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COTE: Wabi-Sabi

Autor: N3R0

Kapitel 1: Spring Time Blossoms

What does it mean to live a good life?

Living a good life is a goal that many people aspire to achieve.

Some look to inspirational figures, such as Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela, in order to formulate a way of living a meaningful and respectable life.

However, does living one's life meaningfully and garnering the respect of others truly equate to a good life?

All these prominent figures, philosophers and whatnot, believe the concept of a good life falls under three principles:

A life where one lives as a morally outstanding citizen, putting the generally accepted 'good' above their own personal gains.

A life where one lives comfortably, both mentally, physically, and financially.

And finally, a meaningful life where you accomplish many great things and perhaps leave a legacy behind.

It is believed that in order to live a good life, you must achieve a balance of all three types. However, this is an arduous goal for many, and surely going through such a task of striking this balance would only make your life more miserable and filled with stress.

I have another proposition.

To live a good life means to be ignorant of one's self.

As Socrates once said, "I know that I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing."

Knowledge is power, and power means you can achieve great things, live comfortably, and have the virtue of acting in accordance with the common good.

To live a good life means to have knowledge and yet be ignorant of the fact that you do not know everything.

Many already live life like this, albeit on a smaller scale.

Imagine this: it is currently summer break. You have graduated high school and are enjoying your time off before you head to university. Your current self lacks the knowledge to pass the first year at the university, but you are ignorant of this fact and therefore can enjoy your free time.

Ignorance, not of others but of your lack of knowledge, is what leads to a good life.

This is clearly seen in those who lack knowledge as a whole. Those who are considered less intelligent than most are often seen enjoying life to the fullest as they are not aware of what they do not know.

To be ignorant is to be unaware of the fact that you do not know.

To have knowledge is to know that you are flawed.

To live a good life, you must have the knowledge of a knowledgeable person yet have the ignorance of an uninformed one.

///

"Hamura Takashi?"

"Yeah, the good-looking guy from 3-C. Didn't you hear about it?"

"Even the police were involved!"

"Shinoyara-sensei?! Really?!"

"Apparently, he knew everything. That's so scary."

"Oi, wake up!"

A teenage male shook Takashi awake, pulling him out of his daydream.

Takashi looked the guy in the eye and gave a slight bow of gratitude as the many people surrounding them started to board the bus.

Sighing and rubbing the drowsiness off of his face, Takashi followed suit, garnering a fair amount of attention as he stood out among the many teenagers sporting the uniform of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School.

The uniform consisted of a white shirt, red jacket, and blue tie.

The distinguishing factor between the male and female students was the fact that the former wore green trousers, whereas the latter wore pleated white and black skirts.

"Wow, look at that guy."

"I hope he's in my class."

"Damn ikemen!"

The students discussed amongst themselves.

Unfortunately for Takashi, all seats were already taken by the time the bus reached his stop. Therefore, he made his way to an area with more space and rested his hand on the grab railing to balance himself.

As the bus started to move, Takashi couldn't help but notice some tension between two students.

The first was a cute-looking girl with shoulder-length beige-colored hair.

Try as he might not to, Takashi succumbed to his hormonal instincts and took note of the girl's well-endowed figure.

"She will probably be very popular with the guys."

The girl's eyes sparkled with kindness as she looked around the bus with a smile on her face.

However, those eyes faltered ever so slightly when she looked down at a blond boy who was currently sitting in a priority seat.

The blond youth seemingly paid no mind to the several dirty looks he was receiving from others, both students and members of the public. Just from a glance, one could sense the air of arrogance exuding from the blond teen.

With enough observation done, Takashi turned his attention to the scenery flying by outside the bus.

An air of melancholy filled his thoughts as he came to terms with the fact that he wouldn't see anyone who had been a part of his life until he graduated.

That was one of the many unique features of this extraordinary high school he had been accepted into.

Advanced Nurturing High School was government-funded and forced any students enrolled to live on an isolated campus for 3 years. No contact with the outside was permitted.

All these students on the bus, and many more from other buses, would be his only source of e̷n̷t̷e̷r̷t̷a̷i̷n̷m̷e̷n̷t̷ human interaction for the next couple of years.

///

Eventually, the bus stopped in front of a high school.

As the horde of students walked out of the bus, Takashi stood in front of the gates, marvelling at how enormous the campus must truly be.

The school was said to have everything one could think of as part of its campus. Things like cinemas, clothing stores, karaoke booths, state-of-the-art sports facilities, and even its own beach.

Hearing all these things, many people, Takashi included, thought that these statements were exaggerated.

However, as he stood there, looking at just the sheer size of the entrance gate, all those claims didn't seem so far-fetched.

It's amazing how a country's desperation to stay on top is reflected in how the youth are nurtured.

Such privilege.

To be given so much after passing such a simple entrance exam.

Takashi didn't consider himself to be otherworldly book smart. In all honesty, many of the subjects taught during his middle school days bored him to no end and caused him to slack off in fully applying himself to these very specific knowledge bundles one needs to pass a test.

The type of knowledge one uses once and never uses again is not something that interested Takashi whatsoever. All in all, he depended on his other talents and achieved exceptional grades in comparison to his school peers.

Yet, even with a somewhat lackluster academic intelligence when compared to the elites that must have come to such a school, Takashi found the entrance exam extremely easy.

Suspiciously easy when you take into account the promises the school is rumored to give.

Rumors had it that graduates from Advanced Nurturing High School have a 100% employment rate straight after leaving the campus.

This fact alone meant that this school only enrolled elite students. Taking into account the difficulty level of the entrance exam, one must conclude that there were other factors at play when choosing who passed, other than just academic ability.

"Hey kid! Are you gonna keep standing there or what? I'm about to close the gate!"

A man dressed in a baby-blue janitor outfit exclaimed toward the lonesome male student daydreaming in front of the gate.

"Sorry, sorry."

Takashi hurriedly bowed down and made his way through, finally setting his foot into the extraordinary campus and getting to finally see how big things truly were.