People who believe that the possibilities of the future can be expanded indefinitely depending on their own actions

Once upon a time, there was a village where a young man named Kawara lived. From a young age, Kawara firmly believed that "the possibilities of the future can be expanded indefinitely depending on one's own actions."
Many people in the village thought that "fate is predetermined" and "one's future is decided by the family one is born into." It was considered natural that a child born into a poor family would remain poor, and a child born into a wealthy family would remain wealthy.
However, Kawara was different. Although he was born into a poor woodcutter's family, he believed that "if you change your actions, your future will change too." He woke up earlier than anyone else in the morning, worked hard during the day, and learned reading and arithmetic from the village sage at night. Rain or shine, Kawara's actions never changed.
One day, a great flood hit the village. Many houses were washed away, and the people were at a loss. Using the knowledge he had acquired, Kawara drew up blueprints for an embankment to change the flow of the river.
"With the embankment I have designed, we can prevent future floods," Kawara proposed to the village chief. At first, no one believed him, but moved by Kawara's enthusiasm, the villagers gradually began to cooperate and started building the embankment.
The following rainy season, thanks to the new embankment, the village remained safe despite the heavy rains that struck. Kawara's reputation spread, and people from other villages began to come to ask for his wisdom.
Later, Kawara became the wisest person in the village, and many young people began to ask for his teachings. One day, one of his disciples asked, "Teacher, how were you able to come this far from such a poor background?"
Kawara smiled and replied, "I am where I am today not because of my birth or fate. It is the accumulation of small daily actions. The possibilities of the future can be expanded indefinitely depending on your own actions. No matter the situation, as long as you have the courage to take the first step, the path will open."
Inspired by those words, the young people began to take action to carve out their own futures. Women, children from poor families, and people with disabilities all began to believe in their own potential and take that first step.
Before long, the entire village was full of vitality and became known as the "Village Where Actions Change the Future."
And so, the proverb "A single drop of sweat nurtures a thousand possibilities" spread from this village.
And they lived happily ever after.
That was the preface to the 1056th interview with an unknown person, written at 8:16 PM on April 14, 2025, by someone who thinks so!!!!!

[Preface: qbc / Yasuhiro Kuribayashi (Writer, Organizer of Unknown Person Interviews)]

Joining us this time is Mia Ueba!

Age: Early 20s
Gender: Female
Occupation: University student

Current state: I really want to enjoy work itself as a part of my life and feel a lot of fulfillment. It's something like a life's work for me.

Saaya:
Mia, what do you do for a living right now?

Mia Ueba:
I am currently a university student and am scheduled to become a fourth-year student next month. My main occupation is being a university student, but I currently work as a freelancer, so I earn my income solely through freelance work without having a part-time job.

Saaya:
I see. What kind of industry do you work in as a freelancer?

Mia Ueba:
As for the industry, my main work is SNS operation agency. Besides that, I do design work, and I also support people who run courses.

Saaya:
Courses. Is it something like a workshop?

Mia Ueba:
Yes. Basically, it's a course where I provide support over about six months, and I'm currently supporting two courses. Oneis a self-understanding course where we spend about half a year identifying what you want to do and the ideals you want to achieve, and building a foundation to take action toward them. The second one is a money career coaching course, which also has elements of self-understanding, but it mainly involves reflecting on your own money-related matters and supporting the planning and taking action on how to save and earn money toward your ideals.

Saaya:
I see. When did you start working as a freelancer?

Mia Ueba:
I started around October or November of last year.

Saaya:
Were you doing something like a part-time job before that?

Mia Ueba:
Yes. I had been working part-time for about two or three years before that.

Saaya:
I see. Even just from what I heard, if you count the two courses as one each, about four things came up quickly. How do you feel about each of them?

Mia Ueba:
Well, hmm.

Saaya:
It could be about emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure.

Mia Ueba:
In that sense, I think the feeling of enjoyment is the biggest one. Since the feeling of enjoyment is important to me when working, I really enjoy doing every job every day.

