I had a chance to talk to freshmen at the closing ceremony of the orientation. The following is the transcript of my talk.
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Forty years have passed since I started university life. I also studied at a university in Kyoto 40 years ago! It is a long time ago, but, looking back on it, I think my university days were one of the best times in my life.
Why?
Is it because I was younger? Yes!
Is it because I was more energetic? Yes!
Is it because I had good friends? Yes!
Is it because I had a girlfriend? Yes!
Is it because I visited many places? Yes!
All are true.
I received an essay written by my student, M-san and R-san, who graduated from this college two weeks ago. She mentioned that in Japanese “同志社女子大学で学んでよかった。わざわざ遠くから京都まで出て来た甲斐があった” I was delighted to find this phrase.
Then how can you be a student like M-san or R-san who can confidently say that it is worth paying high tuition fees and worth attending classes for four years?
I will tell you the secret of successful college life.
It is simple.
Don’t waste time.
We are living on borrowed time. Borrowed time. You are just borrowing time from someone. From your parents, From someone really great, probably from the Gods.
And your borrowed time in college is limited. Just 4 years or 1460 days or 35, 040 hours
Don’t waste time by just wondering whether you should do something or not. Just do it, if it seems like a good idea. Of course, you have to be careful about issues related to your life. There are also potentially dangerous things in college life. You should not drink until you turn 20. Even when 20 years old, you should not drink too much, and smoking is also bad for your health.
You have to find a potentially good boyfriend. You have to be careful about choosing places to visit in foreign countries. There are many dangerous places in the world.
However, in our college, almost everything is safe to try. Try to use English with many teachers and friends. Don’t hesitate to speak English in class. It is your time. In proportion to your use of English, your English proficiency will improve. Try to have as many friends as possible. If you have many friends, your college life will be much more enjoyable. Try to talk to professors here as much as possible. They are specialists in some field or other. They have a so-called office hour when you can freely visit their office and talk. Read as many books as possible. The library has so many interesting books. Try to stay in college as long as possible. There are many chances to be had in our college. You can practice English by using computer programs, and you can discover hints to be a successful language learner.
Again, it is your time, and don’t waste your time by just working part-time or goofing around in circle and club activities. I do not deny the benefits of working part-time or enjoying sports in circle activities. But they are not the main event of your college life.
Part-time or Circle activities alone will not give you high satisfaction like M-san or R-san when you graduate.
It is the time to make many friends.
It is time to use English.
It is time to see many films.
It is time to write a journal every day.
It is time to help someone.
It is time to smile.
It is time for you to shine.
It is time to understand what the most important thing in life is.
We are happy to help you enjoy your college life.
Again it is your time, not mine.
Let’s start something new. Thank you.
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(2019.4.4)
★One more thing： While talking, I realized again that starting something new is really important. For that purpose, I need to clean up my surroundings, i.e., my office.
