My New Year's Resolutions for 2018!

Hi, everyone! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope you all have a wonderful year this year. The first half of 2017 was a bit rough sometimes because of the job hunting, but besides that, I think I enjoyed the year 2017 a lot. This year will be a special one for me because I will be graduating from collage! I will finish all my courses by the end of this month, and the graduation ceremony will take place in March 22nd. Then, I will start working in Tokyo from April. Like every person getting ready for their new lives, I'm both excited and worried. If anyone's curious, I will be working as a English trainer. Why don't I just say English teacher instead? Well, because the company I'll be working for wouldn't like the term English teacher. My students will not be kids, but adults, and I felt that they consider the relationship between the clients (people who come to our studios be better at English) and us (the trainers) to be those who come to the gym to work out and their personal trainers, not students and their teachers. I hope this makes sense to you. lol Sometimes, I'm really bad at explaining things.

Alright. Well, the purpose of this post is not to talk about my work, actually. I just wanted to briefly (Just briefly!) talk about some goals that I have set for this year. New years, new resolutions! Looking back, I think I did a really good job. I got a job, read lots of books, studied Eastern philosophy (I took a Zen class, and learned about Zen and its history!), and thought and talked about confidence and self-esteem. If I just set my resolutions for this year and secretly keep them in my mind, I would probably forget about them and thereby fail to work on them. It's better to write them down so that I can always remind myself of all the resolutions that I have set. So, just as I did last year, I am going to write my New Year's Resolutions down here on my blog.

So here we go! My New Year's Resolutions for 2018!

1. Read a lot of books! I would probably be busier this year, but I'll try to make time to read everyday, even just for 15 minutes. 
2. Exercise regularly! I'll sign up for a gym once I've moved to Tokyo (or its surrounding areas) and settled in. I'll try to work out at least once a week. 
3. Study philosophy of religion (because that's what I am interested in lately). It's kind of connected to Resolution 1 because I would turn to books to study. But I've decided to write this one separately from Resolution 1 to make it stand out more. 
4. Keep a healthy relationship with work. I tend to feel like I need to be productive all the time and feel that I'm a lazy person when I'm not. Resting is also very important. Working hard is good, but I won't let my work undermine my well-being. Work hard and rest hard! 
5. Save some money! This year, I will be a full-time worker and be financially independent. It's always a good thing to train yourself to be better at managing your own finances. Plus, I have a dream that I want to make come true in the near future, and in order to make it really happen, I need money! 

...So that's all for today's post! I just wanted to list my goals. I usually write a lot, but not today! lol What is your goals for 2018? I would love to know! 

Let's Talk about Freedom of Speech!

Hi! It's been really cold lately, and I'm having a very difficult time getting up and getting out of my bed every morning. Does anyone know how to get out of the bed during winter? lol Because I really need to know. I spend like 30 minutes or even longer in my bed every morning after the alarm went off because it's so cold! I do turn on the AC but still, being in my bed is way more comfortable than getting up. I wish I were more punctual and organized. I'm a lazy person by nature. lol I know I should get out of my comfort zone to make a change, and it's never easy to make a change, but as I said, I am a lazy person, and I'm too lazy to get out of my comfort zone. Ok, that was a joke... I hope it really was a joke... lol But if you have any tip or hack on how to get up smoothly every morning during winter, please let me know.

Alright, so today, I would like to talk about free speech. I am talking about this because lately, I feel like this really basic human right is in danger. Ah, I already hear some oppositions claiming what I have just said is untrue. We do not live in a world where freedom of speech is explicitly oppressed, like the world of 1984 by George Orwell.  Freedom of speech is protected by law. We will not be imprisoned by criticizing our government, and if that happens in the worst case, people will blame the government, because that is just so wrong. Most people believe that having the right to express our thoughts freely is very important. Free speech is in danger? Nah, I don't believe that.

What I want to say in this post is that we need to stop and think. ...And doubt. Do we really live in a world where free speech is supported and encouraged? Don't we feel like more and more people are avoiding discussions lately? Don't we feel like there's this atmosphere of "preferred opinions"? And if you are brave enough to go against this preferred opinion, you will be slammed. People do not just oppose your opinion; they will dehumanize you. They will start to look at you like you are a savage, and a cruel person. They don't just deny our opinion; they will deny you, and start to doubt your humanity.