Saaya:
In what way is each one enjoyable? Let's start with SNS operation. What part of SNS operation agency is particularly enjoyable?

Mia Ueba:
When it comes to what I find fun, I've always really loved creating things, so when I'm making posts, or writing text—I also like writing, so things like scripts—I enjoy that. For my Instagram management work, I enjoy thinking about the captions for the posts; that kind of thinking is fun.

Saaya:
It's not just that you're making various things, but I'm sure there's also the reaction to what you've made. What kind of work makes you feel like it was really fun or gives you a positive feeling?

Mia Ueba:
In terms of what gives me a positive feeling, even though I'm working as a freelancer and there are many people who could replace me, I want to value the work that only I can do and the unique color that I can bring to it.When I get a lot of feedback on new methods or projects that I've thought of, I feel a great sense of fulfillment.

Saaya:
Is design work like that too?

Mia Ueba:
Yes, that's right.

Saaya:
Conversely, does course support mean supporting or assisting people who are doing self-discovery?

Mia Ueba:
The course support is mainly support for the management side. Since the managers support the students, I create the teaching materials they use, handle various document creation on their behalf, and provide support for that kind of administrative work.

Saaya:
What do you find fun about that work?

Mia Ueba:
That work involves close communication with the people running the courses. Since I've had a long relationship with them and we're very close, I don't hold back. I take initiative to act, and it's really fun to support the managers so they can run the courses smoothly and engage in a wider range of activities.

Saaya:
For you, Mia, what kind of existence or position does that kind of work have?

Mia Ueba:
In terms of its position, it is one means to achieve my ideal life or the goals I want to reach. It's not 'rice work'—working just to eat or survive—but rather 'life work,' where I enjoy the work itself as a part of my life and feel a great sense of fulfillment.

Saaya:
Was it like that from the beginning?

Mia Ueba:
When I was working part-time, at first I really just wanted to earn money, so I was working in a way that was closer to 'rice work.' As I chased money, I tried high-paying part-time jobs, but my heart became exhausted, and I started to feel like it wasn't fun. That became a trigger for me to think that maybe money and things like that aren't what's important to me, and that there might be something else that is.

Saaya:
You're also attending this university now, right?

Mia Ueba:
Yes.

Saaya:
What are you doing at university?

Mia Ueba:
I'm in the Faculty of Law, Department of Political Science, so I'm mainly studying political science.

Saaya:
With what kind of mindset are you studying that?

Mia Ueba:
I entered this university through a designated school recommendation when I was in high school, so it was a compromise—a fallback option. Because of that, my focus is very strongly on just getting credits and graduating. Rather than finding law or political science itself very interesting, I've been spending my university life finding activities like volunteering and seminars outside of my major to be very interesting.

Saaya:
What kind of things do you do in volunteering and seminars?

Mia Ueba:
The volunteer work was to support international students who came to the university to study abroad. Since I originally liked speaking English and was interested in overseas countries, I supported international students in that capacity, helping them enjoy speaking English, sightseeing, and assisting with their daily lives. As for my seminar, it's a relaxed one. While many law department seminars involve reading the Constitution or thick law books, my seminar is one where we don't just read books; we go out and do fieldwork. Also, since it's political science, we watch movies, including old ones, and analyze the political situation of that time. It's a seminar where we learn in many different ways.

Saaya:
I see. What is something fun you've done recently, Mia?

Mia Ueba:
As for 'recently,' because I have hay fever, I haven't been going out much in March and have been working from home. However, last week there was an offline meetup for a course I support, and it was really fun to go there and interact with the students.

Saaya:
What parts of it did you find fun?

Mia Ueba:
I personally like learning about new things, so meeting the students, talking to them, and hearing about what they are thinking or about their work—hearing stories from people I wouldn't normally meet in my daily life—was really interesting.

Saaya:
What kind of things do you do at an offline meetup? Do you actually hold a course or something?

