Thank You for the Dream | A Note of Gratitude to My Daughter Who Stopped Attending School

Is it the "correct answer" to adapt to school?

Is it "bad" if you can no longer go to school?

School non-attendance is not a simple issue of
one side being the correct answer.

As a vocational school teacher,
I have had some opportunities to interact with students who
could not fit into a group
or could not enter the classroom.
I did my best to support them.

Even so, when it happened to my own child,
my heart wavered.

Why...

If only she could have gone to school "normally," then more...

Somewhere in my heart, I had been holding onto such selfish ideals.

However.
Even if she couldn't go to school.
She laughed.
She made friends.
She was kind to others.
She said, "I love you, Mom" and "My family is the best."

And then, she drew.
She drew many pictures and carved out her own dream by herself.

"I want to be an illustrator"

I began to chase after the dream she had started running toward.

To her, who embraced a dream.
Triggered by this article,
many companions reached out to her.

Truly, truly.
Thank you.

While reading the note articles and comments,
she laughed and quietly followed the words with her eyes.

Everyone is supporting the dream she declared.
They tell her it's a wonderful drawing.

Declaring a dream.
Just how important that is.
I think that through this experience, it has been firmly etched into her heart.

We cherished every comment, reading them together with my eldest daughter, and replied to them.
In the midst of that, there was someone who reached out to her beyond just the comments.

The wonderful Haru Shibuki, whom we love.

She sent a message to her via the "Contact Creator" form.
As it is a secret exchange between her and Haru-san, I will keep the details private, but it truly made us happy.
She really is a person of such compassion...

↑ Lately, I love this article because it's filled with love✨

"Shall we reply?"

I said.
I could have replied with a "Thank you," but these were words meant for her. So, I asked, hoping a little that my eldest daughter would be the one to reply.

Although she readily agreed,
"What should I do?" "What should I write?"
she worried and worried.
She worried so much that she ended up running off to play games, only to come back and worry some more.
So I suggested, "Why don't you try drawing Haru-san for her?"
"That's it! That's a great idea!"
she said, and immediately set her pen to paper.

My eldest daughter let her imagination run wild while looking at the icon.
Then.

"I wonder what color Haru-chan likes? Mom, can you ask her?"

My eldest daughter, a gentle giant who seems to think that Mom's friends are her friends too.

Thank you so much for kindly responding to such a sudden DM asking for your favorite color.

And so, here is the finished Haru-san.

Once again, Haru-san.
Thank you so much for being there for her heart.
I truly appreciate it.
I would be happy if you could receive this✨

And, one more person.
Genchon-shi, a fellow parent of five children.
I have been close with him since I first started on Note.
Lately, the ratio of his silly articles has been rising like crazy, but he was kind enough to let me, his junior, stop using formal language with him.

He wrote this letter to my eldest daughter.

He was also the first person to address her directly in the comments section of my articles.

He supported her dream with all his might.
And then,I'll be your very first customer as an illustrator, he offered.

I see...
Even though he starts talking about "Chon-chon" or the O-1 Grand Prix, or makes suggestive remarks to all the ladies.
At this moment, humanity remembered that he really is a good guy after all...

(He was so serious that he even sent me a draft via DM to check if there were any issues before posting the article...) ← I'll probably get yelled at for revealing this, but I'm writing it down anyway. lol

So, with that,
😎💦 "Enough already, hurry up! You alcohol yakuza!!!"

I assume that's what's being said to me
(What even is an alcohol yakuza, anyway?)

I will now reveal it!

Eldest daughter: "Genchon-kun. Thank you."

After reading the article, my eldest daughter muttered, "A bike, huh..." and searched for "bike" on my smartphone.
She immediately started working on the piece.
As expected, she seems particular about the color.

"Ask Genchon-kun what his favorite color is. It's better to ride his favorite color, right?"

Genchon-kun, what is that... way of calling him...
I found it amusing, so I went ahead and asked him for his favorite color too.

There are also traces of her erasing the draft many times.
But I'll pass it on to you just as it is, with all those expressions intact.
Her hard work.
If you can accept it all, she'll be incredibly happy.

──Oh, let's discuss the tip via DM (sudden manager mode)

I would love to send a message or an illustration to each and every one of you who left a comment.
I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart.

She is such an honest child.
After receiving your comments, she immediately started drawing more and more illustrations, filling up her drawing notebook.

“I want to take this to school and have them use it as a coloring book.”
“I want you to buy me another notebook.”

One after another, her dreams are expanding in such a refreshing way.
I feel that if she has her drawings, the day might come when she can step back into school.

As for me, on the other hand.
I think I wanted to be saved by writing on Note.
When she could no longer go to school at all—even though she had been going a little when I first started Note—I wanted to believe that this child would be okay.
I wanted to be saved by writing.

That was all it was at first, but before I knew it, it became a place that saved her as well. And it also became a place where my own dreams began to grow.

So many of you have spoken to us so kindly,
and at times, we have encouraged each other passionately and grown together.
#WhatAreYouTalkingAbout
Even when I write an article that makes me want to ask myself that,
there are people who reach out and save it.

I am sure this wonderful place will continue to support us,
and will continue to give us dreams and help them grow.
Filled with that premonition,
I weave this article.

To everyone.
Thank you for the dreams.