2012年度 校内英語弁論大会 最優秀賞

Making A New Today

Yuri Yokota
Shuko Middle School
5th grade (2nd Year in High School )

  What do you do when you feel down? In my case, I write down my feelings on paper. Many high school students always think about themselves and get anxious about the future. I think it is important to think positively about things. So, what should we do?
 I was shocked by the earthquake disaster last year. My house is in the town of Onagawa, on the coast of Miyagi. My town was damaged severely from the tsunami caused by the earthquake. My house was completely destroyed. Fortunately, my family was safe. But, the house which was full of my memories is gone. I live in a dormitory, so I can not come back home often. I think it should feel normal to have a house and town. But I know notice how I’m losing my precious memories.
 A few months later, I visited my elementary school which had been used as a refuge. I wondered what the thoughts of the people of Onagawa would be. But as I entered the building, they had their usual smiling faces. Their smiles softened my tense heart. I have never felt such great strength in people before. I am certain they can’t recover completely in spite of their smiles. Their smiles in such a situation dazzled me. I thought I should not be worried endlessly about little things or problems in life. At first, I decided that I would accept my thoughts without denying my painful feelings. I came to think positively even when I am in a bad mood.
 There is a point in common with any worries, for example, worrying about the results of a test. When I was a junior high school student, I did not like to study. However hard I had studied, I often got terrible scores. On the contrary, my friends got much better scores and I became depressed. I always only cared about my faults. I was full of impatience and anxiety. I thought about things negatively.
 But, I eventually changed my mind. I accepted my shortcomings. I found that I had always tried to be perfect. I felt down because there was a difference between myself and my ideal self. I can guess everyone has experienced such a situation. As I realized my faults, I understood what to do next. Then my impatience disappeared. We don’t always have to be strong. So, positive thinking or feeling down can decide whether we succeed or fail in life. It is necessary to live positively in order to succeed in life.
 My town, Onagawa, has many shops, which were swallowed by the tsunami, but have been rebuilt in prefabricated buildings. We call them ‘Container Village’. They are flower shops, tailors, and so on. They started to run and took a step forward. They are going to overcome difficulties.
 Now we have a lot of worries about our course after graduation. I also still get depressed. But we have no time to feel down. We have to learn the mental strength to overcome the troubles which we are facing right now. The revival in Miyagi rests on our shoulders!