“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"
Lao-tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)
Hiroyuki Kosuge

Time does fly, indeed. I am Hiroyuki Kosuge a 2007 KIFL graduate, now a postgraduate at Waseda, specialising in business history (global industrial management).

I would like to talk about why and how I chose KIFL as the start of my journey to fulfill my final goal of becoming a global business person with a focus on market research. I would also love to mention my former classmates with whom I spent many wonderful and challenging moments.

Almost five years ago I entered KIFL. Despite graduating from one of the best-known high schools in Chiba and even spending one year at preparatory school, I could not pass for any university exam. The reason was very simple, I did not have any motivation. I was interested in international political economics though. Human beings…any creature, cannot step forward and evolve without a goal.

Looking back to my KIFL period, other than studying with Ms. Dashtestani, the most challenging event for me was the “KIFL Speech Contest”. I participated in the event two years in a row. The first year’s result was terrible: I lost at the first stage because I did not prepare well and did not have any logic. However, the next year I came second in the final. My speech was more organized and logical, mentioning the English Conversation Lounge where postgraduates from overseas work as part-time language assistant teachers. ECL is a wonderful place as you can communicate with young people who are expecting and preparing to become professionals in each of their chosen areas. I still keep in touch with many of them and astonishingly, now work with a few.

For me, any language, not only English but also Japanese is just a means to survive in real life. TOEIC is surely important but how we can utilize our language communication ability is much more essential. Hence, TOEIC is just an indicator based on a basic statistic theory. In another words, it does not always reflect your real English communication skill.

Last month, I met up with some old friends who used to study with me in KIFL. Naturally, over dinner, we spent a lot of time catching up and talking about our present situations. Most seemed to be leading satisfying and productive lives. My former classmate and close Taiwanese friend comes back and forth to Japan, providing for his family. We share the same interests such as music, beer ideas... We are, I would say, “soul mates” and it is always good to see him. I also sometimes contact a few other former classmates on a popular social networking site. Two of my female classmates are flying and working around the world so we have a lot to exchange.

My message to everyone reading this article is “please do not deny your past and believe what you have been thinking since childhood”. This year is going to be very challenging for the Japanese economy and for me as well as you. I have recently started two Japanese martial arts “iaijyutu” and “ninjyutu” under professional instructors. This has been very helpful for my self-discipline, strategic thinking and motivation. If you are interested in studying these two forms of martial arts that help us develop, talk to Ms. Shibata a KIFL teacher specializing in interpretation. I highly recommend that you start a practice of any traditional custom such as “kado”, “sado” or, if you are not interested in the tea ceremony, try something else. I have found that the discipline of martial arts and the quiet moments of “sado” or, “chado”, can protect us from being brainwashed by our current overwhelming information and communication technology era. We try too hard to be like everyone else and we follow so many fads and fashion that tend to destroy our identity. According to Lao-tzu, action naturally follows when we can sit in stillness.

This is a short trip looking back but I am now preparing for a trip to England. I hope to enjoy some sightseeing, especially a visit to some of the famous art galleries and museums but it also includes research for my paper. England is one of the countries I have longed to visit since I was a KIFL student but I also cannot wait for the sakura to bloom. Looking ahead is exciting but taking action to reach my dream is fulfilling.