We can meet any need
Aiming to become a web engineer
~Kamiyama Monosasu Juku 4th Term News~

Hello, nice to meet you. I am Shotaro Hamai, a fourth-year student at Kamiyama Monosasu Juku.
It has been a month and a half since the Kamiyama Monosasu Juku began its fourth year in September. Today, I would like to introduce myself, talk about the changes in my state of mind that have occurred since September, and about my daily life as a student.

This time's Kamiyama Monosasu Juku reporter

Until I arrived at Kamiyama Monosasu Juku

In my previous job, I worked as a civil engineer at a plant. Although the life of a new employee was very enjoyable and fulfilling, with new things to do, I suddenly had doubts about myself, such as "What on earth am I working for?", and I couldn't resolve them, so I quit my job. After quitting my job without much thought, I was faced with great regret.

I thought about money, that I didn't have any special skills that other people couldn't have, and that I couldn't think of anything in particular that I wanted to do... When I was unemployed, I pretended that I didn't regret quitting my job, but at one point I was able to admit that if I had thought about it more, I wouldn't have regretted it, and I was finally able to move forward. It was then that I started to think about what I like, what makes me happy, and how I want to live my life.

What do I like and what makes me happy?
At the time, there were things I could say I loved, but I didn't have the passion to love them enough to want to turn them into a job and make money from them. What I could clearly say I loved was "spending time with the people who run the stores." Also, when I thought back to what made me happy in the past, I realized that I was happy when "the people around me were happy" because of what I did.

For example, when I was working part-time at an izakaya, I was in charge of creating a surprise for a customer, and I felt very happy when they smiled with joy. I thought that I would be happy if the work I do in the future could help my dear friends, so I was thinking about what kind of work I would do in the future. Many of my dear friends run restaurants, hairdressers, wineries, and apparel businesses, so I wondered what kind of skills they would need.

After thinking about it, the answer for me was to be a web engineer. I had always felt the importance of websites, because it costs a lot of money to post information on an information site, but because there are so many stores listed, all the information is similar, my friend's store has its own website but the design is a bit old-fashioned, and I have a habit of checking the website of the store before actually going in. I thought that the technology to create such a website would be very useful in the future. After that, I found websites where I could learn about the web and learned how to create a website. And then I found the recruitment for Kamiyama Monosasu Juku.

Learn Web Stories from the Professionals

During the interview, I had a moment of emotional excitement for the first time in a long time. Although I had a strong desire to enter the school, I had not been able to clearly summarize my reasons for wanting to become a web engineer or what I wanted to do in Kamiyama. In that state, I was answering the questions with a disjointed mix of thoughts scattered in my head. Just when I was getting to the point where I didn't know what to say, Mr. Ito, the school principal who is currently teaching me web, summed it up for me in a single word: "So, is this what you mean?" I am very bad at explaining the thoughts in my head, so I was shocked that he understood me in an instant, and I felt strongly that I wanted to learn from him. After I was convinced that I was right in this direction, I submitted my assignments the next day, sent long messages of enthusiasm when I submitted my assignments, and somehow I was able to convey my feelings and become a student.

A month and a half has passed in the blink of an eye since classes began. It feels like ages ago when I first met the other students. Some students proactively tried to make the environment more welcoming, while others showed their familiarity as if they had been there the whole time despite joining late. When we first met, it seemed like we were all members with strong personalities, but the characteristic of the 4th-year students is that they are "surprisingly united" and able to work together to get things done.

In this fourth term of the Kamiyama Monosasu School, classes are specialized in web production. Classes mainly consist of alternating lectures and practical training, with students reading through textbooks and writing code. Rather than simply learning "this is what happens when you write code," students learn logically why to write code in a certain way. When I ask questions about things I have while studying on my own, they are immediately explained and resolved, so I am able to learn more in a shorter amount of time than when I studied on my own. Ito-san gives logical, easy-to-understand explanations, so I enjoy studying every day.

Also, like in my cram school interview, I often started speaking without having organized my thoughts in my head, but I learned from Mr. Ito that the best way to ask questions is to have the other person answer with a "Yes" or "No" option. In this way, he has helped me not only in web development, but also in my growth as a member of society.

The classes are conducted in an open atmosphere where questions are always welcome, so questions are flying around about things we don't understand or why something is the way it is. Other students ask questions that I hadn't thought of... It's not about winning or losing, but it inspires me to not give up. The time I spend learning about the web at this cram school is very dense and meaningful. As you can see in the photo, even during breaks, I look at and talk about other people's work, and I continue to study to become a web engineer.

