This one is gonna be pretty short, not really a story as much as a brief expression of gratitude.
I suppose I owe a lot to various Japanese men I've never met, but right now I just wanted to take a brief moment to thank one in particular. I get a lot of people asking me what kind of music I listen to, and the honest answer is "pretty much just this one guy," but apart from with my closest friends, I don't talk a lot about how much his music has done for me.
A lot of people can relate, I think. Music is pretty good, it kind of tends to get us through things in life. Right now, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about what kinds of things I want to do with the next few years of my life (and beyond), and that can be pretty overwhelming stuff to dwell on. Listening to the music that has been my soundtrack for the past decade is pretty comforting, and gives a sense of tranquility and focus.
So far, being in a foreign country has been pretty easy for me. There have been challenges, but I haven't found it hard to remind myself that this is where I want to be, what I want to be doing. Having his music to ground me in who I am has been really helping me with that.
So thanks, Susumu Hirasawa.
