I like to study English. My passion came from my childhood memory. My parents are Christians, and they took me to a service every Sunday where there were preachers. Some of the congregation were Japanese, but the others were from abroad. In addition, my mother has an English teaching qualification. All in all, western culture was in a natural environment for me. Although I feel fascinated by speaking English, my parents never forced me to learn English, so I didn’t speak English much when I was a child. However, I chose an English literature major at junior college, because there was a choice for me to do it. Life has a lot of coincidences, and I finally took that opportunity. I also joined the club activity, called the English Speaking Society, and learned some colloquial English.
My next biggest chance for learning English was my husband’s relocation to London in 2010. At that time, I was not interested in going to English learning institution, because everybody was speaking English in their everyday lives, so I thought there was no point in paying a high tuition fee to learn English. Instead, I found an organisation, called MRC, which provided services for migrants, including English courses. The local language is a tool to communicate with local people, and I was lucky enough to learn English there. While I was learning English, a member of staff saw me studying at the reception desk one day, and she introduced me to their legal team department where they provide a legal service for migrants. Luckily, I found work there, too.
Some of my blog readers will have come across my blog by chance, which is a coincidence, a so-called algorithm at this moment. Using algorithms is controversial, but chance is a chance. It is some sort of serendipity. In addition, I appreciate the opportunity to express my idea freely on the Internet, as there are many countries where there is no freedom of speech. I am not a person to fight to acquire rights, and I generally accept my fate and current situation. However, at the same time, I am not submissive enough, and sometimes I say what I think my opinion confidently. When some people see me expressing my opinion, they say I am snobbish and opinionated, but that is my character. If they feel like that, that is fine for me, because the reason they feel is their matter, and not mine, so I am not convinced by them, but I respect their feelings, because everybody is different. The good point is that when I realise my way of expression might seem aggressive to someone, that is a great opportunity for me to think and amend it accordingly.
I hope for an equal world, but there is no such a paradise in society. Humans are intelligent in many ways, and all of us always compare each other consciously and unconsciously. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. However, the sort of character I don’t like is a person who takes advantage of someone else. Sometimes people behave like that without realising it, so the thing I want to emphasise is to pause at some point, and look around their situation. To do so, taking a deep breath is the most effective way, I believe. I do it quite often, but sometimes this action is taken as a sigh of tiredness and sadness, in which it might contain those emotions, because the world is unfair.
However, the most important thing is to continue doing something until you get fed up, because our life continues until our death. If you feel too much pain at the current position, you don’t need to endure the situation too much, in which people feel despair too much, as it might cause mental problem. I feel the same sometimes, but there is always a way to move forward, that is for sure. My mentor told me that when one door closes, a new door opens, and I respect it. At the same time, one sort of endurance is called tolerance, so I also respect the tolerance as well, because that is the highest result of education. According to the Cambridge dictionary, the word “tolerance” means a willingness to accept behaviour and beliefs that are different from your own, although you might not agree with or approve of them. Don’t be discouraged too much by things happening.
Last week, I wrote a blog about “Accept circumstances”, and this means the same. In these situations, people need someone who listens and gives them clear information and advice. Human beings are social creatures. I believe that a good professional should be aware of technical issues, and most importantly, emphasise with people’s feelings.
I will update every Monday.
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Japanese business consultant
Shihoshoshi Lawyer
(Judicial Scrivener)
Akiko HORI
Akiko Hori-Shihoshosi lawyer@Tokyo, Japan 