Now, let's talk about things that happened (relatively) lately. Donald Trump was inaugurated as the new President of the United States in January. It may seem weird to say the inauguration happened only lately, but you know what I mean, right? lol I mean that it happened this year, not like 100 or 1000 years ago. During the time when he was fighting against his opponent, Hilary Clinton, a considerable amount of information about him and what he had done in the past was heard. People say he is a sexist, and also a racist.

Now, there could many reasons to support a candidate over another one. Maybe you like Candidate A's political policies better than those of Candidate B. Or maybe you choose to vote for Candidate A, even though you don't particularly support Candidate A, because you do not like Candidate B at all, and you think it would be better if Candidate A could get the position. You don't have to be an enthusiastic supporter of Candidate A to vote for Candidate A.

More that often, choosing is very difficult. Sometimes, you have to choose one, even if you don't like either of the choice. Choosing a choice over another doesn't always mean that you just adore every little detail or aspect of the choice you picked. Sometimes you need to go through hard decisions. But what happened during and even after the election campaign is the discrimination against Trump supporters. You cannot say that all Trump supporters are both sexist and racist as he is, and therefore, you cannot blame those who voted for Trump by labeling them as racists and sexists. You cannot say that they chose Trump because they are essentially a bad person. I am not a supporter of President Trump, so I am not saying this to defend myself. I'm just trying to be fair.

When you start labeling people like that, there's no meaningful discussion. You can have different views and opinions. And it's not the matter of which is right and which is wrong. I have heard that some students had experienced being assaulted because of their political views. Treating those who do not share the same view as being evil should ever be allowed.

I came across a video last month when I was scrolling down Facebook. Here's the link of the video: http://www.bbc.com/news/av/education-41837205/brexit-supporting-students-getting-abuse-on-campus The debate over whether the Britain should stay in EU or not was also a very hot topic. And in universities, the preferred opinion was: the Britain should stay. But of course, they were people who thought that the Britain should leave. And basically, people didn't like that. In the video, some students who supported the Leave Campaign share their experience of how they are discriminated and assaulted on campus by other students. They were called out simply because they didn't support the preferred opinion. They were told stupid, dumb, racist, xenophobic, etc. Once people have found out that they were Brexiteers, the friendly conversation is over, and people will treat them as their enemy, and start to doubt their humanity.

Now, let's talk about Japan. There have been a discussion over whether to change the ninth article of the Constitution of Japan. Basically, in the current version, the ninth article declares that Japan will pursue peace and justice, and therefore, Japan will not participate in war, and will not hold military power. Well, in Japan, we don't have any military, but we have the Self-Defense Force. The Self-Defense Force is not supposed to take a part in combats, at least for now.

Lately, some people are claiming the article needs to be changed or modified. Looking at the international tension between North Korea and Japan (and other countries), Japan needs to be able to defend itself when things happened. The Constitution went into effect 70 years ago, which means that it is old, and it is reasonable to think that modifications should be considered or made once in a while. These are what people who support the idea of modifying the article generally say, I think.

And of course, there are people who do not want to make any change. We live in Japan, the peaceful country. We have established our country's identity as the country that pursues peace. If we make changes to the article, that identity will fall down. Some people might even go so far as to say that the thought of making modifications to the article itself is evil.

Me? My take on this issue is: we should consider making modifications. The Constitution is 70 years old, and it's about the time we start reviewing it to see if it needs some modifications or not. And I think we need to redefine the Self-Defense Force. I know. It's the Constitution, the greatest law of our country, and I know that we can't just change things up so easily. That makes it even more reasonable to discuss this matter closely. Plus, I feel like many Japanese people stick to the idea of the peaceful country, Japan, not the idea or the concept of peace itself. We, the nation of Japan does not possess any military power. But on behalf of us, the military of the United States is supposed to protect Japan in case of emergency. So it's totally fine for American troops to fight for Japan on behalf of us, while we just sit at home? I think not many Japanese people think about this, and that's why I said many Japanese people just stick to the idea of the peaceful country, Japan, not the idea of peace itself. Right now, North Korea is doing whatever it pleases. And all Japan can do is blame.

