Hello, my name is Reiko Uchiumi, and I am from Japan. Today, I would like to share my opinion about peace.
My favourite hiragana is “わ(wa)”. The beauty is that the sound “wa” can have a lot of meanings depending on which kanji we use. I think the following three kanji of “wa” will lead us to world peace.
First Kanji, “話(wa)“ used in words such as “対話(tai-wa)”, means conversations or interactions. Just like making friends starts with a simple conversation. We can learn more about the situation of others by talking to each other. In other words, silence could create ignorance, and ignorance generates fear and hate. Therefore, having communication helps people around the globe to establish trust and good relationships.
This leads us to the second kanji “輪(wa)”, indicating a circle or a ring. Positive interactions create bonds among people that are like their own circles. If you look closer, you can identify many circles in our society. All we need to do is add more people to our circles regardless of our difference in origins and opinions. As we do this, the circles will grow bigger until eventually they would cover everyone and form a huge circle.
This is “和(wa)”, meaning peace and harmony. It is a feeling of happiness and comfort. “和” makes this world a sanctuary zone for everyone.
This is my idea of peace. The first step towards it is to have communications and share experiences with people abroad. Which is why, I think learning English is very important. In the future, I hope to improve English education system of Japan and contribute to many other non-English-speaking countries for the creation of biggest circle around the globe.
Thank you for listening.