As I write this, I’m watching the Japanese landscape rush past as I take the shinkansen (bullet train) to Osaka. When I left Japan last September, I always wanted to be back within a year, but didn’t think it was possible. 2010 has been strange so far, and one full of opportunities never wasted. Over the past few months, I’ve learnt two things:
1. Genuine encouragement is both hard to come by, and incredibly inspiring when found.
2. Karma will always be paid back, in full, be it good or bad.
Since graduating, I’ve found that people are far too quick to find criticism, and nearly never let someone know when they’re doing things well. It’s easy to get discouraged, especially after school, where everything you did was given a grade with instruction to improve. How do you know where you stand when all you’re told is when you’re doing something wrong? By the end of last year, I was completely discouraged. The thought of writing or acting again seemed a distant memory.
Then I met someone who did something I hadn’t seen since school: she encouraged me. Reminded me that my writing might be worth reading. Even if everybody else was apathetic at best about my work, there was finally someone there to make sure I kept writing. Without that faith, I would have never had the courage to submit my work to the Observer, or pursue writing beyond just for entertainment. It’s amazing what one person’s words can do. So if any of you know someone who does something that you think is fantastic, tell them. You might be the first person to say, and you never know where those kinds words will take them. Plus, it’s good karma.
I don’t believe in much, but I do believe in karma. It just makes sense. If you do good things, good things will happen back. My friend encouraged me, and later that year, she won a 50/50 draw that was more than enough to cover this trip to Japan. I offered to plan the entire trip, because of my experience, thinking I would just help pick hotels and things to do. I ended up getting to come along, which is more than I ever dreamt.
Since we both have similar interests, I vowed to make this trip to Japan one that any fan would kill for. I wanted it to be amazing. I called in favours with friends to get tickets to shows and plays, and used all my resources to find ways to make sure we saw as much as we could in our short two week stay. One of the highlights of the week was to go see the Edogawa fireworks, the third largest display in Japan.
We were running late to get to the river, and I felt terrible because by the time we got there, the only spots left didn’t have a very good view. As we sat on the roadside and watched the fireworks, I looked around, and felt my heart stop.
There, sitting next to us, was the lead singer of one of the biggest pop groups in Japan. Who also happened to be one of my most favourite singers ever. And he smiled and waved to us.
It’s moments like that where I believe in karma.