Mia Ueba:
When I went last time, it was divided into two parts: a work session and a social gathering. First, there was the work session, where everyone brought their laptops or work—since many of them are taking on challenges like side jobs or freelancing—and we all sat at desks together. We rented what you might call a shared space or a rental room, and we all worked for about three or four hours. After that, for the social gathering, we went to a regular restaurant. Since there were about twelve or thirteen of us, we were given a private room, and we spent three hours there. We had all-you-can-drink and a course meal.

Saaya:
That's quite a large group.

Mia Ueba:
Yes. There are about 30 people in total, and it felt like about a third of them came.

Saaya:
What kind of people are there?

Mia Ueba:
I'm a university student, but many of the others are older. Among those who are working, there are nurses and freelancers, and there are also people who are currently on maternity leave and working hard at raising their children. Their occupations are really diverse, and they gathered from all over the place.

Saaya:
Among them, are there any people or experiences that you found interesting, or any points that you thought were interesting?

Mia Ueba:
I'm a supporter now, but I was originally a student in the course. One of the peers I worked hard with back then came, and that person used to be a nurse and is now a freelancer taking on new challenges. Hearing that person give advice on time management to other peers—since they have started running their own time management course—was really stimulating. It made me think that I would like to create something that I can give or share with the other students by the next offline meetup, which was a very stimulating and interesting experience.

Saaya:
When you say you'd like to create something you can give to others, what kind of things do you think you could provide?

Mia Ueba:
One thing I'd like to provide is design. I was asked about design the other day and answered, but there are still parts I do based on intuition, and I haven't been able to verbalize why doing something makes for a better design. I want to verbalize those things so that anyone can create a good design or make things look beautiful, and then share that.

Saaya:
What kind of day do you spend? If there were a 24-hour pie chart, what time do you wake up and how do you spend your time?

Mia Ueba:
As for how I spend my time, since the university went on spring break, my sleep schedule has been completely messed up, with my days and nights flipped. I'm working hard to fix that now. Today, for example, I managed to spend the day without flipping my schedule. I went to bed around 1:00 AM last night, woke up around 8:30 AM, got ready, had breakfast, and have been working since about 10:00 AM. I was working until just a moment ago, and now I'm doing this interview. After this, I'll have dinner, take a bath, go to bed by 12:00 AM again, and wake up at 8:00 AM tomorrow. I'm thinking of trying to keep that cycle going.

Saaya:
Does that feel like you're living your ideal life, Mia?

Mia Ueba:
Yes. While I want to wake up early in the morning, there are so many times when I realize it's already the afternoon when I wake up. If that happens, once university starts again, I'll be late every day, so I really want to wake up at 8:00 AM at the latest. So, it is definitely my ideal.

Saaya:
What time would you actually like to wake up?

Mia Ueba:
Honestly, I wish I could wake up at 7 o'clock or something.

Saaya:
So, I asked about your day, but how do you spend your year?

Mia Ueba:
A year, huh?

Saaya:
The past year is fine.

Mia Ueba:
In that case, since I'm attending university, during the school term, I just go back and forth between university and home. I don't really go on trips, so I spend a lot of time at home even during long breaks. If I had to mention going out, I was originally born in the Kansai region and my grandparents' house is there, so I used to go back during summer vacation or New Year's, but this past year I really haven't gone anywhere else, so I'm planning to travel to various places this year.

Saaya:
Where are you now?

Mia Ueba:
I'm in Kanagawa now.

Saaya:
Mia, what do people say about your personality?

Mia Ueba:
I think 'serious' is what I hear most often.

Saaya:
In what ways are you often called serious?

Mia Ueba:
Well, since I'm a student, it's things like getting good grades or turning in homework properly. Also, I often end up in a leadership role, so I think that gives people the impression that I'm reliable.

Saaya:
What do you think about your own personality?

Mia Ueba:
Personally, I think I'm quite moody and careless.

Saaya:
In what ways do you think that?

Mia Ueba:
How should I put it? When I'm around other people, I try to be proper and keep it together, but when I'm at home or with family or people I'm comfortable with, I get sloppy or act purely on emotion, so I always think that I'm not actually that put-together..

