Summer School

Joined a summer school for grad students.  

Living in this era, they are doing their research with each ambivalence or distress.  

So I told them two stories based on my personal experience;

1) Whichever way you are going to take, research experience would help.

If you enjoy your current research, it is good for you.  

But some of you may have not got excited yet, 

wondering if you could really fit, or thinking of taking a different way as a job. 

Even for those who will not become a professional researcher, 

I think the research experience at school should be precious.  

When doing research, you are taking a step into the new world, 

where no one has ever stepped into and even your supervisor has not found the true answer.  

In most cases your challenges would fail. You need to be back from disappointment, 

think of a different way, and through the trials and errors you will get your own view. 

Then your ideas might be denied by your supervisor, and you must think it over again.  

I think these experiences would help in your future when you (have to) try a new thing 

on your work or in your life.  

So I do recommend you to keep doing your research till the time you graduate, 

even if you can not find it interesting or if you decide to take a different job.

2) Failure experiences are indispensable for your fulfilling life and achievements as well.

I think there are two types of learnings in growing up.  

One through a failure and the other through an achievement.  

In doing research, you can not keep off from the former, 

so I would suggest you to try to find a way (other than research) to go through the latter.  

Football, other sports, other interests, whatever.  

The one you make an effort for and you get an achievement.  

It will support you to bounce back from a setback in your life.  

If you can not find it, I would introduce language study and muscle training.  

Through my experience, I am for sure these are the ones where your proper efforts 

lead to an achievement without any fail.  

If you speak Japanese fluently, you will be able to speak English as well.  

It is not a matter of school scores.  

You may not be able to become like a returnee or a simultaneous interpreter, 

but surely can communicate on business in English. 

When I was a high school student, I got failing score in English test.  

Then I studied hard and by the time of university entrance exams 

English became my favorite subject.  Now my TOEIC score is 975.  

I am not bragging- everyone can get it if you make an adequate effort, 

and for myself the most important is not a high score itself 

but getting the score starting from the failing one.  

The other suggestion is doing a muscle training.  

For athletes, "bench pressing you weight" is the evidence of "you fit."  

I used to try this.  Starting from less than 50kg, finally I got my weight of 75kg.  

I believe these sort of experiences should help you in your work or in your life.  

They open you up when you go to fitness club for training or when you look back 

English textbook, which was at first very difficult but now is pretty easy for you.  

Try to find something you can keep doing, get an achievement, 

and be supported when you are depressed.

How did the students think about my message?  

Well, some students actually came to me after my talk.