"What would you like to advise children in choosing their future career?"

2015, March, New York city, Manhattan―on a shivering rainy day. I was running around the town asking this question. This was a mission for my internship as an apprentice journalist. It was extremely challenging to obtain answers from the busiest people in the world. Although I did not realize at first, one quote I received; "Something you like gets you out of bed" came true for me, and changed my outlook on English.

Before my USA internship, I had lived in London for some time, and English had been a simple communication tool; furthermore, even in Japan, English is often just "something to study" and a "tool" to get ready for university. However, soon after my USA internship, I joined a symposium project in Japan, with other high school students. This project involved five months of preparation, making me think in English for an amazingly long period.

During this time, because I was using much English, I could suddenly "see" English differently in the symposium project I was doing. However, I discovered I was having much fun, excitement, and a feeling that I could even fly in the sky! Looking back, I noticed this was the same feeling I had in the internship in New York. I realized my USA experience was that "trigger", in fact, which made me eager to try more of anything in English, such as the symposium.

Therefore, my outlook on English now is completely different. English is not just a hobby for me anymore, like in London. It has now become a "trigger" to motivate me to do much more in English, but, with a purpose. My USA experience was something I liked that "got me out of bed", and as a result, I was able to put more effort into my symposium project in Japan. From all these experiences, I now feel I want to "fly" even higher and perhaps become a journalist in Japan, writing in English, sharing my passion and perceptions with all ages.