Saaya:
Do you have any specific episodes you can share when explaining to people that you aren't put-together?

Mia Ueba:
In that regard, I talk about things like how my day-night cycle gets reversed or how I barely manage to scrape by with my homework at the last minute.

Past:As I went through self-understanding and accepted myself, realizing that I have these good points and these wonderful qualities, I felt a great sense of inner confidence grow.

Saaya:
Looking back from when you were small, what kind of child were you?

Mia Ueba:
I think I was very energetic as a child. I would really go out to play every single day, and I loved sports and things like that, so I was just that kind of energetic kid.

Saaya:
Was there anything you were particularly focused on?

Mia Ueba:
As for things I was focused on, I wonder what that would be. There wasn't anything I did for like 10 years or anything; I was very curious but also got bored easily, so it felt like I just did a bit of everything.

Saaya:
Is there anything you didn't get bored of?

Mia Ueba:
If I had to say something I didn't get bored of, I guess it would be English..

Saaya:
How did you keep up with English?

Mia Ueba:
For English, when I was really small and don't even remember, I apparently went to something like a Yamaha English school. After that, I didn't do anything for a while, and then I went to an English conversation school from around the upper grades of elementary school until junior high, for about four or five years, I think. When I was in high school, the pandemic happened and I couldn't go study abroad, so I started international pen-palling, which is exchanging letters with people overseas, and I've been continuing that to this day.

Saaya:
I see. How many years has it been?

Mia Ueba:
About five or six years, I think.

Saaya:
How often do you exchange letters?

Mia Ueba:
It seems like it takes a long time for mail to arrive depending on the region, so I'd say I get a letter about once every month or two, if it's fast.

Saaya:
How many people are you doing this with?

Mia Ueba:
Right now, it's about 75 people. I have friends, or rather, pen pals.

Saaya:
75 people?

Mia Ueba:
Yes. 75 people.

Saaya:
I thought that was a huge number.

Mia Ueba:
I think it's a huge number too.

Saaya:
Are you pen-palling with 75 people one-on-one?

Mia Ueba:
That's right. It's one-on-one.

Saaya:
Even if you get one letter from one person every month or two, yeah. Does that mean you're getting mail from somewhere almost every day?

Mia Ueba:
However, since everyone is working and in different age groups, the pace is at fastest once every month or two, and at longest once every six months, so it feels like I get about five or six letters a month.

Saaya:
What was your purpose for starting international pen pal correspondence?

Mia Ueba:
At first, I started it because I couldn't go on my study abroad program, and I wanted to know and use authentic native English. Recently, I've been thinking about traveling abroad, so I'm doing it with the hope of making friends I can meet when I go on those trips.

Saaya:
What kind of purposes do the people you correspond with have?

Mia Ueba:
The service I use for pen pals is run by the post office, Japan Post, I believe. So, there are many people who are interested in Japan.

Saaya:
Are there people who are studying Japanese as well?

Mia Ueba:
Yes, that's right. Some people are fluent in Japanese, and some are learning it at school.

Saaya:
Just listening to this, I have a question about whether you can really become close with someone you've never met just by exchanging letters. How do you manage that, Mia?

Mia Ueba:
I feel like text alone can come across as cold, so I actively try to create opportunities for them to feel Japan beyond just the letter, like by using stickers related to Japanese food, sending postcards from my end, or including lots of photos.I actively create opportunities for them to feel Japan as a plus-one to the letter.

Saaya:
What kind of environment did you grow up in, Mia?

Mia Ueba:
In terms of environment, I think it's most accurate to say I was very blessed. I don't have any dark memories from my school life, and my teachers, friends, and family never denied me but instead praised me and helped me grow to where I am today, so I think I grew up in a free environment.

Saaya:
How do you think that environment has influenced you?

