What You Are Looking for is in the Library

by Michiko Aoyama

Jobs can be a clue to somebody’s character. A short-cut way of describing them. But only in a limited, stereotyped sort of way. That starts me thinking: what do people think about me based on my job? What does it say about my personality or qualities?

No cuz i worry about the same thing

“You managed to find employment, you go to work every day and you can feed yourself. That’s a fine achievement.”

So true

What I do know is that there’s no need to panic, or do more than I can cope with right now. For the time being, I plan to simply get my life in order and learn some new skills, choosing from what’s available. I’ll prepare myself, like Guri and Gura gathering chestnuts in the forest. Because I never know when I might find my own giant egg.

Awww so cute

community center that Hina discovered in her neighborhood. Apparently it’s next to an elementary school, but not the one she attended. “So I did well to find it,” she told me. “I came across it when I was looking for a computer course to help me run an online shop. It’s great value—only 2,000 yen for two hours of virtually individual instruction. I go regularly now.

Stop i love seperate stories where the characters lives intertwine.

I might as well be at work right now. My job controls me. A job I don’t want to be doing.

Ugh so true

“Before I had this place, all I ever used to think about was quitting my office job, but now that job is what gives me the means to enjoy running this bookshop. If the bookshop was all I did, however, then I’d have to spend a lot more time thinking about sales strategies and so on. Which would be far more demanding. And I don’t really want that.”

Wait that’s actually such a good point. It never has to be one or the other. You can use the stable income to supplement your monitized hobbies and therefore enjoy it more since you’re not stressed about sole income from that.

“But do you make as much money from the bookshop as working for a company?” The instant I say this, I regret it. But Yasuhara brushes it off with a laugh. “I don’t mean secondary in that sense. To put it bluntly, I get more from the shop in terms of mental and emotional satisfaction than I do in monetary profit.

Loveeee that

“Everybody is connected. And any one of their connections could be the start of a network that branches in many directions. If you wait for the right time to make connections, it might never happen, but if you show your face around, talk to people and see enough to give you the confidence that things could work out, then ‘one day’ might turn into ‘tomorrow.’” Looking at the

Ugh so true words of wisdom

“Yes, trust. Anything you do—borrowing money from a bank, commissioning a piece of work, sending or receiving a parcel, making a plan with friends, ordering food at a restaurant—all those things can only happen because of mutual trust on both sides.”

Wait so true actually

“The good thing about felting is that you can start again halfway through. Even after your project begins to take shape, you can easily change direction along the way if you feel that you want to make something different after all.”

Nothing in this world is permanant, good or bad. You can always change it.

“Yes, I do. I most certainly do. But I can’t, can I.” Once I’d started, I couldn’t stop. The floodgate burst, releasing a deluge of angry words. “Why am I always the one

Felt

I put myself last all the time, and even though there are a million things I’d like to do, I can’t!”

Such an ugly truth

I threw the towel I’d just finished folding up at him. The only reason I didn’t throw a mug was because I would have to clean up the mess if it broke.

Real

it had gifted me with the warmth of emotion I felt in this moment. This was worth being born for, I thought, from the bottom of my heart.

Awwww so cute!

“This didn’t just come to you. It happened because you did something for yourself. You took action and that caused things to change around you.”

So true we need to give ourselves credit

The Earth goes around. We gaze at the moon, illuminated by the sun. Feet on the ground and facing the sky, we go forward, changing as we do. In order to deliver a larger truth to the person looking down at an open page.

Loveeee

I’m grateful for so many things. The chance to work here, a strong and healthy body that allows to me to do it, the smiles I get from people who come to the Community House. And my mother. Even when I quit the company, she never ever put any pressure on me, or blamed me.

So true it's the little and mundane things in life

Oh, and I also had an antique shop.” “An antique shop?” Mr. Ebigawa’s face wrinkles into a smile. “I didn’t make any money but I enjoyed it. In the end I had to close the shop because I was in debt. But while I was away, seeing about a new job, somebody I’d borrowed money from got it into his head that I’d done a runner. The police did a search. I worked to pay back the money, but until recently my regular customers were still under the impression I was on the run.

Ugh loveeeee intertwinjng characters

I know that now. Just as every day is equal in value and no less important than all the others. The day I was born, today as I stand here now and the many tomorrows to come.

“I remember sitting in the passenger seat, looking at you and feeling devastated because I’d been fired, when in fact I hadn’t lost anything. I myself was no different than before. I’d simply left the company I worked for. That’s all. I still had the option to derive joy from my work and happiness from spending time with my loved ones. It all just depended on me, and what I did from then on.

So true, so important to remember

will not give up on myself. From now on, I intend to gather close all the things that are important to me. I will make my own anthology.