But unfortunately, I'm not on the preferred-opinion side. I'm on the "wrong" side. So many people are quick to conclude that people who suggest modification are those with a dangerous thought. They would say, "What?! So you support war?" NO. I never support war and violence. It's not just me; other people who support making modifications do not support war and violence either. All I want to say is that we need to redefine peace once more. Let's think about peace. What is peace? Yes, we have not had any war since the end of WWII. But is it enough? Do you like the idea of peace? Or do you simply care about the idea of the peaceful country, Japan, only? I am not saying that we should change the Constitution so that we can start a war tomorrow. I'm a peace seeker. I take peace seriously. That's why I say that we should think about peace. It may not be a comfortable topic for a conversation, but we need to talk about it. It's easy to avoid this conversation by saying, "You know what? I'm a peace seeker. Modifying the Constitution sounds too radical, so let's play it safe, and leave it as it is." For me, the unwillingness to review the article is a sign of willingness to avoid the uncomfortable, not important topic, peace.

Not many people are willing to talk about this controversial in the first place, and saying that I suggest modification takes a lot of courage, because I know this is not the preferred opinion, and I know people will judge me for my opinion. But freedom of speech is very important, and no one should never feel that they are somehow oppressed to feel in a certain way. It's easy to speak up when there's the atmosphere of valuing free speech. But right now, it's not. I feel the importance of thinking for myself, and expressing my idea openly even more nowadays, because not many people are willing to do so. Freedom of speech is under threat, people! People had fought, and shed blood to gain this right. Let's not ruin this.

Thank you for reading! English is not my first language, and there are so many things I want to say, but more that often, my poor English skills (and my poor writing skill also?) interfere with them! lol I hope one day, I will be able to express my thought freely in English as well as Japanese, and never have to feel this way! Alright, so until next time! Bye!

On Being the Queen of Negative Feelings!

Hello, hello! The last time I posted was in September, and I did not post anything last month. I always write that I should post more, but I always end up not posting so much. Actually, I need to write blogs as many times as I can, because I will be graduating next March, and will start working full time from next April, which means that I'll probably be busy. It's not that I'm not busy now, though. lol

So, first, let me talk briefly about the book I just finished reading today. I was reading Treatise on Tolerance by Voltaire. It was published in 1763, more than 250 years ago, but the book still offers many important issues that need to be discussed. Indeed, "tolerance" is a very hot topic for the world today. Yes, tolerance is important. We should not attack people for having a different view or opinion from ours; we should accept them, or overlook them, even though we don't necessarily like what they are saying. But that is not always easy, and as a result, there have been numerous cases of conflict, persecution, massacre, etc., throughout history.

But we cannot just end our discussion by concluding that tolerance is important, and that we all need to be kind and nice to all kinds of different opinions, and accept them. Do we have to accept ALL kinds of opinions and views? Ok, so now this person is planning to start a religion that justifies murder. Do we need to overlook this kind of religion? Or are we allowed to be intolerant when certain things happened? If so, how can we decide when to be tolerant, and when not to be tolerant?

Voltaire was quite optimistic about reason and rationality in people. He thought they would beat religious fanaticism and superstitions. He seems to be a quite liberal man, but even he makes discriminatory remarks in the book. Well, you cannot blame him altogether because of those remarks, though. It's because of the time when he was alive. It's not always easy to decide what is right, and what is wrong. Different ideas are preferred, or thought to be true in different periods of time, and in different places. I wonder what would Voltaire say about the world today, if he was still alive. There are still many cases of murder under the name of God. Will humans ever find an answer or solution on this issue?

Now, let me write about something else from here. I am writing about how studying saved my life, and made me feel much better. The world today is obsessed with being, and staying happy and positive. It's like the world is telling me I shouldn't be sad. You should be happy, and you should strive for happiness; you live to be happy. But I can't really find my space in that kind of atmosphere. I am not a happy person. I have struggled because of that; I am not how I am supposed to be. I have always thought, "Why can't I feel happy and positive like everyone else?" But now, I know that I don't have to feel like I have to feel in a certain way.

