Hello. I am Natsumi Kadowaki, a coder in the Coding Factory. I graduated from the third batch of Kamiyama Monosasu Juku students in December last year and joined Monosasu. Now that five months have passed, I am working hard every day, following in the footsteps of my seniors.
Looking back, it was a constant search to get to this point. Work, life, what I want my life to be like, how I want to live. I've been thinking about these things for a long time, but I've never arrived at a definitive answer. And I think I'll continue to think about them in the future.
This time, I would like to share my thoughts as a 25-year-old about the various ways of "searching" for ways of living and working.
1. Searching for a way of life
- What are values? What is the purpose of life? -
I joined Monosus this year and am currently working in the Yoyogi office. The distance from my home to the office is about 2km, and I commute to work every day on a cool bicycle that I received from a senior colleague.
Having majored in geography at university, I love to stare at the scenery I see every day and think absentmindedly. The area around my house is gently undulating, and when I checked old maps I found that it was an old riverbed (a place that used to be a river), and the names of the stations on the Keio Line, from east to west, are "Hatsudai" → "Hatagaya" → "Sasazuka," and the undulating land is reflected in the station names.
What interests me the most right now is the patriotism of the local people. When I stop by a bar, I can see that the locals are very proud of their town. Rather than being "Tokyo residents" or "Shibuya ward residents," they feel like "Honmachi (Oaza) residents." This kind of consciousness seems to be stronger the longer you live in a place. Tokyo is no exception, and I really feel that the more local people are, the more narrowly they view their own neighborhood.
Honmachi 1-chome Shopping Street. When I go drinking with my colleague Ucchi, he has so many friends that the bar owner waves at me. He was nicknamed "Mad Dog" at the cram school, but I respect his sociability.
When I was in high school, I loved looking at the map called the " Köppen Climate Classification Map " created by the German meteorologist Köppen. The Earth's rotation affects the climate, and the climate affects the topography, which in turn affects our lives, culture, food, customs, ways of thinking, and even our values.
Shortly after I entered university, a professor of physical geography told me this:
"What would you do if someone suddenly came to Japan and said, 'I feel sorry for you for eating rice, so I'll give you some corn.' Would you be happy to eat the corn?"
What we value varies from person to person, and what makes us happy also varies from person to person. And values should not be forced on others, but should be respected if we care about the happiness of others. It was at this time that I first thought about the concept of "values."
It is said that values have become more diverse in recent years compared to a few decades ago, but to be honest, I don't really know how they have changed. However, when you think about it, it's true that there is nothing promised in simple indicators such as being rich, having an academic background, or having a stable job, and I don't really believe in them. Rather, I even feel that clinging to them is a little uncool.
That being said, it is very difficult to decide for yourself what the indicators of happiness are. This is because it involves responsibility, there are many options, and you can easily become greedy. What you value in life and what your purpose in life is are deep and difficult to know immediately, even though they are personal matters. However, I believe that what I am seeking at the moment is "absolute peace of mind and stability, spiritual and moral."
When I feel overwhelmed, I go to the temple to meditate or listen to monks' sermons. I also learned spiritualism from my karate and kendo instructors from a young age. I thought I liked logical thinking, like my favorite subjects like geography and coding, so I was a little surprised when I realized I was a person who preferred spiritual things.
There may be changes, but I believe that we will continue to make choices in the future in search of peace of mind and stability.
2. Searching for new ways of working
- For peace of mind and stability -
When I was in sixth grade, I was shocked by something I read in my textbook. It was about pension issues, and it said that several decades ago, six or seven people were supporting one grandmother, but in the future, two people will be supporting one grandmother. I remember feeling a bit annoyed that our generation was born in an era when things were economically tougher than our grandparents' and parents' generations, and women were earning their own living.
Just like I was born and raised, I would like to get married, have children, and raise them. Also, as we are now living in an era where we live to be 100 years old, I would like to save money. I think these are "indicators for happiness" that embody our values more concretely. In my case, working is a means to achieve these indicators, which in turn fulfills my values.
Originally, the reason for working was "to have a stable family," but I began to think that working and having a family are interrelated and that both provide similar "security" -- for example, economic security and social security.
I think that having a family gives you "economic stability" because you have to be creative in how you earn and spend your money. And having a family also gives you "social security." At this point, it's all just my imagination, but I think it gives you not only the image of happiness, but also the security you get from it. Also, working is necessary to stabilize your family, and working creates the environment for having a family, so it's really a two-way street.
With all of this in mind, I decided to pursue a career in web design.
Specifically, I thought there were two things I needed.
1. If you value your family, you need to be "flexible when it comes to mobility" <br /> To continue working while having a family, it's ideal to be able to move or, in some cases, work from home. Web production is a job that doesn't require specific locations, so I think that's possible if you make the right choices.
2. To work long term, it's important to "do work you love" <br /> Doing work you love will enable you to continue working for a long time and earn as much as possible. This is important not only for your family but also after retirement. I'm not sure yet whether web development is a job I can continue for a long time, but I've chosen it carefully based on my past experiences.
