千葉敦子というジャーナリスト
3巡目、shihoです。尊敬する人はたくさんいます。例えば両親。(ありきたりな回答でごめんなさい・・)例えば小学校1年の時の担任の先生。例えば入社1年目のプロジェクトのリーダー。でも、中学生という多感な時期にとても影響を受けた女性ジャーナリストがいます。千葉敦子氏です。自分の力でしっかりと立って、力強く人生を切り開き、恋愛を楽しみ、人生を謳歌している。そんな姿に心底あこがれて、エッセイを読んでは、生活スタイルなんかも真似してみたりして将来は私もこんな風になるんだ、と想像したものです。彼女が女子高校生に向けて書いた短いエッセイがあります。そのページをコピーしていつも持ち歩いていたほど影響を受けました。(今、手元に本がないのでWEBから全文をひっぱってきました。)THE SKY IS THE LIMITA message to Japanese high-school girlsby Atsuko Chiba Journalist, New YorkWhat do you want to be in your adult life?Astronaut? Prime Minister? Surgeon?OK,OK. You want to be wife and mother. That's good, but not good enough. Do your male classmates say that they want become husband and father when asked the same question? Why aren't you as ambitious as they are? You can be anything. The sky is the limit.Raising children doesn't take all your adult life, which spans some 80 years. And you don't necessarily have to raise children if you want do something else in your life. In any case, you should plan something else than raising family. The ability to support yourself financially is the basic skill everybody must have for survival. In addition to supporting yourself financially, your work life will give you opportunities to grow and mature, both personally and professionally. Your work life will give you a chance to contribute to the society, help other people, and improve the world we live. It may give you a special pleasure that you are able to choose your own course of life.Of course, you have to begin at a realistic level. You can't become Prime Minister immediately. You may have to start with a local assemblyperson. You have to work hard in order to achieve your goal, whatever goal you may choose.You have to set up a step-by-step plan ---finish education in five years, learn fundamental professional skill in two years, develop your own ability in five years, go to a foreign school for additional education, etc., as an example.You have to define your goal as clear as possible. To do that, you have to know yourself well. Do you like teamwork? Or do you prefer working on your own? Are you quick at work but apt to make careless mistakes? Or are you rather slow but very careful? You may be fast and careful, or slow and careless. Know your strength and weakness.Do not underestimate your own potential ability. You may be surprised how much you can do when you really try. Don't give up too soon. And don't listen to discouraging advice. Keep your goal high, and take a realistic first step now. And always remember that the sky is the limit.例えば、家にTVを置かないとか、ロウソクを灯してお風呂に入るとか、すらっと伸びた男性の足をキレイだと思うとか(笑)ちっちゃなこともとっても影響を受けているのですが、自分の人生は自分で選択して自分でリスクを負うということを最初に教えてくれたのが彼女です。そして、目標を明確にして一歩一歩歩んでいけば何だってできる決して自分を過小評価しないということも。