This I believe

Now I am 19 years old. When I look back my life, I realize it is made not on my own but by a lot of people who I have ever seen. So I believe the importance of encounter.

When I was a junior high school student, I was so active; I served as a student council president, played track and field the best in my school and participated in a lot of out-of-school activities. My three years at junior high school was very fulfilling. But I have to say those activities were not realized on my own. Rather it was thanks to people around me. If my senior friend had not given an offer to be a student council president, if my friend had not invited me to enter track and field club, if my teacher had not asked me to participate in out-of-school activities, I would not have enjoyed such life. Finally when I graduated from my junior high school, one of my closest teachers gave me a message. That is  “life is made up of encounters”. At the time I did not make nothing of the phrase. It was no wonder for me because I thought that was just the way it is.

When I was a high school student, I leaded so different life from junior high school. I always thought twice everything (partly because I was at such difficult age), and was liable to be alone. I seldom played with classmate and talked a lot. I always played the guitar in my room alone. Now I will openly say that it was so boring. Nothing new and nothing stimulating. I just wasted my precious youth time. But one day the gloomy days started changing. I got along with a guy who sit next to me by talking about entrance exams for university. He was a fun guy and loved by everyone. He brought me to a circle of the class. Since then it became fun to spend the rest of high school days. It motivated me to study hard, and at last I could pass entrance exams. The encounter with him changed my high school life. He made me realize the importance of encounter which I forgot. Now he lives in Nagoya, but I still get in touch with him.

In Keio University there are a lot of people who inspired me, such as a person who participates in a long-term internship in India, who passed the exam to study abroad at government expense, and who dreams to become a professor of area study. Thanks to them I am stimulated every day to be active and now I aim to pass the exam to study abroad as an exchanged student. I am sure that encounters with people enrich my life.