Mia Ueba:
In terms of influence, when I have something I want to do, I don't start from negative feelings like 'maybe I can't do it' or 'it's impossible for someone like me.' Instead, I think it has been a catalyst for me to take things positively, thinking 'let's just try it' or 'it might be interesting if I try.'

Saaya:
What is your family structure?

Mia Ueba:
My family now consists of my mother, myself, and two dogs.

Saaya:
Have you always been in Kanagawa?

Mia Ueba:
Yes, that's right. Mostly in Kanagawa.

Saaya:
Regarding your freelance work, what was the trigger for starting that?

Mia Ueba:
As for how I started, I was originally a student in a course I was supporting. The person running it was the one who asked me to do my first freelance job, which was the starting point.

Saaya:
Why did you decide to take that course?

Mia Ueba:
The person running the account on Instagram was originally posting content. I was following them, and I had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with the person running it, which was like the trigger for me to join the course. I felt like I caught a glimpse of how to achieve an ideal future through self-understanding, and I had a desire to learn from this person and move forward, so I decided to join.

Saaya:
Was the opportunity to talk one-on-one something you sought out, Mia?

Mia Ueba:
That opportunity wasn't originally part of the course information session, but it was more like a flow where they suggested we try doing some self-understanding together as a preliminary step before joining the course.

Saaya:
So, was self-understanding something you wanted to do, Mia?

Mia Ueba:
That's right. I didn't even know the word 'self-understanding' at all until I met that person.At the time, while I wanted to become a freelancer, I was thinking things like, 'It's probably difficult,' and so on. Since the person running it was active as a freelancer, I thought that if I could do self-understanding and achieve things like freelancing or my ideal future, I would like to try it, and that's how it went.

Saaya:
When you hear 'university student,' people tend to imagine working part-time, job hunting, and then joining a company as a full-time employee after graduation. What was the background behind your desire to become a freelancer instead?

Mia Ueba:
Originally, I was planning to job hunt, and I chose the Department of Political Science in the Faculty of Law at university because I wanted to become a civil servant. But wanting to be a civil servant was, how should I put it, based on thoughts like 'Will my parents be happy?' or 'Will it look good to society?'—it was based on other people's standards, so I gradually stopped feeling motivated.. When I reached my second and third year of university, job hunting came into view, and I did try it a little, but nothing really clicked.When I was wondering what to do, I happened to see a post on Instagram by someone who was working while traveling, and that was the first time I learned the word 'freelancer.' I thought, 'Oh, this kind of way of working exists in the world, too.'From there, I started running my own Instagram account around the autumn/winter of my second year, and I lightly thought that if I could make a living from this by the time job hunting started, I would become a freelancer. But, as expected, it's hard to get results with such a light mindset. I started the self-understanding course around last spring—March, April, or May. It was the start of the full-scale job hunting season, butI took the plunge and devoted my time to self-understanding instead of job hunting, and as a result, I achieved my current freelance way of working.

Saaya:
Uh-huh. You used the term 'other-centered' (living by others' standards). When do you think you started living that way?

Mia Ueba:
In that regard, it's been quite a long time. I think I can point to around the upper grades of elementary school.

Saaya:
You mentioned earlier that you had a personality where you would try things without letting negative thoughts from elementary school stop you. That seems a bit different—not quite a contradiction, but different—from being 'other-centered.' How do you understand that yourself?

Mia Ueba:
In that regard, I think it's about the trigger versus the interpretation.The trigger for taking on challenges was based on others' standards, but when I decided to take on a challenge, even if I thought, 'This might be impossible for me,' I would reframe it positively, thinking, 'No, if I try, I might be able to do it,' and I kept taking on challenges.

Saaya:
So there weren't many triggers based on your own standards?

Mia Ueba:
That's right. Since the people around me were really good people, I was a child who had a very strong desire to make everyone happy and to do something for everyone.

Saaya:
What kind of standards do you live by now?

Mia Ueba:
In the past, others came first, and I would think about what others would think or what others would want me to do. Now, I am in a state where I can take action after first judging based on what I want to do, whether I really want to do this, or by working backward from the future I am trying to achieve to see if it will truly lead to my ideal.

