I never thought I would meet friends in my 50s with whom I could share my dreams

🌱On a Saturday in February, seven of us gathered.🌱

We were members who met during the semi-first-grade course for Organizing and Storage Advisors, and we had promised to get together once everyone passed the first-grade exam.
You can read about that story here ⬇️

The last person received their passing notification in December of last year. After getting through the hustle and bustle of the year-end and New Year holidays, this day finally became a reality.
It had already been half a year since the semi-first-grade course. But strangely, it didn't feel like it had been that long.
Every time someone passed,
“I passed!”
“Yay!”
“Good luck to the next person!”
messages were flying back and forth on LINE.
Even through the screen, everyone's joy was clearly conveyed, and for those six months, we had been loosely connected the whole time.

The journey to passing can be found here ⬇️

🍀The paths we each saw “beyond” passing🍀

Seeing everyone after such a long time,
they all looked a little bit radiant.

So. Now that everyone had passed and we were gathered, if you asked “what are we going to talk about next?”—

“What are you going to do after passing?”
That was it.

“Since I went through the trouble of getting this qualification, I definitely want to use it for work.”
One person who said that had already quit her current job.

Wait, you already made a move?

The table buzzed.
As we all said things like, “That’s amazing, your drive is on another level,”
a part of my heart gave a sharp pang.

I felt a mix of admiration and the sense that I was falling a bit behind.
Another person said she had started studying for yet another qualification, using the organizing and storage qualification as a stepping stone to the next level. She was already running.

So, what about me?

To be honest, I only got this qualification with the feeling that “it would be nice if it helped my current job a little.”
I’ve been doing back-office work for over 20 years, so I thought it might be useful for things like organizing tasks or document management.
That was about it.
But after getting it and studying for it—I felt like something was changing little by little.

🌿How will I work from here on out?🌿

It was only recently that I realized I felt stuck in my current job.
I don’t want to be in a higher position than I am now.
When transfer season comes around, whether I get moved or my boss changes, I have no say in it.
If I get a bad boss or bad subordinates... do I just silently endure the mentally and physically tough times...?
Can I keep doing this until I’m 60 or 65?
But if I just quit suddenly, wouldn’t I be panicking, wondering, “Well, what should I do next?”
If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to think about the next step and start moving now, while I’m in my 50s?
Wouldn’t it be better to start cultivating something early on that I can continue even after I turn 60 or 70?
I’ve been thinking about things like that vaguely lately.

“I still have family circumstances, so I can’t move right away, but I want to head in that direction someday,” and so on.
We didn’t just talk about success stories; we shared our individual anxieties and struggles in down-to-earth language.

The age of our children, caregiving, family timing.
Everyone has different conditions for when they can move. But not one of us was negative.

“I want to do this in the future.”
“I want to make a career out of this.”
“I’m thinking of making a move in a few years.”

It was a dinner party where we talked about our “dreams” in such a radiant way.

💡A day we talked about dreams, not complaints💡

I suddenly remembered something.
Gatherings when I was a student were like this.
When I got together with friends, the conversation never ended.
“I want to do this when I grow up.”
“I want to try this kind of job in the future.”
It wasn’t embarrassing to talk about our dreams.

When did that feeling disappear?

Before I knew it, gatherings as an adult had started to feel a little different.

Complaints about husbands, issues with mothers-in-law, dissatisfaction with bosses, worries about children, health issues...
While eating and drinking, before we knew it, we were only talking about dark things.
That’s not necessarily bad.
Those are important conversations, too. They served as stress relief.
But it became less common to go home feeling bright.

And yet, these seven people were different.
Our ages were all over the place, and our professions were all over the place.
These friends, connected by the slightly unusual bond of an Organizing and Storage Advisor course,
let’s study more, let’s get the next qualification, let’s use this qualification as a stepping stone to the next step, so, what shall we start?
To have met friends who talk about dreams like that.
I think that is truly a happy thing.
They created a space where we could talk about our dreams radiantly.

On the way home, I thought about it by myself.
I was inspired. I thought I couldn’t afford to be laid back.
So, what should I learn next?
Where should I head?

I don’t have the answer yet.
But the fact that I’ve become able to have these questions is a different place for me than it was half a year ago.

🌸note is a place where you can write about dreams🌸

By the way, do you—at this age—have friends with whom you can share your dreams?
If you do, I think that is a very happy thing.
Even if you don’t, I don’t think you need to rush.
Because I didn’t think I would have an encounter like this after turning 50 either (laughs).
Turning 50,
“How do you want to live from now on?”
I didn’t think I would be having conversations like that.
But,
dreams,
aren’t just for young people, are they?
They don’t have to be big dreams.
“I want to live like this.”
“I want to work like this.”
“I want to become this kind of person.”
Such small dreams,
I’ve become able to put into words little by little again.
Just that alone,
makes me more positive than I was a little while ago.

And, if you feel embarrassed to talk about them, or can’t say them face-to-face

—there is note.

A place where you can quietly write down your dreams by yourself.
A place where you can get a “Like” from someone who empathizes with you.
A place where you can connect with someone through comments.
In my 50s, there is a place where I can talk about my dreams.
That is something I am happy about right now.
note is,
perhaps a place where you can gently leave those dreams.

One of the attractions of note is that you can connect with many different people.
Let’s talk about our dreams together!
I am participating in this event ⬇️

There are so many “dreams” from so many different people, and it makes me excited.