would be appropriate.
Next is her younger brother, 'Leo.' He is extremely timid and hides under the bed whenever an adult man comes to the house, but he has a huge appetite and even eats the food I put out for Ran, so maybe the 'Beautiful Sewer Rat Award' would be good...
(D)