Saaya:
After taking the course, what changed the most?

Mia Ueba:
I think there are both mental and practical aspects. Regarding the mental part, I think I have truly gained confidence. When I was living by others' standards, I was very concerned about evaluations, so I didn't have much confidence coming from within myself. My confidence was solidified by being praised or recognized by others, so when I stripped that away, I felt a sense of loss at first.As I went through self-understanding and accepted myself, realizing that I have these good points and these wonderful qualities, I found that I gained a lot of mental confidence from within.

Saaya:
What would you say is 'Mia-ness'?

Mia Ueba:
Mia-ness. As for that, I think my curiosity and spirited nature from the past haven't changed at all, but now there is a term called 'multipotentialite'.

Saaya:
Multipotentialite?

Mia Ueba:
Yes, that's right. I forget if it was an American or some other overseas professor, but it was a term introduced by someone on a famous talk show called TED. It means someone who has many interests and pursues creativity, and while they are the exact opposite of a specialist—like doctors who specialize in medicine or teachers who specialize in their subject, which are professions that exist in the world where people master one thing—for me, mastering one thing is difficult, or rather, challenging myself with various things and pursuing new things is a characteristic or a part of who I am.

Saaya:
If you were to name one more, what would it be?

Mia Ueba:
If I were to name one more, I'm not sure if it's a 'characteristic' or what, but I thought my personality was being free, or to put it negatively, being childish.

Saaya:
In what ways are you free and childish?

Mia Ueba:
My thinking doesn't really fit into a mold, so I think that's where I'm free, and because I'm sensitive, I'm always reacting to various things and thinking about many things, so I think that's free. However, I also think it's hard to keep feeling that way unless you keep the pure heart of a child. Even though I'm an adult in terms of age, I consciously try to keep that childish, free-spirited part of me and continue to hold onto that inner child.

Saaya:
Who is the most important person to you right now?

Mia Ueba:
The most important person, other than myself, is my mother, who has been supporting me for 21 years.

Saaya:
What kind of relationship do you have with your mother?

Mia Ueba:
I have a frank relationship with my mother. It might be common in the Kansai region, but it's closer to a friendship than a mother-daughter relationship.

Saaya:
When does she support you?

Mia Ueba:
I think it's when I'm truly going through a hard time. Basically, she raised me with a hands-off approach, never telling me to do this or that, so she's a bit oblivious and won't notice unless I take action like asking for help, so it's more like she helps me when I'm really struggling.

Saaya:
How many times have you had a 'truly hard time'?

Mia Ueba:
Actually, it's really rare. Maybe once every few years. As far as I can remember, it's only happened about three times.

Saaya:
When do you feel like you're having a hard time?

Mia Ueba:
I'm the type who gets lonely easily, so I find it hard when I feel isolated.

Saaya:
Is there a common thread when you feel lonely?

Mia Ueba:
One common feature is that my interaction with the outside world decreases. I'm an indoor person and tend to stay home, so that has an impact, but now I have friends I interact with on social media and even friends from my courses, so I don't feel it as much as I used to.

Future: I believe that depending on your own actions, you can expand the possibilities of your future as much as you want, and that there are infinite choices spreading out before you.

Saaya:
In that case, let me ask you about the future. You can imagine it five or ten years from now, or even up until the end of your life—what kind of image do you have for the future?

Mia Ueba:
I have always had hope for the future itself. That has been the case for a long time, but my hope in the past was more like, 'I hope things turn out well,' which was a hope left to fate.My hope now is different because, just like when I became a freelancer, I can actually feel that I can take action myself to change the future. I believe that depending on my own actions, the possibilities for the future can be expanded indefinitely, and that there are infinite choices opening up.

Saaya:
What kind of feelings do you want to have in the future?

Mia Ueba:
What just came to mind is that I want to feel glad that I am alive.

Saaya:
Glad that you are alive. Why is that?