If you have read my other posts, you know my mother was very strict. When I was a child, she didn't allow her children to have long hair. You know, long hair requires longer time for blow-drying, and you need to arrange it into different hairstyles. School teachers will not allow you to participate in physical education classes with your hair down. Basically, if you have long hair, you will need to take care of it. On the other hand, if you have short hair, you don't have to worry about any of those things. So my mother preferred the latter choice. Moreover, my mother was the one who cut my and my sister's hair. She was not a hairdresser, so we couldn't expect her to give us a cool, sophisticated hairstyle.

Nowadays, having short hair is cool. There are so many famous people with short hair. But when I was in elementary school, most girls had long hair. Not everyone had long hair like mermaids, but at least their hair was long enough to be tied with hair ties. So just having short hair would stand out. When I was in the fifth grade of elementary school, I was bullied. I had just transferred to a new school that April, and the kids there weren't really welcoming. Like I said, my short hair made me stand out even more, and I wasn't born with a feminine face. Kids at that time thought all girls had long hair, and short hair was for boys. So, it didn't took long until they started to make fun of me by calling me a boy.

It would have been much better if I had loved my short hair. But I did not like my short hair; I never did. I had always wanted long hair. I had always wanted to feel my hair on my back. But my mother never let me grow my hair. I couldn't go against my mother. So, things were much tougher. I was bullied for something I didn't intend. Even so, I couldn't tell me mother that I had been bullied at school. I would thought that she would get mad, and scold me for being bullied, and for being weak. I would do anything to avoid being scolded by my mother, so at home, I just kept shutting my mouth about the bullies.

I also thought that if I had been pretty, they would not have bullied me. I was never confident about how I look, and I this incident made me think that I was indeed ugly. I was bullied because I was ugly. That's what I had been thinking. At that time, I avoided people's eyes. I was afraid of them. I thought every single person who looked at me would think that I was ugly. Even if they didn't tell me so, I thought their eyes said so. If people near me were talking, and laughing, I thought they were talking about how ugly I was, and laughing at me. I know that was not true now, but at that time, I just thought so.

There are so many things I want to say to my mother. But I don't think I will ever tell any of them to her. I don't trust her. For me, there is no trust relationship between us. So many people say that their moms are their best friends. But I don't have that kind of feeling towards my mother. She was always a parent, not a friend of mine. She was the one who dictated me. I don't think she was a good mother, nor she was good at being a mother. She has abused me, and my sister. For me, it is really hard to say that I appreciate my mother. Yes, she has been working hard to pay my bills. She prepared food so that I could eat everyday. Oh, not everyday, to be honest. She would sometimes punish me and my sister by not letting us eat. Anyways, I know she worked hard, and nobody is perfect. Nobody can be a perfect mom all the time. But that doesn't mean I should overlook, and even understand all those abusive attitudes and behaviors of her towards her children altogether, I think. She never said sorry for those behaviors. I think she never will.

People seem to love their families. I know not everyone does, but those kinds of posts don't really show up, do they? I feel like everyone is supposed to love their families, and be vocal about that. I don't like my parents. I love my sister, so I won't say that I hate my family, but I don't like my parents. Children cannot pick their parents, and I was no exception. And I feel sorry for myself.

They say that I should thank my parents. Kids should thank their parents, they say. If you can't, that means you are a bad kid. Parents do make mistakes; their humans after all, and humans do make mistakes. But kids will understand eventually. That's what they say. I disagree. I am not obligated to understand my mother. I don't like this whole atmosphere that society has. Wrong things are wrong. I don't understand, and accept her abusive behaviors. And that's not because I am a bad kid.

I am not a bad kid. It's just I wasn't born in a good family. I wan't born in a family, where parents would listen to their children, and allow them to act, and say things freely. They wouldn't make their kids feel that they shouldn't tell what they really feel because that would upset their parents, and they will get scolded.

