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The year 2022 was one of the most intense years in my life.
- It began with the peak of the US college application process, followed by graduating from GKA after 12 years, interning at Helpfeel Inc., entering the University of Tokyo, attending the Baji Seminar, going to the U.S., enrolling at Columbia University, participating in UIST2022, and more.
- I consider it a perfect score just to have survived without breaking down mentally.
- I am truly grateful to the many people who supported me and provided opportunities. I appreciate all the help I received and look forward to continued support.
- I hope to be able to pay it forward in some way, such as through Atelier Basi.
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Reflection: Way of Life
- During my 12 years in elementary, middle, and high school, I had a stable environment (school, family home, etc.) as a foundation and could do as I pleased within that framework.
- However, this past year saw significant changes in that foundation itself.
- It was a year of actively considering my way of life in response to these ongoing changes.
- During the gap term, what I did was entirely up to me.
- After going to the U.S., I didn’t have as much freedom as during the gap term, but I needed to adapt to a completely new environment to establish a foundation for my future life.
- Related: 2022 Fall Study Abroad Diary
- Throughout the year, I faced various emotions such as expectations, anxieties, and regrets while actively living, and I feel like I have gained some understanding of how to navigate life.
- Thoughts
- In life, there are no “must-do” things.
- There is no need to earn money or constantly produce results.
- Moreover, it is not necessary to always be happy or have fun.
- Related: Ethics, Is it Happy to Abandon Progressivism in Life?, I Tried Receiving Welfare Because I Don’t Want to Work. My Daily Life Became Rich., Knowing What is Enough
- Therefore, I have come to think that if I feel a desire to move forward in a certain direction while affirming the current situation, it’s okay to take small steps in that direction.
- However, I am not always able to maintain this mindset, and I often find myself struggling due to being fixated on immediate goals.
- Well, that’s life for you.
- In life, there are no “must-do” things.
- On a different note, having a daily dose of joy with the Insomnia Cookies one cookie per day subscription is very beneficial for mental stability (?).
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Reflection: Relationships
- Similar to the previous section, during my 12 years of elementary, middle, and high school, I had a stable environment in terms of relationships.
- Of course, it wasn’t without its challenges, but fundamentally, there were no significant changes.
- Amid continuous significant changes in my environment, it was a year where I also reflected a lot on relationships with others.
- Gap Term/University of Tokyo
- I met many new people.
- Helpfeel Inc., Shimokita College, Bajiro Seminar, Deep Tech classes, UT-Virtual, SGG, etc.
- It was very enjoyable.
- I feel like I’ve been spending more time with people than in high school.
- I think it was good to discover the new joy of interacting with others.
- Related: Building Human Relationships is Random, so Increase the Number of Attempts
- I met many new people.
- After going to the U.S.
- To be honest, there were many challenges at first.
- It was something I anticipated.
- Unlike in Japan, I had to build relationships from scratch without any existing connections.
- However, being in that situation made me rethink the meaning of interacting with people.
- To be honest, there were many challenges at first.
- Similar to the previous section, during my 12 years of elementary, middle, and high school, I had a stable environment in terms of relationships.
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It’s not necessary to make ten thousand friends; it’s more important to find joy in the present and be able to Gradually Improve Without Overdoing It. I started feeling relieved once I realized this.
- Similar to the previous discussion about life.
- In reality, I feel like I’ve been able to Gradually Improve Without Overdoing It in my interactions with others.
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Currently, I’ve managed to make good friends with whom I can study and find enjoyment.
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It’s endless to think about what we don’t have, but if we find joy in what we do have, then it’s a good thing.
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Related: 2022 Fall Study Abroad Diary
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Also, it’s important to note that my connections with friends in Japan haven’t disappeared.
- Of course, relying solely on those connections while living in the U.S. is not sustainable.
- However, having friends in both countries can double the fun, and I want to maintain a positive outlook like that.
- Returning home at the end of the year and feeling that connection again was one of the good things. Grateful once again.
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2023
- Writing about the direction I want to move towards.
- In the U.S., I’ve been able to create a foundation for a stable mental state and happiness.
- In the coming year, I want to discover more interesting things.
- Currently, I feel like Tokyo has more interesting things than NYC, and there are more interesting people at the University of Tokyo than at Columbia.
- However, this mostly boils down to my ability to find interesting things/people, etc., about myself.
- I want the next year to be about actively seeking out things that I find interesting both on and off-campus.
- I want to dive into local communities in NYC, niche study groups at Columbia, and similar things.
- This is possible now that my life is becoming more stable.
- I believe it’s important to assert my own interests to meet interesting people.
- Therefore, I also feel the need to share my projects and thoughts with others.
- I plan to publish an article summarizing my goals and current projects soon.
- Related: Living in a Way that Clears the Fog of the World, Plan to Expand Relationships in Spring 2023
- Metaphorically and practically, I want to clear The Mist of the World.
- Currently, I feel like Tokyo has more interesting things than NYC, and there are more interesting people at the University of Tokyo than at Columbia.
- Development, research, and creation
- I want to see the Wikipedia tag game that I’m developing with @axokxi through to its release.
- Creating interesting things is fun.
- Related: Wikichase
- I also want to continue thinking about and implementing virtual/relative time perception.
- Related: Exploration of Virtual Time
- I want to consolidate my current thoughts.
- Based on the SGG Year-End LT Meeting 2022 Slides, I plan to write an article soon.
- I want to discuss this topic using Phenomenology correctly.
- Since the philosophy professor I’ll have in the spring semester specializes in phenomenology, I want to ask various questions.
- As a specific implementation, I want to continue developing a prototype for Proposal for Non-Turn-Based Communication with Voice.
- I don’t want to just write theoretical articles but become someone who implements and experiments with ideas.
- I also want to explore different aspects of the External Brain.
- I recently switched from Scrapbox to Obsidian for experimentation.
- It seems like there are various experiments and fun to be had.
- I want to think about the mechanism of connecting external brain tools in the Semantic Desktop lineage with u7693 and others.
- I recently switched from Scrapbox to Obsidian for experimentation.
- I want to see the Wikipedia tag game that I’m developing with @axokxi through to its release.
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I’ve written a lot, but I am truly grateful to those who spent time with me in 2022.- As I continue living my life in 2023, I want to discover more joy and happiness.
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Thank you in advance for your support this year as well.
2022/01/02 Shutaro Aoyama / @blu3mo
