“Exchange Note” that traveled all over Japan May 19th, 17:10

I have one notebook.

This is an "exchange notebook" that one female university student started last year with students who do not know the face of the whole country.

There are only three exchange rules.

Make it handwritten.

Ask the next person.

Turn by mail.

A notebook that captures each thought of the whole country.

The "now" of the students living in Korona-ka was spelled out there.

(Michiko Okura, reporter of Kitakyushu Broadcasting Station)

I've never been to campus, even a college student

"It's been over a year since I entered the university. I haven't been to university yet."

Sadly, Rui Nakajo, who lives in Yukuhashi City, Fukuoka Prefecture, smiles.

This spring, I became a sophomore at a university in Kyoto.

But I have never been to the campus.

Korona-ka is an open campus, entrance exams, entrance ceremonies, daily lectures ...

everything is said to be online.

I had to give up living alone, which I had longed for.

Mr. Nakajo

"I thought that when I entered university, the corona infection would calm down and I could live a glittering campus life. But when I realized it, I stayed at home all the time. I was crying and wondering why this happened when I was a student."

Let's put your feelings into words

Mr. Nakajo usually exchanged letters with his high school teacher.

The teacher felt warmth in the polite characters that he spelled, and eventually Mr. Nakajo himself wanted to express his current feelings in words.

He also received advice from his teacher.

"What if I wasn't just sad but looking for something I could do now?" I

arrived at a handwritten "exchange notebook."

There are only three simple rules.

1 Handwrite

2 Ask the next person

3 Send by mail

When Mr. Nakajo tweeted this idea on Twitter and recruited friends, students from all over the country gathered from Sendai in the north to Kagoshima in the south, and 25 exchange notes started.

Not alone

Students write their thoughts and dreams for the future on one loose-leaf, one letter at a time, by handwriting.

Then, stack them one by one and bind them with twine to make a notebook.

Mr. Nakajo was particular about handwritten characters.

Mr. Nakajo

"In SNS, everyone has the same font and a limited number of characters, but I think that you can maximize your personality with white notebooks. Use your favorite colors, use photos, etc. For handwritten characters Has a taste that only that person can give, and it's so much fun and warm that you can imagine from the letters, "I'm sure you're such a child." That's the charm of handwriting. "

Tell me about you!

One of the rules of the exchange note, "Question to the next person," played the role of a "baton" in the note.

I don't know the face or name other than the common point of "student".

"What prefecture do you want to go to most now?"

"When do you smile ?" "How would you like

to compare yourself to color?"

The student who received the question baton naturally said "Thank you for listening." I was supposed to answer with it.

These batons surely connected 25 people, and eventually the circle of friends expanded.

"I want to meet everyone" I'm attracted to the personality that comes from the characters

"Thank you for waiting, thank you for gathering."

Students who were interested in each other through the exchange through the notebook.

This is where online comes in.

Halloween party in October and New Year party in New Year.

It was fun and sometimes he spent all day staying online.

Actually, I have never met friends, but I deepened exchanges by sharing my worries and dreams.

To take a step forward

One of the members, Hiroki Yada (18), who lives in Kumamoto Prefecture, says that thanks to his notebook and friends, he has taken a new step.

I didn't get used to high school, so I was absent from school for a while, and I also experienced a transfer.

The word "I have to deal with hardships and difficulties" written in my notebook.

It is said that he was able to get out of his own shell, which he had locked up with that word.

Hiroki Yada

"When an adult told me the same thing, it didn't come to my mind, but everyone's words stuck in my chest. I thought I couldn't stay like this forever."

The first challenge was a model wearing clothes.

Wear a T-shirt or trainer designed by a friend to convey the image of your clothes.

I want to help someone ...

Mr. Yada says that she has become more confident, albeit little by little.

Hiroki Yada

"I thought I could do something like this. Thanks to the notebook, I was able to take that step. I want to be an adult who can make people smile."

Korona-ka is a "living proof"

The exchange note, which took about half a year to travel around 25 people for two laps, returned to Mr. Nakajo in March of this year.

Mr. Nakajo wrote his thoughts again.

He says that the time so far has been revived while he puts the twine on the notebook.

Mr. Nakajo

"I feel a connection with everyone when I slowly spell out pages with twine. I think that I got a lot of energy and warmth from the members and changed to a positive self. Exchange notes and friends were made of Korona-ka I think it's my property. "

One of the members wrote at the end of the note:

"The notes written by each person remain in the form of a'living proof'and will be close to you even if they are physically far away,"

said Mr. Nakajo at the end.

"There are things you can only do now. The project is my treasure."

It was a future I never imagined

Why can't I meet my friends?

I wonder why Korona-ka overlapped with when I became a college student.

By working on the "things that can only be done now" called exchange notes, that feeling diminished.

The time of Korona-ka shared by 25 people.

They may not have been what they envisioned, but their youth is certainly inscribed in their notebooks.

Looking back, it's not only bittersweet, but I'm sure it will be a nostalgic and dazzling day.

Kitakyushu Broadcasting Station Reporter

Michiko Okura

Joined in 2012.

After working at the Kumamoto Bureau and the News Production Department, she is currently affiliated.

She likes one-stroke paper, which is useful for expressing a little feeling.