I went up to a free observation deck on the 30th floor. I spent a good while lost in thought, looking at the night view.

While I was in the lift up to the observation deck, I got talking to a 60-year-old man. We had a fun conversation while looking at the view, and his friends took photos for us too. He'd come with his wife, yet he spent most of the time talking to me. It was pretty funny. I forgot to ask his name, but I'm glad we had a good conversation.

Unless you see it from above, you can't grasp the size of a city at all.

I don't know why looking at a night view feels so good. It's impossible to comprehend the scale, and at night everything looks the same, so you can't clearly tell the buildings apart. Even so, just looking at those twinkling lights soothes me, and I become able to think clearly.

My hypothesis is that when you look at a big city, you get a small sense of how big the world is, and your own problems feel trivial.

When I look at a jumbled view like this, I think, "it's okay not to understand everything," and the same way of thinking applies to life too. Even if you can't understand it all, you can still enjoy it.

On top of that, we're just ants 🐜. Looking at the city from a 30th-floor observation deck feels a lot like looking at an ants' nest. Why am I always anxious, always worrying about what people think? It's better to live life my own way.

I always think this, but I'm really lucky. I'm always grateful, but I don't say it out loud. My parents in particular are wonderful people. Not to brag, but if perfect parents exist, they might be mine. I wonder if everyone thinks the same thing. First of all, my mum understands me better than I understand myself, and if I'm even slightly down, she can tell just from my voice on the phone. She always guides me in the right direction. I never want to listen to my mum's lectures, but for my own sake I probably should. On top of that, she may be the kindest person I've met in my life. My dad might be my best friend. I don't usually like saying it out loud, but he's really cool. I respect him as a person, and every time I see him working hard, it makes me want to work hard too. Our personalities are similar, so I can relate to him. My mum was a bit strict when I was a kid, but I feel like I finally understand why, and it was a good way to be raised.

The important things I learned from my parents:

My mum is a hard worker, so seeing that, I became a hard worker too. I work hard with pride in my family. I got my drive from her as well. My dad always has confidence and lives life his own way. Everyone looks at him and thinks, "he's cool." So I too try to know myself, have confidence, and act in my own way.

Mum, Dad, thank you. I'm grateful.

By the way, Dad, don't get cocky just because I said you're cool. I'm far cooler, better-looking, and stronger than you. And that fact will never change.

When we were kids 👶🧒, my sister and I were complete opposites. She was always full of life, and I was always lazing about like a slacker. She was the confident, outgoing one. For some reason, during our school years, our roles completely switched. There is a reason, but I think it's better not to talk about it. Honestly, I was worried about my sister during our school years. From what I could see she was usually down, and every time I tried to talk to her she reacted pretty harshly. So I thought, if she doesn't want to talk, that's fine, and I went through my school years without us speaking at all. I thought I'd never be friends with my sister for the rest of my life, and although it was a sad fact, I accepted it in my own way. Some years later, we both went to university and both grew as people. We lived different lives and had different experiences. When we came back to the family home, my sister suddenly started treating me kindly. I was a bit thrown at the time. Honestly, I wondered why she was acting like a nice person. I didn't believe that "act" at all. But even after a long time had passed, she was still kind. I gradually realised that she'd changed as a person, or rather that she'd grown. She's a truly good person. Not only that, she's S-tier among the people I know. In our school years, we each had our own problems. School really is a tough environment. Even so, I realised that once people are free and grow in their own way, they can change. Over these past two years, my sister has really helped me. Even though I couldn't be any help to her, she helped me as hard as she could without expecting anything in return. Whatever difficult times come in life, I know my sister will always help me. If that isn't a "good person", then what on earth is?! Just as with my parents, I'm proud of my sister too. Overcoming your own serious problems and then helping others is a wonderful thing. I respect her!