New Chapter
こんにちは。
キースです。
建築学部卒業したてで、就活中です。新しいチャプターの幕開けでもあり、さらにアメリカにいる間に忘れかけている日本語を練習する機会にもなると思いブログ、初めてみました。状況は最悪だけどなんとなく形勢逆転できる気がするんだよなー。なんとなくだけど。根拠ないけど。
人生山あり谷あり。（この表現の使い方あっとる？w）
日記を更新していく中絶対僕のモチベーションの浮き沈みの激しさが見れると思うので、それも含めて楽しんでください（汗）。
まず近況報告。初めてなので僕自身のバックグラウンドも含めて書きます。今回だけ少し長くなるのでめんどくさかったらとばしてください。w
現在状況は正直厳しいです。アメリカ国籍を持っていない生徒たちは大学卒業後OPTと言う制度により一年間アメリカで働くことを許されています。その期間中９０日間の無職期間が与えられていて、その９０日以上無職になった場合、６０日間荷物をまとめる有余を与えられ、すぐ帰国しなければなりません。つまり大学卒業後OPTが有効になってから就活している日数全てがその９０日間からカウントダウンされてしまうわけです。コロナで職を失っている現地の方々をみて、やばいなーと思いつつ希望はまだ捨てていません。
物心ついた時から国際学園に通わされていたのでいずれ海外で経験を積むことを親から期待されてきたんだと思います。恵まれてて幸せだなーと思う反面期待重いなーって思っちゃうこともあります。僕は特別頭が言い訳でもなく努力をすることに優れているわけでもない。勉強や成績もめっちゃ平均。たまたま親が天才でデキるだけ。
なんかね、わがままにきこえてしまうかもしれないけど。言わせて。
海外の大学にいかせてくれているのは非常にありがたいことです (ちなみに Pratt Institute ってところです)。宝くじに当たったみたいに、ラッキーだよ。けど当時１８歳のちんちくりんな僕が、自分が将来やりたいこと、わかっていたと思いますか？
無論。（使い方あっとる？汗）
自己分析、職種研究、両方とも劣っていました。
親がここまでインベストしてくれたのにこの学部はちょっと違うなーってなってしまって。ここまで恵まれた環境にいるのにやりたいこと見つけられてない。劣等感。建築デザイン好きだけど、絶対もっとそれより他にやりたいこともある。自分にもっとあった仕事絶対あるんですよ。一生建築デザイナーでいたくない理由はまた後ほど。
幼い子が Youtube やテレビで成功すると親が管理するでしょう？ちゃんと自己分析する前に大きな特権を貰っちゃったら、自分にとってベストな使い方が絶対できないわけですよ。僕の場合、１８の時に海外の大学に行って来なよって親に言われて、嬉しくて。１００％やりたい事じゃなくても頑張ったら無駄にはならないから行っておいでって。優しいよね。でも１００％やりたい事じゃないって気付いたら１００％の実力を発揮できなくて。
でも今はできる限りのことをやることで後に転職するときとか大学院行く時に有利になるって信じて全力発揮してます。１００％やりたい事やって稼げるほど世の中甘くないし。やるしかないっしょ。
ザックリこんな感じです。
ということで、今はこっちで建築デザイナーの仕事を探そうと思います。今自分が持っているスキルではそれしかできないけど、社会人になったら違うスキルも身につくだろう。あとで建築やっぱ違うなーってなったら転職すればいいし。
今大変厳しい状況の中就活している人たちもたくさんいると思います。少しでも ”一人じゃない、他にも同じ状況の人がいる” って思えてもらえたら嬉しいです。
よろしく。
キース
Hey!
I'm Keith.
Just finished my architecture degree, and started looking for jobs. I've begun a whole new chapter of my life, an thought it would be cool to document it. I also thought it would be a great opportunity to practice my deteriorating Japanese skills.