Studying philosophy has helped me a lot. Philosophy doubts everything. Philosophy takes nothing for granted. Philosophy has taught me I don't have to think in a certain way. Philosophy has taught me that it's totally fine to doubt things that the majority of people seem to think to be undoubtable and undeniable. I don't have to think in a certain way, and I don't have to think that I'm wrong, or I'm a bad person, because I cannot feel the same way as other people do. I am not a happy person, when people are supposed to strive for happiness. I am the queen of negative feelings! lol

And it's not just philosophy. Studying will show you that things are not always clear-cut, and it can be really hard to decide what is true, and what is not, or which choice among different choices is the best. I have learned this by taking classes at school, and also by reading books. I also have learned critical thinking. Thanks to what I have learned, I feel much better about myself. Your physical environment around you can be very small, but reading and studying have taught me that the world is big and wide, and that so many ideas have been presented. You don't have to agree with the majority, and you don't have to feel sorry for yourself for not being a part of the majority.

So... thank you, thank you, thank you for reading this post. If you made it this far, wow, you are a patient reader! lol No, I mean you are an amazing reader! I hope to see you in my next post. Till next time!

A Step towards Body Positivity!

Hello, hello! It's been a month since I last posted! I thought I could post more during the summer vacation, but it turned out that was not the case! Like I said in the post, I have been working as a translator (I'm not a pro, though...), and since I am not good at balancing out multiple projects that are going on simultaneously, I have been focusing more on translating, rather that writing my own sentences...

Oh, and I really want to take a moment to say that my heart is with all the people who are and have been affected by the hurricane. People's lives and their safety always come first. Japan is a country that is frequently affected by natural disasters, and I know how hard they are. Japanese media also report about the hurricane everyday, and I get nervous and sad to see the news every time. Science and technology have developed so much, but human beings are still vulnerable when these kinds of natural disasters occur. Please be safe; safety always comes first! Evacuate if you need to, evacuate before you hesitate, and evacuate even before you think whether you need to evacuate or not.

So I think I am going to talk about body positivity today. Do you love your body? Are you satisfied with how your body looks? When you look at your body in the mirror, can you say, "I look beautiful!"? Well, if every single person could answer "Yes," to this questions, the whole "Love Your Body" movement and that sort of things do not make any sense. There are so many people, including me, out there who have insecurities about their own bodies.

I think the motto, "Love Your Body" is awesome. Yes, we all want to love our bodies, and be confident. And yes, it would be so great if we could all love our bodies, and encourage others to do the same. But the problem is: it simply is not that easy!

First, how do we love our bodies? Or what does it meant to love our bodies? How can we love our bodies when we know our bodies are not perfect? How can we love our bodies when we are surrounded by images of perfect bodies through media? Do we all have to look like fashion models? Would we be happy if we were tall enough, skinny enough, etc., like fashion models? There comes so many questions, and I'm sure you can add more to this list with ease.

Let me talk about my body from here. I have always been a skinny girl. I'm just naturally skinny. I try to eat healthy most of the times, although I do get lazy from time to time. I have never been on a strict diet, and I never had to in the first place. I have been told so many times throughout my life that I was skinny. "Wow, you're so skinny! Tell me your diet!" "I wish I were skinny like you!" "You're so skinny, I'm jealous!" So then, it's so easy to love my body, right? But the answer is, no.

How tall am I? I'm 156 cm, or 5'1", depending on where you live. And how heavy am I? I weigh 41.4 kg, or 91.2 lbs, again, depending on where you live. As I said, I have told that I was skinny, and I think many people (still) associate being skinny with goodness. So I must be happy all the time, right? No, unfortunately. Actually, there are many times, so many times that I think that I am not skinny enough, or I am not that skinny.

Living in Japan, there is this atmosphere that skinny is healthy, pretty, and good. I guess many people tend to think consciously or subconsciously that people who are not skinny ("fat" people) are also lazy; they don't take care of their bodies properly. So, in order to look healthy, attractive, and responsible, one needs to be skinny, or skinny enough, at least.

