[Episode 4] Everyone was in navy blue. I chose a cream-colored suit.

Life can blossom again and again.

――[I wanted to join a major company that everyone knows]

~What I learned from the job interview at Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic)~

My career guidance teacher told me, "Write down your desired conditions for employment as specifically as possible. Anything is fine."
I wrote them down without hesitation.
・A top-tier company that everyone knows
・Tokyo headquarters
・A company where women are active
And finally, one more thing.

“If possible, a company where I can see the ocean from the office.”Thinking back now, what a free-spirited condition that was (laughs).
My first choice was Hitachi, Ltd.
It was a top-tier company everyone knew, and its headquarters were in Tokyo.
However, the career guidance teacher laughed and said this:
“Hitachi is too stiff for you, Nishida-san. You should go for Matsushita Electric.”

Huh?Are there companies that are "stiff" or "soft"?
I seriously thought that.
But I had read books by Konosuke Matsushita and deeply respected his way of thinking.
“Before making products, we make people.”
I was also strongly drawn to that corporate philosophy.
“In that case, I’ll apply to Matsushita Electric.”
I decided on that.

The day of the job exam.
When I arrived at the venue, everyone was wearing navy blue recruitment suits.
But I was different.
A cream-colored suit.
It wasn't that I wanted to do something different from others.
It was just that, for some reason, I didn't feel like wearing navy blue.
I felt that cream color was more like me.
At that moment, I suddenly remembered my elementary school backpack.
My father never liked "being the same as everyone else" since long ago.
So, in an era when everyone else's backpacks were red, mine wasvermilion.
At the time, I hated it so much.
But strangely enough, now that I am an adult, I was doing the same thing as my father.

The morning was a written exam.
The afternoon was an interview.
The interviewer asked me:
“Nishida-san, how about something like accounting work?”
I answered honestly.
“I can't do mental arithmetic, so I think accounting would be difficult.”
Then the interviewer laughed and said:
“Nishida-san, in this day and age, we use calculators, not mental arithmetic, so it's fine.”
I couldn't help but laugh too.
At the end of the interview, I was asked one more question.
“If you don't get into Matsushita, what kind of company would you like to go to?”
For a moment, I panicked.
Huh, talking about what happens if I fail?
But immediately, I thought,
“This is them asking why I want to join Matsushita.”
I corrected my thinking and spoke about the content I had prepared.

When the interview ended, about 200 applicants were gathered.
The HR representative said:
“Does anyone have any questions?”
……
No one raised their hand.
The venue fell silent.
For some reason, I couldn't bear that atmosphere.
I took the plunge and raised my hand.
The question I asked was about the "birthday system."
Honestly, the content wasn't that important.
I just wanted to break that silence.

The exam was over.
The results would be in two days.
Feeling restless even after returning home, I went to Ginza alone that day to watch a movie.
I still remember that movie even now.
It was the Tom Cruise-starring
“Days of Thunder”
because it was a movie I watched while waiting for the results.

Two days later.
I received an informal job offer from Matsushita Electric Industrial (now Panasonic).
And in February, just before graduating from junior college,
I received another phone call from Matsushita Electric's HR department.
My mother handed me the receiver and said,
“Could it be... that they are rescinding the job offer?”
I couldn't help but laugh.
The content of the call was the exact opposite.
“We would like you to recite the 'Oath of Allegiance' at the entrance ceremony as the representative of the new female employees in the Tokyo area.”
“Huh? Me?”
I asked back unintentionally.
I still don't know the reason even now.
But I think that raising my hand in front of 200 people that day must have left an impression on the HR staff.
I wasn't good at writing, so I thought of the "Oath of Allegiance" together with my seminar teacher at junior college.
And I rewrote it many times with a brush pen on accordion-folded ceremonial paper.
April 1st arrived.
I went to work for the first time wearing the samecream-colored suitas on the day of the interview.

Answering honestly that I wasn't suited for accounting.
Raising my hand in front of 200 people.
Choosing a cream-colored suit.
I don't think I did anything special in any of these cases.
I was just being honest with myself at that time.
But now I understand.
Life doesn't open up by becoming someone else.
It opens up by being yourself.
At that time, I didn't know yet.
That this "being myself" would help me many times in the future, whether in New Zealand, real estate, or the flower market.
(To be continued)

🌸 Next Episode Preview
Episode 5: "A miracle happened at the entrance ceremony."
On the distributed seating chart, there was a name I recognized.
“Hitomi”
Huh... no way.
Is it Hitomi-chan, the one I studied hard with for the entrance exams?

🌼 This is one of the works I am entering into the "Creative Awards 2026"
I have compiled my life's major turning point—the experience of having four miscarriages and giving birth at 45—into a single work and entered it into note's "Creative Awards 2026."
If you would like, I would be very happy if you could read this work as well.
▼ You can read the work here