My job hunting situation is pretty bad right now, but I have a hunch that it's gonna turn out well. I might just be overly optimistic, given how much I'm procrastinating recently.
In Japanese, there's an expression saying, "life is full of mountains and valleys", meaning there are ups and downs. I feel like I am exiting the valleys and going to the mountain phase of life right now. Again, this is merely a hunch.
Throughout my posts, you'll probably witness the "mountains and valleys" in my motivation. I hope you find it as entertaining as all my friends do.
First off, I would like to update you on my current situation. Since this is my first blog, I am going to explain a little bit of my background too, so this will probably the longest post I will write in a long time. Feel free to skip this if it feels like a hassle.
Frankly, it's rough out there! Since I'm an international student in the US, I can only work here for a year by using a student visa benefit called OPT (Optional Practical Training). During my OPT, I am only allowed to be unemployed for 90 days. When the 90 days are up, I am given 60 days to pack up my belongings and immediately leave the country. Therefore, starting from July 1st (starting date of my OPT period) the 90 day countdown is going to start, and I would have to find a job as soon as possible. I am keeping track of the constantly growing percentage of unemployment due to COVID-19, as a reminder of how harsh the situation is, but I have not given up hopes yet.
Given the fact that I attended an international school in Japan since I was three, I am probably right to assume that my parents always expected me to work outside of Japan. This is seen as something very privileged back home, and it can only be achieved in two ways - either you're very academically intelligent or your parents are successful. I am the later. Sometimes I feel very fortunate I was given such privilege, but on the other hand it sometimes feels very pressuring. I grew up with average grades and average capability to hustle. Absolutely incomparable to my parents.
I might sound like a spoiled brat but let me put it out there.
Again I'm super thankful that my parents sent me to Pratt Institute. It feels like the "I have won the lottery" kind of lucky. But do you think the naive little 18-year-old Keith have known what he wanted to do with his life?
Nope.
I had a lot to learn about myself, and I had a lot of career researching to do. I knew nothing about the world. Honestly I still have a lot of learning and self-reflection to do.
My parents have invested so much on me, yet I felt like I didn't completely fit into my major. I still haven't found what I want to do with my life despite receiving so much from my parents. I like architecture, but throughout my time in college, I discovered it is not something that I want to do in the long term (I will come back to this in my other blog posts).
See, when a young child succeeds in Youtube or TV, I don't know how it works here but in Japan, their money and fame are managed by the parents or guardians of the child. It is believed that one should fully know themselves before receiving such power, so that they can use it as efficiently as possible. If they are mature enough, they would know what they want to do with their lives and can use their "power" accordingly instead of misusing it. Having said this, I feel like we are all too young when we are given the "power" to choose where to go for college. We receive a lot of power and decision making liberty at 18 years of age. My parents kindly encouraged me back then to study abroad here in New York, and told me to go explore the world. They believed that even if I lose my passion to becoming an architect, the effort I had put into the coursework will not be in vain. But there were times I felt I really didn't belong in the design field, which impeded me from putting 100% of my energy and effort into it. Perhaps this is an excuse for graduating with a rather mediocre GPA.
I eventually came to terms with this whole train of thought, and concluded that I will still give architecture a try. By working in offices and designing as an employee rather than a student, I am sure I will gain a lot of experience that will be useful when I go to graduate school, or when I want to transfer to a different profession. And who knows? I might even like it more as an employee rather than a student. Plus the world is a harsh place: most people survive by doing jobs that they are not 100% passionate about. Are there even professions that don't have any negative aspects to it?
Alright, so this was a summarized version of my current situation. I am still looking for design related jobs, since design is the only thing I can do with my current skillsets. I look forward to gaining office experience. If I get tired of it, I can always look into other fields.
In addition to documenting my adventures, I hope this blog reaches others who are searching for jobs in the midst of a global pandemic. You're not alone, and I hope this documentation eases others who are in a similar situation as myself.
Good day / night.
Keith
