What is a good essay, anyway?

Since I started writing and reading essays on note, how many times have I encountered such moments?
The feeling that, within someone else's writing, an emotion buried deep in my heart is being gently scooped up.
That was certainly empathy.

However, at one point, I suddenly paused.

"Was that really a 'good essay'?"

Perhaps it's because I read Ringo-san's article.
Writing ClubSince it was a topic of conversation there, it made me think as well.

Writing based on empathy is easy to read and comfortable.
But there are also pieces that fade away softly after you finish reading them.
Like lukewarm black tea. It's warm, but you drink it up quickly and forget about it.

On the other hand, writing that provides conviction has a certain "lingering feeling."

"I never thought of it that way," it catches somewhere in my mind, and
a few days later, while doing the dishes or on the train, it's suddenly remembered.

When I encounter such writing, I want to straighten my back a little and read it again.

But even so, I still like writing that makes people say,
"Yeah, yeah, I get it,"
and when someone says, "Is that perhaps about me?"
I feel a little embarrassed, but also very happy.

So, am I writing "good essays"?

Going back and forth between "empathy" and "conviction,"
I write essays again today.

A "good essay" might be an "unforgettable essay."
Not just on the day you read it,
but even days or months later, you remember it at random moments.
That one line, that metaphor, catches in some corner of your heart and won't let go.

Whether it's empathy, conviction, or even opposition, it doesn't matter.
If I could leave "something" inside that person,
I believe that is surely a "good essay."

The essay I read the other day was scattered with poetry-like expressions that captured everyday scenes in unique words. Rather than empathy, I was captivated by that sensibility and wanted to read it over and over. Also, in another essay, the author spoke candidly about their own failures while weaving in the deep lessons learned from them, and after reading it, I was made to think deeply by overlapping it with my own past experiences.

An "unforgettable essay" is likely something that stays in the heart for a long time, remembered not just for the emotion at the moment of reading, but at random moments afterward. It might be vivid words that shake the heart, a surprising new perspective, or an exploration that digs deep into a universal theme.

Today, too, I write essays in search of "something unforgettable."
Although there is no single form for a "good essay," I hope to write pieces that can plant some kind of seed in the reader's heart.

Sincerely, Kiki