１１月２３日（木）

 ３年　長谷川深優さんが、国立オリンピック記念青少年総合センターで行われた高円宮杯英語弁論大会中央大会に参加しました。

英語科では、日常的な話題や社会的な話題について、自分の考えや気持ちなどを表現する力が求められています。大舞台でのスピーチ、素晴らしいですね。

What Is ‘Ordinary’?

石川県立金沢錦丘中学校

長谷川　深優

 What is ‘ordinary’ for you?  Have you ever thought of the meaning of being ‘ordinary’?  We always use and think of this word, ’ordinary.’  There are countless chances to use this word in our daily lives.  When I hear the word, I always think about the true meaning of it and I get a little uncomfortable because people think differently.  I think people have different senses of the word.  Looking up the meaning of ’ordinary,’ it is widely used.  Also, looking up common antonyms, they’re ‘special’ and ‘unique.’  If I’m not ‘ordinary,’ does it mean I’m ‘special’ or ‘unique’?  I don’t feel good when I think about what is ‘ordinary’ for other people.

I've had a lot of sad experiences.  One was when I went to Singapore.  It was lunch time when I attended the kids club in the hotel.  There were four Japanese children and they were thinner than children from other countries.  Then, the amount of food served for the Japanese children was small.  However, the other larger children had a lot of food.  I thought that they were judged by their appearance.  I believe the staff probably thought that thin people usually eat small amounts, and larger people usually eat large amounts.  I wanted to eat more, but I couldn’t ask the staff. 

Also, I joined the event for elementary and junior high school students.  I was the only junior high school student and almost all were elementary school students.  I was the tallest of all participants, so I stood out among them.  One day, the staff counted the number of students.  There were 10 but she counted 9.  I wasn’t included in it because she thought I wasn't a child.  I think the staff thought children are usually under this height.  This happened several times during the event and I couldn’t stop crying then.  I had no choice but to leave the place.  This memory was really painful and sad.  However, it’s a good experience for me now.  Through these experiences, I’ve been able to accept various ways of thinking, and I began to think about whether my attitude would hurt other people or not when I talk to them.  

 What is ‘ordinary’ is decided by the experiences of each person.  Do we really need the word, ‘ordinary’?  Why do we always use this word?  It’s useful and easy to make a line between someone and others.  Furthermore, many people have a habit of saying it.  It’s impossible not to use the word, ‘ordinary.’  But, people shouldn't use it to represent their own standards.  In our daily lives, if we use more suitable words, no one will feel sad.  For example, if I could change my Singapore situation into a good experience, I wanted the staff to ask, “Would you like some more?”  

Japan has a very well-known poet, Misuzu Kaneko.  She wrote a famous poem, “A Bird, A Bell, and I.”  It tells us that everyone is different, but everyone is good.  The differences are interesting.  I think it’s important to live without worrying about standards.  I want to respect everyone’s own thinking and life.