Dramas Begin at Any Age
vol.1394
When I was a junior high school student, my uncle said this to me.
“You’re lucky, Tatsu-chan. You can become anything from here on out.”
The uncle who said that was, I believe, around the age I am now (around 50 years old) at the time.
He was a JAL pilot, and to me, he seemed dazzling.
But for him, it seems he felt
“For me, the rest of my life is pretty much set in stone…”
that was his sentiment.
Thinking about it, 30 years ago, that might have been true.
The path was clear: continue as a pilot for a few more years, then work on the ground, and reach mandatory retirement at age 60.
Back then, it was the era of the 80-year life model, so it was normal to think about how to spend the rest of one's life in “old age.”
Perhaps my uncle felt something like “the peak of life” at that time and was in an ennui mood…
However, today, the world has become the 100-year life era, and it has become a society where people naturally think about their second career.
“If possible, I want to remain active and working for my whole life.”
The number of people who think this way is also increasing.
I am one of those people, and when I think about it that way, at 48 years old I have not even passed the halfway point of a 100-year life yet.not even reached.
(...though there is the question of whether I can actually live that long... haha)
In any case, I want to see a future I never imagined for the rest of my life.
A life that changed from my 40s
In my 30s, I spent a long time wandering aimlessly, and I remember feeling sad on my 40th birthday
"This isn't how I expected to be at 40..."
I remember feeling sad (lol).
However, I was promoted to Vice President at 42, started writing on note at 43, and I feel like my life has taken a turn for the better.
The day I wrote my first note.
When I pressed the "Publish" button, the image of dropping a single drop of water into the vast ocean crossed my mind,
"What an inappropriate thing I've done"
and I remember regretting having published the article...
However, the next day, when I woke up, two or three people had followed me...
...Well, I thought if even one person was watching, I would keep going, and honestly, before I knew it, nearly five years had passed.
Even so. Now, many people are reading my articles, and that such a future would come is something the me who turned 40 could not have imagined.
Furthermore, because I wrote on note, there are also opportunities that have expanded.
The previous president suddenly told me, "Give the lecture in my place," and I feel that if I hadn't been writing on note every day, I would not have accepted.
But because I had been writing, I had a feeling that I could do it, and was able to accept.
I see that as having led, as a result, to my subsequent lecture activities, consulting, and work as a coordinator for the Retail Industry Association Consumer Committee.
In other words, if you don't set your own limits, no matter how old you get, a future that you never imagined awaits.
Even an ordinary person like me can hold such expectations.
Recently, thanks to the power of web media and social media, I have more opportunities to see the life stories of ordinary people.
Among them, there are many lives that blossom even after reaching middle or old age.
I mentioned the term second career earlier, and I feel that there are also many flowers that bloom after retiring once.
A flower that blooms at 72 after retirement
One such person is Michiyo Kitta, the director of the Yatsugatake Kazenoko Nursery School in Hara Village, Nagano Prefecture.
〈FNN Prime Online / February 1, 2025〉
Ms. Kitta was active as a nursery teacher in Tokyo until the age of 67, and served as director at two different schools.
After that, she retired from work and moved to Hara Village.
She intended to spend her time leisurely in an environment rich in nature, but at the age of 72, she established an infant nursery and ended up living a busy daily life.
The catalyst was an encounter with a woman working while carrying her baby on her back whom she saw at a nearby ranch.
When Ms. Kitta asked about it, she learned that the village's only nursery school was
unable to accept infants under 10 months old
that was the situation.
It seems they initially took it in with a feeling of "I see," but after hearing about it a few times, they began to think "I have to do something about this", and opened a nursery school.
This challenge seems to have become a great support for the village, and since many households move here saying they "want to raise children in a place rich in nature", the Yatsugatake Kazenoko Nursery School has become one of the "safety nets".
In their 70s, and furthermore, living as a nursery director in a new land.
They themselves say,
"Now, I am grateful to be able to do this kind of work. It's as if I've been able to put what I've done so far to good use. I even forget my own age, and every day is fun."
That is what they say, but... that is something not easily done, isn't it...?
However, the sense of fulfillment from contributing to the community must be something irreplaceable 😊
"Being needed no matter how old you get" is truly an ideal, isn't it~
Becoming a University of Tokyo student at 50
Next, I would like to introduce someone from my own generation who achieved a "future I never imagined".
It is cram school teacher Mayumi Yasumasa.
Surprisingly, she at age 50 passed the entrance exam for the University of Tokyo's College of Arts and Sciences III successfully.
〈Sankei Shimbun / February 3, 2025〉
Originally, it seems she aimed for the University of Tokyo during her teenage entrance exam attempts as well, but at that time, after two years of ronin, she enrolled at Waseda University.
After that, she became a cram school instructor and then a full-time housewife, and when her second son graduated from elementary school, she opened a tutoring school in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, called "Ansei Seminar", where she taught junior high school students.
Why did Ms. Ansei decide to take the University of Tokyo entrance exam at age 50?
In fact, the trigger was trouble with other mothers.
Following that incident,
"Could it be that I have no value at all...?"
She was depressed, but to regain her self-confidence, she resumed "studying," which she had always loved.
Aiming to pass the Grade 2 French proficiency test, which she had given up on in her youth, she began her studies.
And she successfully passed that exam.
Furthermore, she spent her days studying Italian, German, and other languages.
After that, she was inspired by her second son's attempt at the University of Tokyo entrance exam.
Seeing her son's challenging spirit, she thought, "I can do it too!".
And so, while juggling work, housework, and child-rearing, they studied for entrance exams during spare moments.
Amazingly, they passed on the first try.
In this story, the point that encourages me as someone of the same generation is that they had already attempted it once in their teens.
Back then, even while focusing solely on studying, they failed to achieve it even after two extra years of preparation, yet this time, despite being 50 years old, they passed on the first try.
…Usually, I think teenagers have better memory, and since they were in a situation where they couldn't focus only on studying, the more you think about it, the more it should have been a difficult challenge…
However, according to Mr. Yasumasa,
"People tend to have the impression that studying after getting older is a disadvantage in terms of memory and such. But, study methods that suit you are acquired through experience, and there are also strengths that come specifically from having aged. For subjects like Japanese or social studies, there is knowledge that you acquire through the experience of living as embodied knowledge."
That is what he said.
In other words, if you don't use age as an excuse, you can achieve results that surpass your younger self😊
And actually…,
Recently,Itoo, have hadsomething surprising happenbytaking on a challenge without using my age as an excuse..
...I would like to continue the story, but since I am approaching 3,000 characters at this point... I will save that story for tomorrow...
...And so, ...I would be happy if you could take a look next time as well...🙇🏻
Thank you very much for reading until the end today as well!