7月初旬、恒例の七夕の笹を飾り、図書館前ピロティに設置しました。

たくさんあったのは、１学期の期末考査の期間でしたので、「テストで良い点が取れますように」、「数学、補習じゃありませんように」、「単位取れますように」などの短冊が多くありました。中でも切羽詰まった感じがあったのは、「数学、理科Ⅰ、家庭科　赤点回避できますように　がちで一生のお願い　ほんまにお願い　数学とか特にお願い」でした。

次に、夏休み前ということで、部活動の夏の大会に向けてのお願いも多くありました。「近畿大会に行けますように」、「全国大会一位！！」、「会長杯でノーミス出して良い成績をとる！」、「選手権で今年も全国に行けますように」、「ほんまに◇◇に勝ちたいです！お願いします」など、必勝の思いを感じさせるものもありました。また、「一人が欠けても最高な13人の仲間でいられますように！！　ずっと変わらない13人の絆！」の短冊は、一緒に頑張ってきたチームメイトへの感謝の思いがよく表れています。

中高生らしいと感じられたのは、「スタイルがよくなりますように」、「絵上手になりたい」、「海外に行けますように！！」、「暑いのなくなりますように」、「〇〇部にたくさん部員が入りますように」、「来年△△と一緒のクラスになれますように」、「彼氏ができますように」などがありましたが、「今日の夜ごはん、ピザがいいです」、「今年中に10万円たまりますように」、「世界一の美女」、「ピンチの時　花沢類があらわれますように」などは七夕のお願いとしてはどうでしょうか。

さらに、折り紙の３分の一ほどの短冊一枚に、「JAPANCUP全国大会優勝！　ペット飼いたい！　赤点ありませんように　うまく踊れるようになりたい♡　××××のライブ行きたい」や、「お金たくさんほしい　就職しなくてもお金入ってくるようにしてほしい　勉強しなくても単位くれ」など、色々な思いを短冊一杯に込めた欲張りなものもありました。

卒業学年だと思われるものとしては、「卒業まで242日　全力で突っ走ります💗」、「第一志願　受かりますように」、「選択を間違わずに楽しい人生を歩めますように」などこれからの進路や人生の願いがありました。

色々な願いを持ち、みんな日々を過ごしています。「みんなが元気でいられますように」そして、「すべての願いが叶いますように」と私はお願いしました。

“Wish Upon a Star – Shoin Junior and Senior High School Students’ Wishes”

   At the start of July, Shoin’s junior and senior high school students decorated a traditional tanabata bamboo tree with tanzaku (a wish written on paper) and set it up in the covered space in front of the school library.

   This year there were so many wishes attached to the bamboo. It seems the reason for this was because it was around the time of the first semester final exams, as there were many test-related tanzaku such as, “I hope I get good test scores,” “I hope I don’t have to take extra math classes,” and “I hope I get the credits I need.” Out of all the wishes, the one that sounded the most desperate was: “I seriously hope I don’t fail math, science, and home economics! This is a once-in-a-lifetime plea—please, I’m begging you,
especially for math!”

   Next, as it was also just before the summer vacation, there were many wishes related to the upcoming summer tournaments for Shoin’s clubs. Many of them expressed a desire for success and included comments such as “I hope we can make it to the regional tournament,” “I hope we get first place!,” “I want to perform mistake-free and get a good result at the President’s Cup!”, “I hope we can go to the national championship again this year,” and “I really want to beat ◇◇! Please!” There was also one tanzaku that read, “Even if one of us is missing, I hope we can still be the best team! Let’s keep this bond between ourselves forever!” This wish clearly expressed a student’s gratitude toward the teammates they’ve worked hard with throughout the year.

   Some of the more typical wishes written by middle and high school students included “I hope I can get in shape,” “I want to get better at drawing,” “I’d love to go abroad!!,” “I hope this heat disappears,” “I hope more members join my club,” “I hope I’ll be in the same class as (name) next year,” and “I hope I get a boyfriend.” However, there were also a few unusual wishes like “I’d like pizza for dinner tonight,” “I hope I can save 100,000 yen by the end of this year,” “The most beautiful woman in the world,” and “I hope Hanazawa Rui shows up when I need help!”

   Furthermore, there were some rather determined wishes written on some of the small tanzaku strips, such as “I want to win the JAPAN CUP National Championship,” “I want to have a pet,” “I hope I don’t fail any subjects,” “I want to be able to dance well♡,” “I want to go to xxxx’s concert,” and “I want a lot of money, even if I don’t get a job,” and “I want the credits even if I don’t study.”

Lastly, there seemed to also be many wishes reflecting hopes for their future selves from students who will graduate next February. These included things like “Only 242 days until graduation — I’ll give it my all ♡,” “I hope I get accepted to my first-choice school next year,”and “I hope I make the right choices and can live a happy life,”

   We all have our own personal wishes of course, and in my case, I wished for the following: “May everyone stay healthy,” and “May all of these wishes come true.”