A moment between classes

Now that a month and a half has passed, I think the biggest thing I've learned is that there is no one absolute answer when it comes to creating a website, and that you have to deal with it on a case-by-case basis. It's not enough to just create something that looks good, but you also need to consider what your thoughts were when you created it, and whether you can create something that takes other people into consideration, with an eye toward future updates. It's not just about "making" something, but the ability to respond to various situations is important. Right now, I'm focusing on how much I can make of the new things I learn every day.

How to spend time in Kamiyama and living together as a group of nine

Dining at Ski Land Hotel

During September, all the students stayed at Kamiyama Ski Land Hotel. The parents and their son Makoto from Ski Land were always watching over us with warmth. When I left for class in the morning, they would say "I'm off," and when I returned, they would say "I'm back," and we were able to interact very closely, almost like relatives, uncles and aunts, or older brothers. They would tell me about the students they had attended and teach me about Kamiyama. Much of the information I learned about coming to Kamiyama was obtained at Ski Land. I also went to help out at the sudachi farm where Makoto introduced me to harvesting sudachi.

Helping Sudachi farmers select citrus fruits

When I first came to Kamiyama, I was worried that I wouldn't have many opportunities to get to know people there and I wasn't sure how to interact with them. However, I feel that little by little, Makoto and others are beginning to be able to "interact with Kamiyama through people." I think this is because past students and people at the satellite office have built an invisible "relationship of trust" with the people who live in Kamiyama.

Starting in October, all nine of us will rent a house that is a Food Hub Project dormitory. After viewing the house, everyone immediately decided to move in. However, there was a problem. Although it was a very beautiful and large house, there were only six private rooms, so it was a little cramped for all nine of us to live in. We would inevitably have to share a room. I have never lived communally, and I like spending time alone. I also thought that living with everyone would probably cause some awkwardness, and that I might feel stressed from having to be considerate of others, so I decided to look for a new place to live.

If we find a new house, it will be difficult to share a car with everyone, so I was thinking about commuting by bicycle. However, if I leave, the problem will arise of how many rental cars the eight of us need to rent, which is an essential means of transportation to live in Kamiyama. That's why I told everyone that I was looking for a house. So we decided to set aside some time to discuss our future lives together.

"It's my first time living together, but I came to Kamiyama thinking that these four months would include these experiences," and "It's okay if there are some awkward moments, and if there are, we can think of new things after that," as I listened to the opinions of the other members, I began to think, "Is it okay to just be myself without forcing myself to be considerate?" and my feelings changed to wanting to live with everyone. In the end, nine of us are now living under the same roof. We don't usually have a chance to talk in-depth about what we're thinking, but each of us has our own thoughts, and it was great to have this opportunity to share our feelings and thoughts.

Prepare 5 types of staple dishes for a week on your days off

When we started living together as a group of nine, we were worried about having to prepare breakfast and dinner by ourselves, but now meals are one of our pleasures. We cook our own meals, breakfast and dinner on weekdays and all three meals on weekends, and eat them together at the table. On weekends, we sometimes feel lonely because we go out and there are fewer people around the table. At first, we struggled with cooking portions for nine people and the process, but little by little, we got the hang of it. The caring members made large amounts of side dishes for breakfast and other staple dishes, and the members who like cleaning naturally cleaned up while they were doing so. We still have a lot of time to improve our lifestyle, but I hope we can all live a balanced life by sharing the work.

A relaxing holiday for everyone

When we live together, we find that each of us has our own unique characteristics and things that we can respect.

Someone who has a wide range of knowledge and seems cool, but is actually very caring and will help those who don't understand their class assignments, etc. Someone who brightens up the atmosphere just by being there and is good at getting everyone involved. Someone who cleans without anyone knowing and keeps the place clean, and is like a behind-the-scenes hero who brings everyone together well. Someone who can clearly express their opinions to anyone, regardless of the member's age, in a way that suits the other person. Someone who grasps the content of lessons quickly, is quiet but has a strong core and is able to express their opinions. Someone who is friendly and smiles at everyone, and has a lovable character. Someone who is calm and can explain things with consideration for others, and is trusted by everyone. Someone who lightens the mood with their calm atmosphere, but has a stronger attitude towards learning than most and seems to enjoy learning very much.

Although we all have different characteristics, each of us has so many good points that I can't write them all here, and there are many things I would like to emulate. Although I once looked for a different way of life, I feel very happy to be living with these nine people now. I hope that we can all live together until graduation. I don't think we'll have any trouble living if someone leaves, but I'm sure it will be lonely if someone leaves.

The school period is almost halfway through. The time I can study intensively as a student is drawing to an end. For me, these four months are a time to build a foundation as an engineer by absorbing as much web technology as possible. My current goal is to be able to work with confidence and to graduate with the highest possible technical ability. With two months left, I will be fully committed to my goal.