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I'm a person who gets very anxious about starting new things; I need to know exactly what to expect from the experience before I jump in. Even starting Cafetalk was difficult for me, wondering if I'll be able to make conversation for long enough to fill a session, or provide a good experience for the people who put their trust in me. This has made things hard at times since moving to Japan, since I always worry and overthink about talking to anyone – what if they ask a question I'm not expecting and I don't understand or don't know the words to answer? What if I end up somewhere I'm not wanted/allowed because I didn't see/understand a sign? For my first month, I only bought food from konbini and supermarkets because I was too nervous about going to a cafe or restaurant etc and not understanding well enough! I've gotten a little better now, mostly thanks to friends who dragged me out places and started getting used to it, but I still choose to do most of my new experiences when I'm in Tokyo where I can take my best friend along!
Now that the weather is starting to cool down for autumn and it's less difficult to drag myself away from the air conditioner, I want to start trying new things again, forcing myself to be brave. I want to visit smaller places that are harder to get to, which means navigating more difficult public transport systems than the big city trains I'm used to. I want to talk to people and interact with them, even if it means making mistakes (and boy have I made some mistakes – I could write a whole post just about embarrassing Japanese blunders for you to laugh at me about). I want to make the most of living in such an amazing place, instead of getting nervous and hiding from new experiences.
I hope you all can be brave with me, and try something that scares you.
Learning to be brave
Weekly Topic:
Autumn is a season that makes you want to start something new. What will you choose?
Steph C
Sep 1, 2025
This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.
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