I'd rather give than be given to

*I really want to shake hands with anyone who had "Ma-ji-de~" (Seriously~) playing in their head when they read the title.

Yesterday, I went out for drinks with my classmate Kiyoshi (a pseudonym). We didn't go to the same school, but we got to know each other through the badminton club.

It was Kiyoshi who invited me to "go for drinks." He reached out to a few other mutual classmates, but everyone except me was busy, so it ended up being just the two of us.

Actually, this was my first time drinking one-on-one with Kiyoshi, so I was quite nervous. As expected of someone socially awkward, I was overthinking things even with a classmate. What should I talk about? What if the conversation dies? Does he even remember me?
Well, as it turned out, these worries were unfounded.

At 4:00 PM, we hit the restaurant I had reserved as soon as it opened. Since we both have unusual work schedules, we ended up starting this early. By the way, we wrapped up at 6:30 PM, so it was a very wholesome drinking session.

Kiyoshi arrived a little late. Both he and I had arrived early, but since the place didn't open until 4:00 PM, we couldn't get in. Our earnest habit of arriving five minutes early backfired.

By the way, why is the greeting between classmates always "Waaay"? An eternal mystery.

Oh well. We ordered our drinks and said cheers.

When I asked about how he's been, he said he felt anxious about his current income and started a side job. And he told me he's a web writer, of all things. That was actually why he reached out to me. My goodness, I didn't realize there was someone in the same line of work so close by.

We had a great time talking about the hardships of the job and common experiences among web writers, saying things like "I hope we both make it big."
On the way home, Kiyoshi stopped by Mister Donut to buy souvenirs for his wife and kids, but I, being absolutely broke, went straight home with a heavy heart. I wanted a donut...

I realized something during this drinking session. It's that the feeling of "I'm happy that this was meaningful for Kiyoshi" is greater than the feeling of "I had a good time."

Web writing has become a popular side job these days, but it's still not a very mainstream profession. For me, Kiyoshi is the only writer I know personally.
Kiyoshi, who has only just started his writing career (I've been at it for less than a year myself), must have been quite anxious. If I was able to alleviate that even a little, there is nothing that makes me happier, both as a classmate and as a fellow writer.

If we follow the phrase "give and take," I suppose you could say the "give" side won out. It wasn't about what I gained, but rather what kind of benefit the other person received; that was more important to me.

Even when looking at the social media of successful web writers, they sometimes emphasize the importance of "giving." Providing know-how to someone else seems to actually be a benefit to oneself. You could say that "charity is not for others" (a Japanese proverb meaning kindness to others eventually benefits oneself).
Regarding this drinking session, although I didn't talk about anything grand, the fact that it led to Kiyoshi's peace of mind became my own "give."

I want to cherish this feeling of "giving." Well, it would be helpful if I could get a bit more "take" in terms of money for the time being, though (I'm greedy).