1.The Days That Began with a Sigh

Another morning, another sigh.

I dragged myself out of bed and opened the curtains, only to find the same dull light seeping in. The thought of squeezing into the rush-hour train already made my stomach ache.

At the time, I was working at the Tokyo office of Ernst & Young, a global accounting firm. On paper, it was a great job—prestigious, international, full of promise. I used English every day with clients from the UK, Singapore, Canada, and Germany. It should’ve felt exciting.

But deep down, I was completely miserable.

My job involved checking numbers, correcting minor mistakes, and being reprimanded for even a one-yen discrepancy. The office echoed with the sound of calculators and keyboards, interrupted only by my manager’s harsh voice calling out my errors. I became invisible—no one looked me in the eye.

And to be honest, I didn’t want to see myself either.

(→ Read Part 2: “What am I doing with my life?”)