If you go watch Japanese television, you will see so many scenes where "fat" people are made fun of openly. I see that in the U.S., or maybe other parts of the world, the model/beauty industry has started to accept more diversity, although there is still a plenty of room for improvement. Ashley Graham is a very good example of such kind. She is a beautiful lady with a strong will. She has continued to speak up about body positivity and to make the definition of beauty more diverse. All the Japanese models are skinny; I don't see any improvement of that sort here in Japan. I mean, you can be the front cover of a big magazine in Japan, even if you are "not skinny," but not as a model, or a representation of beauty.

Also, in Japan, where people value modesty, you can't really be like, "Yeah, I am skinny!" When someone told you, "You're so skinny!" to give you a compliment (Remember? Skinny is good!), the most appropriate answer would be: "Oh, no! I'm not that skinny! You're skinny too!" or "No, you're skinnier!" It's like a ritual. Oh, let's not debate about how this ritual is ridiculous, and meaningless. I know this communication isn't creating or offering anything new when you think that communication is for exchanging information and getting something new. If you think in this way, you could argue that this type of ritual dialog is meaningless. But it's not. Every culture has rituals in how they are supposed to communicate with each other, and human being communicate not just to exchange information, but also to have a smooth social relationship.

Ok, that was quite an excursion. So, in this modesty context, you are not supposed to admit that you're skinny openly unless you have a 100% perfect body like models. Japanese girls say that they want to lose weight when they clearly do not need to. I think by say so, they are showing that they are not being a snob, presenting that they know they are not enough. And being on a diet is an act of working towards goodness and attractiveness, it should be praised. I think that is what is going on here.

I feel awkward and even sad when people come to me and say, "You're skinny! I'm jealous!" because that means people think skinny is solely beautiful. That is just an illusion that our society has created! I don't want girls to think they need to be skinny, or even skinnier than they are now, even though they are already perfectly beautiful and healthy. I always feel like, "Well, thank you for the compliment! But please don't say you want to be like me, cause you are already perfectly fine!" And it's sometimes hard even for me to admit that I'm skinny! Sometimes, I feel like I need to think that I need to be skinnier, or I am still fat, because of the pressure that society creates, and the pressure that I create for myself.

If you had a skinny body like me, you would never feel insecure about your body? Hell no! I do think I am fat sometimes, to be honest. And let me tell you my biggest insecurity about my body: boobs! I happen to have small breasts. I mean, my chest is literally flat like a little kid. And I have always wanted bigger boobs because I feel that bigger boobs are sexier and more feminine. I have been made fun of both openly and subtly because of these small breasts. A douchebag who cheated on me in the past has told me, "Now I'm dating with a girl with big boobs, now that I have an experience with small boobs (= me)." I think this is part of the reason why I tend to think that all men love bouncy boobs and not mine. I never wear clothes with a low neckline because I'm just not confident enough to show my chest area, and want to hide them. I get nervous when I wear bikinis, because I feel like people would look at my body, and be judgmental about my breasts. So I always choose a design that would hide my breasts entirely, rather than the one that shows the shape of my breasts. When I see girls with outfits that show their cleavages, I can't stop being jealous at them, because that's something I can never do.

I think it's too hard for people with insecurities about their bodies to totally love their bodies instantly. People say things like, "Oh, stop comparing!" But it's not that easy! We see lots of people everyday; it's not like each one of us lives in a cave from the day of birth till the day when we die, alone. I think what is important is that more and more people talk about their bodies. It's really important to know that every single person has some kinds of insecurities about their bodies, and that there is no such thing as pure perfection. If you can think and truly know that everybody has flaws, you can start to feel that you are not alone. And that will lead you to cherish your body despite of your flaws.

Thanks for reading if you made this far! I hope to see you again soon :) Bye!

What Have I Been up to Lately? Being a Bookworm!

Hello! I hope you all are having a great summer! Or winter, depending on where you live... So the summer vacation has begun! This one will be my last summer vacation I can have while I'm still a student, and I want to make it a good one, but so far, I haven't done anything summery this summer! Oh, I've had lots of beer, so maybe that counts as something summery. lol But I'm a true fan of beer, so I drink lots of beer even in winter! 