Working is something we do every day, so there are ups and downs, but I think it's important to keep in mind the purpose of life.
3. Seeking naturalness
- Feel rather than think -
As I wrote at the beginning, I lived in Kamiyama-cho, Tokushima Prefecture, as a third-term student of Kamiyama Monosasu Juku until the end of last year. Now I commute to work with the skyscrapers of Shinjuku in front of me, so it's a huge contrast. Maybe that's why, when I try to remember the scenery and events of Kamiyama-cho, I feel a strange sensation, as if it were a dream. It's like a gap of six months, or like time moved slowly during those six months. Hmm, I can't really explain it, but it just doesn't feel real.
For the first month, all the students lived together, but after that, they rented their own homes. I started living with two of my classmates in a shared house called " Nishibun no Ie " in the Onigoro district.
The five of us lived together in the shared house "Nishibun no Ie." It felt a bit like family, and we enjoyed simple, friendly gatherings. We shared side dishes, compared tangerine juices, and had lively conversations.
The people who took care of us in Kamiyama Town. We would sometimes eat at Nishibun's house, and sometimes we would talk about our hobbies, and sometimes they would give us advice. We didn't know how to fit in with the town and we were a bit hesitant, but they were really kind to us.
Kamiyama-cho is a fairly large area, about 11 times the size of Shibuya Ward, where Monosas is located. I don't have a driver's license, so my awareness is limited to a much smaller area, and I felt more like a resident of the Onigorono district, or even Nishibun village, rather than a resident of Kamiyama-cho.
Although I wasn't very active in the local community, I made up for it by fully enjoying my daily life and my hobby of music. In particular, I often played with my fellow musicians at events in and around the town, and brought our instruments to karaoke in the town to have fun.
From the left in the photo, Chi-chan (Baiseigakko: singing, piano, and flute), me (violin and djembe), and Tatsuan (Sansan Co., Ltd.: electone and trumpet). We all have some sense of pitch, and when someone starts playing a song, the other two immediately join in.
I also enjoyed spending time at home. Cleaning, washing the shared items, playing musical instruments and taking naps. Facing life quietly gave me a sense of satisfaction and joy. I was satisfied with what I had and made do with what I didn't have. Naturally, simply, and quietly. I think one of the ways I was able to use money was to be able to "spend it wisely."
This is a photo I took on my way to cram school. Until around autumn, I walked 45 minutes each way to school.
All the third-year students had strong personalities, and I was no exception to that, and I was able to show my individuality. Rather than trying to do things well, I understood that this was a place to share our true feelings and sincerity.
When you gain experience and see and hear things, various elements are added and you can sometimes forget what it was like to be natural. At times like that, you try to remember what makes you comfortable and natural, but it doesn't work out so well and you end up being big-headed.
At the cram school, various things happened, my emotions were busy, and my mind couldn't keep up with my emotions every day. Emotions came before I had time to think, so I had much less to think about than when I was in the city. Instead, I started to face my own weaknesses that I had been ignoring until now. Sometimes I accepted my weaknesses, sometimes I couldn't... Sometimes I caused trouble for others, but the people around me really saved me.
Both at Monosasu Juku and in Kamiyama Town, I had precious and rich experiences where I felt more than I thought. I would like to continue searching for comfort and find the perfect fit for me.
4. And now
- Focus on the here and now -
When I was wondering whether to join Monosus before graduating from the school, Mr. Iwaki, who was the secretariat of the school, told me, "There is no right or wrong choice. What you choose will only create your future self." I chose to join the company and am now creating myself. A coder is a technical job, so right now I just have to focus on acquiring skills.
I have been able to learn both technical and non-technical matters at Monosasu. Fortunately, there is a culture of accepting inexperienced engineers, so the seniors in the Coding Factory Department (CF Department) are very kind to their inexperienced juniors. At CF, you will receive OJT from your mentor for the first six months after joining the company. My mentor is Mr. Kanno .
Kanno-san also joined Monosasu without any prior experience. Now, he is an indispensable member of the crowdfund team and a senior who everyone can rely on.
Mr. Kanno is brilliant not only at coding, but at his work in general. He is trusted by those around him, and when he goes to a client's place for a meeting, he makes the person in charge feel at ease. I don't know if it's true or a joke, but Mr. Kanno is rumored to be the "top coder" of CF. (However, he denies it and will never admit it, so the truth is unknown.)
When we asked seniors from various departments why people think so of Mr. Kanno, the overwhelming majority of them said, "Because his code is clean and easy to use," "Because he has the highest sales," "Because he's always perfect," and "Because he can be absolutely trusted."
He is trusted by everyone, and I really respect him. His reputation is so high that I feel at a loss as to how to aim for it, but I want to learn from his skills and how he behaves around others, and quickly become a full-fledged member of the team.
"Youth quickly becomes old and learning is difficult."
I want to learn humbly, think carefully, and work hard to be productive here.
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