To You in the Future: A Letter from an Adult

When I was small, I was powerless.

My parents and the adults around me were my entire world.

I simply walked along the path laid out for me. Crying, laughing, getting angry, and feeling joy.

The things I thought about with my small head were all narrow-minded.

I tried to find answers in a small society where I had experienced nothing, but

I always kept those answers locked away in my heart, feeling unsettled.

Sometimes, those memories still come back to me suddenly.

When I became a parent myself, what I naturally remembered

were the memories of when I was a child.

Unexpectedly, the reference books for raising children are often the memories of my own past self.

And sometimes, I also remember my parents.

The things my parents did for me, and the things they didn't.

While remembering those things, I find myself continuing to raise my own children while sometimes trying to read between the lines.

Parents aren't always able to be perfect teachers, either.

Chased by daily life and circumstances, there are times when we reach our limit.

But even then, there are words I have always kept somewhere in my heart.

"Don't get angry, scold."

To scold means to teach a child what they must not do and to admonish them.

When you feel like you might lash out, that is already 'getting angry'.

I tell myself that it is proof that my emotions have taken the lead.

But it is also proof that I care about my child so deeply that I reach that point.

Parents, too, are walking alongside their children.

Children are doing things for their parents. Children are teaching adults.

Children may seem powerless and helpless.

But they truly have their own roles.

Looking ahead, children of the future have infinite possibilities.

To help those possibilities grow.

To watch over them gently so as not to confine them.

I believe that is a very important role that only the adults around them can fulfill.

Sending them to many lessons,

noticing their small interests,

these are all ways to expand a child's potential.

Sometimes standing at the front,

sometimes walking side-by-side,

and sometimes pushing them from behind.

That alone should be enough to provide children with many paths.

Dreams and hopes are already within the children themselves.

As long as they have the strength to believe in that, they can stand up again and again.

I hope that we adults can water those small buds, let them bask in the sun,

and support the 'self they want to become' together.

To you who will grow up from now on,

there are definitely adults in this world who wish to be on your side.

So, believe.
Because the future you walk toward belongs only to you.

#To you who will grow up from here