Anyways, stay safe and healthy, everyone! Drink lots of, lots of water, and stay hydrated! Drinking water is very important! My mom would always say that you have to drink water even before you feel you're thirsty. Feeling thirsty means that your body is already dehydrated, which is not a favorable thing to happen to your body. So you should make sure that you take in some water periodically, as well as when you're thirsty. 

And you that also applies when you are in an air-conditioned room. When you're outside, it's easy to remind yourself that you should drink lots of water, because it's hot outside, and you sweat a lot. But when you're in a comfortable, air-conditioned room, because of the comfortableness, it's easy to forget about keeping yourself hydrated. Actually, the air that air conditioners blows out is very dry, so it can make your body, and also skin dry. So, DRINK WATER! 

Lately, I've started to do something new: selling my English skills. No, that doesn't mean that I've been teaching English, if that was your guess. Actually, I've been working as an amateur translator! "Coconala" is the name of the app that I've been using, and you can use the app for both selling and buying skills. And there are many kinds of skills; it doesn't have to be just language skills. Some people sell their computer skills, and help people develop their webpages. Some people sell their skills to help people lose weight. Some people are good at graphic design, and create icons and logos for their customers. And of course, these skills aren't the only ones you can sell and buy. If you're interested, you should try the app! But I'm not sure if you can use or even download the app from overseas. If you live in Japan, you should be able to download and use the app, and if you live outside of Japan, you should check if you can use the app or not first. (Sorry!) 

As I've said, I'm selling my English skills, and since I started the app, I've got some customers who wanted their documents (e.g., contract, instruction, statement, thesis, etc.) written in English to be translated into Japanese, or vice versa. Translation is fun, but it can also be tough. When I'm reading English, I'm thinking with an English brain; when I'm reading Japanese, I'm thinking with a Japanese brain. This means that the ability to comprehend English sentences, and the ability to translate what I have understood in English into Japanese are distinct. If my task was just to read the document and understand the contents, it would me much easier and quicker, than having to translate it into another language. Translation takes a lot of time. But I'm not complaining. It's true that translation is very time-consuming, it can be hard sometimes, but overall, I like it. I am currently working on a long thesis (28 pages in total! ), and I won't take another order until I've finished it, but I'll start taking new orders from next month, so if you have any problems, go to my page at coconala! My name in coconala is: yesimyuki. 

I've been reading a lot of books this year, and here, I will list up some of the books I finished reading recently. 

• Poor Folk by Dostoevsky
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 
• The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh 
• Notes from Underground by Dostoevsky 

All of these aren't too long, so go pick of one, some, or even all of these at your local bookstore or library, if you're interested! 

"The Loved One" is the shortest one of the 4, and if you're looking for a good laugh (i.e., a sarcastic laugh! lol), that should be your first pick. The book was published in 1948, and the story is filled with irony on how America (at that time, from the view of the author) turns everything, like even funeral, into business, a man who is brilliant at work, but dominated by his mom at home where he lives with her, a poet who takes poems from books, and send them to the woman he likes as if he was the author of those poems, etc. I can't say too much here, can I? I don't want to disappoint you by giving out too much information. 

Other ones are awesome too, even though I'm not talking about their stories and stuff here. If you are skeptical about the idea that development in science and human rationality will bring a bright future, and that these 2 things are what we need to aim for, you would love the books. If you think modern humans should worship human bonds more, and if you have or still want to have hope in humanity, you should read them. If you think that struggles, suffering, and hardships are what make us stronger and human, go read the books to find out that you are not the only one to think so. 

I was especially impressed by "Notes from Underground" by Dostoevsky. It was published in 1864, but the message is terribly new. I was quite shocked by how well and accurately Dostoevsky foresaw the future (which is now present). You can also see this from reading Part 1. It is not a fun, cheerful book as you may have already guessed, but there's an extremely important message we all need to see in this book, and I highly recommend reading this book. 

The book I'm currently reading is called "Reveries of a Solitary Walker" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and it is also very interesting. I'm having lots of fun reading it. This is the first time for me to read a work by the famous French philosopher, Rousseau, and I'm hoping to get to know a little bit about him from this book. 

Alright, that's all for today's post! I need to go now to continues translating the thesis for my customer. Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you guys soon in my next post!