Mia Ueba:
In the past, during a particularly sensitive period, there were times when I felt it wasn't very fun to be alive, and I had those kinds of dark thoughts. Thinking about the present from that perspective, I truly feel that the present is always fun and I can believe that tomorrow will definitely be a good day. When the people around me are happy and I am happy, I think I will be able to feel very strongly that I am glad to be alive.

Saaya:
This is a hypothetical question about the future, but if you hadn't taken this self-understanding course, what kind of life do you think you would be living?

Mia Ueba:
If I hadn't taken it, I think I would have spent my life desperately trying to meet the expectations of others and wearing myself out.

Saaya:
I see. If you were told that you have 1 million yen right now to spend, what would you do?

Mia Ueba:
I would want to go on a trip around the world.

Saaya:
Are there any countries you particularly want to visit?

Mia Ueba:
As for countries I particularly want to visit, I haven't traveled abroad yet, so there are many, but I have always had a longing for America, first and foremost.

Saaya:
Is there anything you want to do on your trip?

Mia Ueba:
One thing I want to do is go meet my pen pal who lives there, and since I like looking at nature, I would like to visit parks and places like natural World Heritage sites.

Saaya:
Is there anything you definitely want to do in your life?

Mia Ueba:
What I want to do in my life... well, it was a goal I set when I started international pen-palling, but I want to make friends in every country in the world.

Saaya:
How much have you achieved so far?

Mia Ueba:
Right now, I have friends in about 35 to 40 countries, so I'm not sure what percentage that is. Let's see, there are 196 countries, so I have about 150 more to go.

Saaya:
How many friends do you have in total right now?

Mia Ueba:
In terms of friends, almost all of them are overseas. In Japan, I have few, or rather, I build friendships that are narrow and deep, so there are only about two or three friends I meet with regularly. I think the number of people I can call friends in Japan is probably less than ten.

Saaya:
Perhaps you have more friends you've never actually met?

Mia Ueba:
That's right. By far, yes.

Saaya:
If you were to define a friend, how would you define one?

Mia Ueba:
Let's see. That's difficult. I've never thought about it. I wonder... when I consider my view of friendship, it's really narrow and deep, so I have a strong sense of trust and affection for each individual person. I suppose if we're just in touch, that might include work colleagues, but I don't think we're connected by titles, or because of the work we do, or because of the qualifications we hold. Instead, we are interested in each other as people, and we feel a connection to what we have as individuals, such as shared hobbies or shared values, and we are in contact in a realistic way. That is what I think is common among my friends.

Saaya:
Understood. Finally, whether it's for the readers, a monologue to yourself, or just your thoughts, is there anything you'd like to add?

Mia Ueba:
The reason I wanted to be interviewed this time was because I had a desire to try writing interview articles myself. I've read interviews in books and on websites, but I found it hard to imagine the process, so I thought I'd try being on the receiving end to see what it's like. I really love talking, but while doing this, I realized that I also really love listening. So, in a year—well, a year is a bit far off, maybe within this year—I'd like to finish with the goal of writing an interview article within the course I'm currently taking.

Afterword

Thank you for the interview.
Self-understanding is not something that can be achieved immediately, nor is it something that is completed once you've done it. Because we live in an era where traditional values are fading, I think many people want to be able to talk about who they are in their own words.
When I watch stories and dramas, both recent and old ones, many of them have characters with distinct personalities. I think the past (and I'm speaking broadly here, imagining the 80s and 90s) was an era with various constraints. I feel that people with strong intentions, or those who have accumulated experience, have more distinct personalities. Protagonists who are lost in life are usually young, and they deepen their values by gaining experience within the drama.
What I mean to say is that a person's individuality leads to interest. Individuality is like an abstract outline. Because there is an outline, you can hear specific stories, and in discussions, you can offer counterarguments and refine things.
I think it's fine for that outline to be overwritten many times. However, I don't want to live a life where that outline becomes blurry. This interview made me think that! Thank you very much!

[Interview, Editing, Afterword: Saaya]

[Editing: komima]

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