It Was I Who Was Saved

"When you were the representative, the club felt like 'work' and wasn't fun."

These were the words said to me by a peer in the club as a follow-up story.

It was a club like a school festival executive committee.
Rather than "playing" ourselves, we were an organization that prepared for others to "play."

Perhaps because of that, many members referred to the club's activities as "tasks" or "work."

In the midst of that, I ended up serving as the representative by chance—but honestly, I couldn't say it went well.

To run the event without a hitch, I had to make sure preparations were done properly.

Oh, that girl hasn't submitted her poster by the deadline again!

I mean, it's already one month away!!! Will we make it in time...[[phN_open]][[phN_close]]

Because of things like that, I was doing my best just to "serve" as the representative.

I wasn't even able to pay attention to whether the members were "having fun."

Now that I'm a working adult, I keenly feel how much of a "lousy boss" that made me.I was only thinking about the event participants and couldn't think about the club members right in front of me.

If there were a next chance—.
That was all I could think about at the time.

◆◆◆

The next chance came a year later.

In my club, there was a custom where, after retiring as representative, one would act as a "mentor" to the representative one year junior.

It's something like the "Retired Emperor" in Japanese history.

Having become a Retired Emperor (!?), I immediately set one goal.

"Let's make this a comfortable club for the members."

This became my mission.

The representative one year junior was a "capable" leader, unlike me.
Even without me going out of my way to set missions or goals, they properly created a "comfortable" club.

While admiring their thoughtfulness, I also tried to do what I could in my own way.

And when I retired from the circle, I received these words from my peers and juniors in the circle.

"It was fun after all, let's do it again sometime."

I had approached it with the mindset of "I'll make" a comfortable circle for them—of "doing something for them."

Rather, it was I who was "being made" to feel comfortable in the circle.

I thought I was "saving" everyone, but...
It was actually me who was "saved."

◆◆◆

Thinking about the world of note.

note also has a system called "Circles (Memberships)."

It's a gathering where people belong to a single community and do what they love together.

As long as people are gathering, it's definitely better to have fun than to have friction.

So, if I were to create a circle, I would definitely want to make it a comfortable one—

—With that thought in mind, I created the "note River Bench."

How is it, really?

The version of myself that thought, "I want to create a circle where members feel comfortable," overlapped with who I was in college.
That version of myself overlapped with who I was in college.

"Let's stop thinking, 'I'll do this for them.'"

As the representative of the note circle, I abandoned the "I'll do this for them" mindset.

Having run the circle for nearly two and a half years like that.

I realized it really did overlap with who I was in college.

It was I who was saved.

Creating a comfortable place for "someone" who joins the circle.

That, in turn, became a comfortable place for "me".

The word "save" might be an exaggeration, though.

Even so, I felt like I was saved by the "bench by the note river".

I hope you have a place like that, too.

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