Things you wish you had done in your 20’s! －20代にやっておけばよかったこと－
2014/09/05
国際文化学科の「6か月留学」を修了した学生達は、帰国後「海外留学フォローアップ」というネイティブ教員による授業を受けることができます。昨年度6か月留学をした3年生の出田瑛子さん、大塚里美さん、後藤希枝さん、南さやかさんは、この授業でそれぞれ10人の35歳以上の方達に インタビューをして、“Things you wish you had done in your 20’s”を3つずつ挙げてもらいました。多くの興味深い答の中から、授業担当の杉長ジャッキー先生がトップ10をピック・アップしました。みなさんも是非参考にしてください。
Eko Izuta with her foreign friends in Australia
In the study Abroad Follow-up class, students usually reflect on their study abroad experiences as well as look to the future, set goals, and think about how they would like to use English for work, travelling, or developing their skills. These students are in their third year at university, an important time for them to think about what they will do in the future and how they can achieve their personal aims. When I asked them to think about this, it seemed difficult at first and they could only think of only a few ideas. So, I gave them a personal project to complete. They had to interview 10 people over the age of 35 and ask each person to say three things they wish they had done when they were in their 20’s. They could interview teachers, parents, friends or neighbours. Out of the list of things they learned, they had to choose 10 things and make a PowerPoint presentation about it.
This was a useful activity for the students because, not only did they get a chance to interact with many people, they said that they learned a lot about things they would not have thought of. Eko Izuta, who is one of the students said:
Before asking adults about ‘What you wish you had done in your 20s”, I never thought about this. However, I definitely need to think about this and so this opportunity is good for me. Thanks to the people I interviewed, I could know more about what I should do in the future. And also I had a good time talking with adults. I thought every young person should ask about this topic. I especially like “Life is long, go slow”. Of course I know I’m young and life is long but I sometimes work too much and am tired. But after hearing all of this advice, I feel that it is OK to take a rest sometimes. Also, I want to go travelling in order to learn a lot of new things and meet new people. I’m really thankful to you because you gave to us this opportunity, and I’m also thankful to everyone.
Below, you can read the results gathered from 4 students (Eko Izuta, Satomi Ohtsuka, Ayaka Minami, Kie Goto), describing the top 10 most interesting and useful advice they received from adults.
Which ones would you choose? Enjoy!
1. Life is long – Go slow
This was the message from one of my university teachers. He said that when he was a university student, he thought he had to do so many things. But 20 is still young. He said, “Don’t be in too much of a hurry. We sometimes need to rest”.
2. Eat healthy food
One person advised that if you eat healthy food while you are young, it is a good habit to get into. This is a good habit for life. Then you will have less chance of getting sick. So, eating healthily is good to avoid bad health and sickness.
3. There is no – ‘the one’
The ‘one’ here means the “perfect person”. One teacher said everyone is different, and people have both good points and bad points. If we look for someone with only good points, we will never find them. We should learn to like the whole person.
4. Learn practical things
This is related to: how to grow plants, learn how to sew, cook, etc. One teacher said that learning these things when you are young is important. Also, when I went to New Zealand, I wanted to let people taste Japanese food, but I didn’t know how to make anything and couldn’t cook for my host mother. So, I think I will take this advice.
5. Manners
After we turn 20, we will have many occasions to attend a wedding or go to a funeral. But, if we don’t know the right manners to use at these events, it will be very embarrassing. This is good to know for the future.
6. Travel around the world
One of my friends said that we should try to travel around the world, even if we don’t have much money. My friend said he wishes he had gone backpacking, because it makes you into a strong person and you can meet people from all over the world.
7. Learn English
One person said that she wishes she had studied English more when she was younger, because as you get older you have less time, and it’s difficult to remember words. Also, learning English creates lots of new opportunities for you to meet people in Japan or abroad.
8. Have a beautiful girlfriend
One teacher wishes he had a beautiful girlfriend at least once while he was in his 20’s. Then he would also have had learned how to surf, got a motorcycle license, and then bought a motorcycle. Then, he could travel around Australia with a motorcycle and a beautiful girlfriend.
9. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and challenge many things
A friend said that he didn’t have any confidence to do something when he was younger. But, if he had more confidence, his life might be different. He advised me, not to be afraid and, to do whatever I want while I’m young.
10. Spend a lot of time with your grandparents
Someone said that you should make time for your grandparents. She said, that recently, her grandfather suddenly fell down, went to hospital and almost died. Luckily, he is still alive, but if he had died, she said she would have regretted not going to see or talk to her grandparents so often. So, she advises that it is very important to make time to talk to them.
Department of International Culture
Jackie Suginaga
