Hi!!! Wow!! First of all, I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to read my first entry. I’m glad you’re here. Maybe I should start this off by introducing myself a little bit.
My name is Mikiko, Miki for short. I was inspired to create this blog not only by my peers, but also because of a movie I watched recently. One thing about myself is that I’m a bit of a movie fanatic. Ever since I was young, I looked for ways to get lost. I know that might sound weird, but being able to break free from what was going on around me was one of the only things that brought peace to my mind. I often fantasized about walking into my backyard and discovering a door that would lead me somewhere unknown. Movies, for me, were small bite-size pieces of escapism that were easy for me to swallow and digest. Movies let my mind wander while it was still tethered to the ground – I fear that I would’ve floated away into the sky too easily if it wasn’t! Anyways… I watched the 2018 movie Mirai (or known as 未来のみらい in Japanese) by Mamoru Hosoda. This movie delves into themes of family, memories, and the passages of time.
The first syllable in my name, Mikiko, is spelt using the same character as the word Mirai, which means “future” in Japanese. The next syllable, uses the character that you use to also write “hope/promise”. The last syllable, is just written with the character “child”. 未希子, future, hope, child. It’s a bit ironic to think that my Mother named me with the intention of my future being bright or “hopeful”. I constantly find myself struggling every day with that very thing — being hopeful for what’s to come next. Mirai, is about a young boy who is struggling to cope with the arrival of his little sister. The movie follows the young boy, who then goes on a magical adventure through time. Traveling in all directions, forwards and backwards. This movie really struck a chord with me, not only because of the themes of family but also because of a certain quote from this movie.
“If grandma hadn’t let grandpa win that race, we wouldn’t be here. Small things like that add up, into something greater than ourselves.”
It sounds stupid, but when I was younger I often wondered how everyone sorted their thoughts and memories. How do people know when to put certain ones away and when should they hold others so close that they’d never forget them? I sometimes feel like my sorting system is broken. I tend to hold memories I should let go of the closest, and the ones I never want to forget struggle to keep their spot. This scene in the movie helped remind me that every little thing, good and bad, has led up to this very moment. That every memory I hold has helped me amount to something greater than anything I could even fathom. That there is no future and thats okay! After finishing that movie, I just started typing and typing. I wanted this blog to be something that would add up to something great, and I know it will.
With all that being said, if you have the time please go check out Mirai and other films from Mamoru Hosuda! He has many many great animated movies that I love and grew up with. Although Mirai may not be Hosuda’s best work, I think this movie just so happened to find me at the perfect time in my life. It fit into my mind like a puzzle piece, a missing part that helped propel me forward. Life always feels too short, but it will be the longest thing we will ever get to experience. Here’s to lucky futures, more shouting into the digital void, and the inevitable passage of time! We’re in this together!!!! ٩(^ᗜ^ )و
Lucky Future Girl 
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