Actor Yu Shiroda is 35 years old
Last year, 777 minors committed suicide in Japan, and the number has increased for four consecutive years. Academic, friends, family and other aspects of the unsatisfactory, coupled with the continuous outbreak of the new crown epidemic, have brought great impact on young people. "You" are also uncomfortable, hard and tired because of the changes around you, and the celebrities who are also troubled, hurt and bitter this year still send you their words as in previous years. Feeling inferior because of his appearance, losing auditions, and losing his partner to chase his dreams a year ago, Johta yu has something to say to you.
Auditions that keep failing
▲Joheda Yu
The epidemic has caused a heavy blow to social changes, and I think even the most healthy people cannot easily overcome it. So the slightest nervousness and uneasiness slowly accumulated, and to be honest, I have had a hard time this year.
I have always felt inferior because of this appearance. Until the age of 7, I was called "Chino" (Chinese) in my mother's home country of Spain, and I was thrown dry batteries. In elementary school in Japan, I was pointed out again and called "foreigner." I couldn't fit in wherever I went, and I even hated it. But in conversations with my mother, she said to me, "You tell them that everyone is earthlings." Anyone who goes to a foreign country is a foreigner. "I'm not the only one who's a "foreigner." If the perspective of looking at things changes, the vision immediately broadens, and even the previous troubles become so insignificant.
Since elementary school, I have been fascinated by the literary and artistic activities of singing and acting. When I was 10 years old, I recorded tapes pretending to be radio shows, and I would also compose some simple songs by myself, and I had a lot of fun.
When I was 13 years old, I signed up for an acting studio and started auditioning for TV series and movies everywhere, but all of them failed. This look and height became a barrier for me.
The directors said: "You can also play an international student or a basketball player, which is too conspicuous." "I haven't met you like this." "I was very unwilling and hurt by all kinds of denials, and I cried back several times. I should have lost more than 100 times.
▲ Drafting: Yomiuri Shimbun
During an audition for a campus play, someone said to me, "There is no student like you," and I went straight back: "I'm here." I actually studied at a school in Japan, what do you say? "After that, as time went on, the inability to do anything about this appearance made me feel inferior, but at the same time, my vision of singing and acting became stronger and stronger.
At the time, it was the Spanish phrase " Que Sera Sera " that sustained me. No matter how thoroughly it was denied, my mother always encouraged me in the spirit of "going with the flow" and saying "it's okay". This phrase is often used in Spanish to hope that the other party can relax and face the future positively. Mother said: "You have to try to grow into a person who can bravely point out his mistakes no matter how great he is, no matter how great he is, as long as the other person says something wrong." It's not that great people are necessarily right. "She affirmed me and gave me a lot of encouragement.
So every time I'm lost, when I want to give up, I say to myself that I'm going to do my best, and then I'll cheer up again with the feeling of "I'll do it for you someday." When I was 17 years old, I debuted as a singer and actor, and I gradually gained more room on stage.
"Want to show you" to that guy
I'm delighted to be on a variety of stages right now, but at the same time, I occasionally feel the weight of not being able to fail. Obviously, it is something I like, but being asked to make achievements still makes me feel very painful.
A year ago, my partner who pursued my dream with me personally lost his life. I can't say, but I feel like the sun shining on me has dimmed.
I still occasionally message his phone now. It's ridiculous, but I still hope to convey to him in my own way what he will never see again, the ambition we once said we wanted to create together.
I think even in the world of children, there is a huge pressure of "having to go to school", "having to go to a good school", and so on, and there are many children who can only survive in these heavy pressures.
If you feel like you can't hold on any longer, take a deep breath. I hope that you will not keep your eyes on difficulties and pains that cannot be solved immediately, pour out your feelings to trustworthy people, or stay in an environment where you can breathe a sigh of relief.
If someone denies you, he is wrong. There will be partners who understand that you are reaching out to you, so don't give up. Life, just go with the flow. After 5 minutes, or 1 hour, the mood will definitely be better. There's also a great chance of encountering beautiful landscapes that will surprise you.
These are the experiences I've learned from a life of so many ups and downs that I love to think negatively. I think you can definitely do it too.
A request to an adult, give him a back on him, help him start over
▲A message written by Shiroda himself
What follows is a request to the adults. If you have very weak children around you, I hope you can reduce the things that make him feel "must do" and give them some time to grow. Let go of stereotypes and stop comparing them to other children. I hope that you can reconsider the shackles that bind him, create an escape path that can breathe a sigh of relief, and give support behind him, so that he can change his mood. Then, hopefully, you'll ask them, "What's wrong with you?" "What happened?" "Completely put down your body to listen to the other person's voice and ease his mood."
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Born in Tokyo. He is 190 cm tall and his mother is Spanish. He debuted as an actor in 2003. At the EX Theater Roppongi in Tokyo, he starred in the stage play "One of the Ambiguous Theaters" that began on November 20. It was also the first time he wrote a script.
* The series is with Yahoo! News Cooperation Project (Cang Yu/Translation)