[Episode 8] 26 years old. I decided to quit my job at a major corporation.
Life can bloom again and again.
-- [I who wanted to join a well-known major corporation]
I want to try living abroad.
Even when I started thinking that, in the beginning, I had no idea how I could actually live overseas.
For a trip, you can just book a flight and a hotel.
But living abroad is a different story.
What about work?
What about a visa?
Could I really live in a foreign country when I can't even speak English properly?
The women who appeared in "If You Try Living Across the Sea" were all living vibrant lives abroad.
I wanted to live like that too.
Although I thought that, it was still a world on the other side of the television screen.
I didn't think it was something I could do myself.
At that time, a close friend of mine went to Canada for a year and came back.
"How were you able to live in Canada for a whole year?"
When I asked, my friend said,
"I went on a working holiday."
Working holiday.
That was the first time I had ever heard that term.
You can stay in a foreign country for a year.
You can also work.
You can go to school.
You can go traveling.
They say such a system exists.
"This is it."
That's what I thought.
I want to try living abroad.
I want to try studying English.
I want to try working locally.
Not just traveling, but living in the daily life of that country.
It felt like I could do everything I wanted to do.
However, when I checked the age limits, at the time, Canada and Australia were only up to 25 years old.
I was already 25.
By the time I applied, I would be 26.
I didn't make it in time.
What remained was New Zealand, where I could apply until I was 30.
Until then, I didn't know much about New Zealand.
However, for some reason, I felt drawn to the country of New Zealand.
I was taking flower arrangement lessons at work, thinking it would also serve as bridal training...
And Christchurch, New Zealand, is,
"The Garden City"
It is said to be called that.
A city with many flowers and greenery.
I thought it would be nice to go there, learn English, and someday be able to teach ikebana to the local people in English.
I even started thinking about things like that.
Even if there hadn't been an age limit, I think I would have chosen New Zealand anyway.
However, when it came to actually quitting the company, it wasn't a simple matter.
Matsushita Electric was a company I had always wanted to join.
After all, it was my dream to join a top-tier major corporation that everyone knows...
Every month, my salary would come in on a set day.
There were bonuses.
The benefits were also well-established.
If I didn't quit the company, my future would be somewhat secure.
To throw away that stability myself and go to a foreign country while barely being able to speak English.
Thinking about it calmly, it was quite a reckless idea.
Moreover, at the time, I wanted to get married by the age of 30.
My peers were getting married one after another.
Shouldn't I be looking for a marriage partner instead of going abroad?
Wouldn't I be more likely to meet a stable person if I stayed at the company?
If I quit the company here now, I would be letting go of the top-tier company I had worked so hard to get into.
Once I quit, I could never return to the same place.
When I thought about it that way, I became afraid.
I want to go abroad.
But I don't want to lose my stability.
I want to quit my job.
But I don't know if it's really okay to quit.
My feelings wavered almost every day.
At that time, I talked to my younger sister about my hesitation.
"I want to study abroad, but I'm already at that age..."
Then my sister said this to me:
"Sis, age has nothing to do with making your dreams come true! Saying that is just an excuse!"
When I heard those words, I was startled.
I wasn't looking for a reason to quit my job.
I might have been desperately looking for a reason to stay at the company.
Because it's a company everyone knows.
Because it's a company I worked hard to get into.
Because my parents are happy.
Because it's stable.
Because people will say it's a waste if I quit.
But none of those,
were the reasons why I truly wanted to be here.
That is precisely why, before getting married, I wanted to do everything I had ever wanted to do.
If I had gotten married without doing those things, I am sure that for the rest of my life,
"I should have gone abroad back then."
I would keep thinking that.
I had already achieved my dream of joining a top-tier company.
It was precisely because I achieved that dream that I realized this was not my final destination.
If so, wouldn't it be okay to move on to my next dream?
I finally decided to quit the company.
I was 26 years old.
When I told them I was resigning, the people around me were surprised.
Why would I go out of my way to quit such a good company?
What would I do after going abroad?
I couldn't even speak English, so would I really be okay?
I think those were natural reactions.
I myself did not know what lay ahead.
I had no intention of settling permanently in New Zealand.
I intended to return to Japan after living abroad for one year.
I had no job lined up for after I returned home.
Nothing was guaranteed.
Even so, strangely enough,
I was more afraid of regretting not going.
That is what I thought.
When I quit the company that had been my dream, I was still nobody.
I couldn't speak English.
I had no experience working abroad.
I didn't have any special talents either.
However,
I wanted to choose my own life for myself.
That feeling, at least, was clear.
Getting into a top-tier company that everyone knows was my first dream.
And quitting that company of my own volition became the first major decision I ever made for myself.
Back when I was aiming to get a job at a top-tier company, I never imagined that I would quit and head to New Zealand.
But life doesn't end just because a dream comes true.
Sometimes, it is precisely because one dream has been fulfilled that you can see the path you want to take next.
I let go of a stable future and stepped onto a path with no clear destination.
At the time, I had no way of knowing that this wouldn't just end as a one-year adventure, but would change my life entirely.
(Chapter 1 - End)
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Chapter 2: 'I couldn't speak English, but I moved to New Zealand'
Twenty-six years old. I couldn't speak English, and I had no experience living abroad. Even so, I headed to New Zealand all by myself.
I had only intended to live abroad for one year. However, that journey would move my life in an unexpected direction.
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