A Letter to 20 Year Old Student

A letter to 20 year old student

One of my high school classmates, who is a professor in civil engineering course in public university, used my essay “on the way to dream” as a class material. According to students’ report, most students were impressed that 62 year “old “ man went abroad for new job. However, one report by Mr.M hit my heart Following is the main point of his report; In my junior high school age, parents and teachers told me that I had to go to university. I entered big-name high school and studied diligently to enter big-name university because teachers said that I would not be able to join a good company unless I entered good university. However, friends and seniors (=”senpai”) here told me “The most important issue is not to graduate university but what you do.” If so, what was my effort up to now? Do I only have to try hard from now? I envy this author. How happy will I be if I live with thinking like him? I cannot agree his comment “your choice is not so bad”. All cannot go well. Only small amount of people will success. Success may never come without effort, but best effort not always brings us success. I am very sure that he was a “good” boy who had never said NO to parents or teachers. I was obsessive about saying something to him. Following is my letter to him after several months of debating with myself; ------Dear Mr.M, It’s easy for me to say “Don’t’ be coddled” to you, but I don’t because I am deeply thinking about what you said in your report. We are the generation that lived together with your parents as senior. Is this the real identity of “Lost two decades”? Does your generation accept this expression, which means you have lived lost period from birth until now? I cannot be your counselor on life. I can only tell you about what I have done. Your days until now are when I was 40 years old up to 60. I have never felt “Lost”. I have been busy on job, family and leisure, so that my life has been enriched. Now, I am working in Ho Chi Minh City as written in my essay. I am in charge of construction supervising of 3.1km expressway. There is a big bridge in our site crossing river. The foundation of the bridge is cast-in-situ bored pile of which diameter is 2.0m. It is usually constructed in one week. However, one pile cannot be completed after one month construction. It is my mission here to solve this kind of problem. In reality, I am not a professional engineer in pile technology but in super structure. But, I cannot escape from my mission. I started hasty cramming, listening to well experienced engineer in this field, asking my former colleagues, send questionnaire by email to professional company which I had never contacted with. I could say to Contractor “Think by yourselves and propose the countermeasure to me because final responsibility is on Contractor”. However, they didn’t seem to have enough experience and ability, so that I did have to consider the solution and advice them. Even if I didn’t have enough confidence on my advice, I have no choice except trying it. Two months after starting construction of this pile, Contractor cast concrete. Nobody knew it was owing to our countermeasure or God’s help. The day was my 63rd birthday eve. Thanking for luckiness and being satisfied with the success, I toasted by myself in front of night view of Saigon. Mr.M…, constructing something is an accumulation of such things. If you think it interesting, your choice is “not so bad”. However, you cannot recognize the joy of work without problem, consideration or ability to find solution, which is to say technological capability. The only way for you to understand it is to get into this world.

Let me talk about Mr.Mitsuo Ogawa, who is the temple carpenter. He was deeply moved by the five- story tower in Horyu-ji Temple when he went to Nara for the high school excursion. His high school is “big name” in Tochigi prefecture. During his classmates studying hard for entering university, he made up his mind to be a carpenter to make such architecture 1,300 years old. In spite of his parents’ opposition, he went to Nara prefecture government before graduate and got the name of “Last Temple Carpenter Master (Toryo)” Joichi Nishioka. On the same day, he went to Nishioka’s house and asked anxiously to be his apprentice. His answer was NO because 18-year old was too late to start training. It is common for temple carpenter to start training at the age of five or six. Furthermore, Mr.Nishioka thought that temple carpenter will not be a good business. Mr.Ogawa did not give up and continue to write letters of application. Finally, he became Nishioka’s apprentice when he was 21years old. Many correspondences during these days were kept. What moved me was Mr.Nishioka’s signature on the letter, “Horyu-ji Carpenter”…. How cool! These letters remind me his enormous pride on his occupation. Mr.Ogawa took many apprentices after he became independent and made temple carpenter a good business by his own way. The trigger of his life was high school excursion. I am glad to know you envy my life. Then, how do you think about Mr.Ogawa’s life? I now acknowledge myself as a professional bridge engineer, which was based on some occasions by chance. Mr.Ogawa nurtured his dream at age of 18. I cling to what was in front of me when I was 30 years old. However turbulent the world changes, you have to make a career choice. You may not always succeed even though you make best effort as you said. Even so, you have to devote yourself to the occupation that you chose. The person who judge if you succeed is not your parents nor society but you. Mr.Ogawa had been considering how to be a Toryo for 10years continuously. I also have had some periods when only business was in my brain, even in dream, which helps me now. I really look forward to seeing you enjoying work in the near future.

Regards,