Graduate Representative Farewell Address | 2025 SHIMOKITA COLLEGE Graduation Ceremony
The 2025 graduation ceremony for SHIMOKITA COLLEGE was held on March 8, 2026, marking the graduation of the 4th cohort of the Residential Program and the annual students of the Boarding Program. We present the farewell address delivered by Tsuyoshi Kato, representative of the 4th cohort of the Residential Program.
Once again, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone for providing such a wonderful time for us, the graduating 4th cohort.
The scent of daphne drifting on the path signals the arrival of the season of farewells.
The time I thought would last forever is now coming to an end.
When I first moved in, I never imagined a future where I would feel sad about parting ways with everyone.
I would like to dedicate this farewell address to you, who made me feel that way.
A year and a half ago, when I moved into the college, I was taking a leave of absence from university and spending my time on activities outside the college. The reality outside was not so sweet, and it was filled with events that left me feeling crushed. Speaking about my own world and walking the path I believed in was lonely and painful. Naturally, I didn't spend much time at the college, and every time I came and went, passing through the noisy common area, I felt alienated, as if my presence wasn't recognized there. Because of my own weakness, I began to close myself off both outside and at the college.
It was then that you stepped into my world. From trivial conversations, you took an interest in me and happily talked about what you were passionate about.
You surely don't know how much of a salvation it was for me that you brought me into your world like that. Working in despair late at night, going to the public bath when we stumbled, eating an excessive amount of vegetables. Peeking into your world, receiving it, and tasting it together was so happy, and spending such luxurious days with you became a matter of course. And then, I was able to become positive, so that I could proudly tell you about my own world and become something meaningful to you. Did I manage to give you anything at all?
I think living with others is a truly mysterious thing. Being with people you wouldn't have otherwise met is sometimes painful, but it brings us things far more wonderful than that.
To you who will carry the future of the college, I hope that you will engage in dialogue with diverse people every day, encounter events, and face the emotions that well up inside you honestly. Questions arise from daily life. Each of those questions should enrich, color, and expand your world.
When encountering questions, "not knowing" is a great power. Please face your own ignorance without rushing, while enjoying it. The college is overflowing with dialogue and words, but words are always incomplete. That is precisely why we engage in dialogue, put our thoughts into words, and by realizing our own incompleteness, we can open up new learning and possibilities in life. Do not compromise in your daily life, never give up on what you have decided to do, and create your world with your own hands and words.
Lastly, through my year and a half of college life, I have come to have many things I don't want to let go of. It is very sad to part with you, but now you are in my life, and I am in yours. Thanks to you, I can finally move forward with confidence in the life I believe in.
In front of the front door of the college, small daphne flowers are blooming at our feet. Just like their flower language, I would like to leave this place of learning, looking forward to the day when your life and mine intersect again. Thank you so much for the wonderful days. With my head held high, I am off.
Residential Program 4th Cohort Representative Tsuyoshi Kato