Why you should keep learning new things no matter how old you are.

My master has a young sensibility

My master is over 60 years old, but I feel that he has a young sensibility. He is always the first to adopt the trends that people in their teens and twenties are following. He knows all about the entertainment that young people are exposed to today, such as music, fashion, and anime. To be honest, my master knows more about the trends of the world than I do, who is in my twenties.

And he has no hesitation in learning new things. As you get older, you may find it difficult to accept new things. However, my master is constantly incorporating something new every day. He listens to music that is popular among young people while he is creating, he is always checking real-time world information, and he tries out new technologies as soon as he finds them.

On the other hand, even though I am young, I am not very familiar with the latest trends. I think I am less aware of them than people of my generation today. Moreover, my tastes are old-fashioned, so I always choose things from a generation ago, whether it be music or clothes.
So I was impressed by how my master always kept up to date with the latest trends and was always eager to learn new things.

Why is my teacher so knowledgeable about youth trends?

The other day, I asked my master why he follows the trends of young people.　He said that he watches the trends among young people to know the trends of the times.
He thinks that young people who are not yet working and are dependent on others have a stronger sense of curiosity. He says that when they enter society and start working, most of them lose interest in anything other than how they earn their money. So, my master is always watching what young people all over the world who have a strong sense of curiosity are into.

Until now, I have never been interested in the latest trends, but I began to understand what my master was saying after attending an art fair in Hong Kong a month ago. In Hong Kong, I participated in an AR art exhibition, and it was young people who were the first to respond to this new thing called "AR art."

Art has a great effect on people with strong curiosity. Therefore, I realized that in order to develop my artistic activities, I needed to know what was popular among young people. After returning to Hong Kong, I followed my master's example and got in touch with the entertainment that young people around the world were paying attention to.

Global trends have broadened my horizons

The good thing about creative works such as music, fashion, idols, anime, and movies is that they don't lie. It's good to watch the news to know what's going on in the world, but you have to be careful that what the mass media sends out is biased.
However, creative works such as music and art are often based on the creator's true feelings, so I feel that it's easier to get in touch with what people are thinking deep inside than by watching the news.

And as I came into contact with trendy things, I began to realize that there was a reason why something was trendy. I had never been interested in trendy things before, but I realized that things that many people are so enthusiastic about that they become trendy are not only attractive, but also because they fully incorporate the atmosphere of the current era.

"Why is this artist popular? Why is this song trending?"
As I looked at entertainment from around the world while thinking about these things, I felt like there were certain "trends."

Then, naturally, I began to understand what I needed to do from now on. Now that I know what I need to do, I am creating new works to make it a reality.

New things lead us to the future

I've been taking in so much new information over the past month that I'm a little tired, but thanks to that, my horizons have been broadened and I think the direction of my future artistic activities is clearer than before.
I never thought that just by being exposed to the latest trends and learning new things, I would not only be able to broaden my interests, but also be able to think about the direction of my future.

On the other hand, I thought that if you don't constantly learn new things, you risk narrowing your perspective. My master said that if you don't constantly learn new things, you will start to believe that the narrow world you are in now is everything.
If that happens, you will become numb to the trends of the world and will be unable to predict the future, so you will panic when the world changes suddenly. That's why my master says that he always keeps up with the trends of the world and stays ahead of them.

Indeed, since I started traveling abroad this year, I have come to understand that the world has changed rapidly since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in Japan, the changes are more gradual than in the rest of the world, so even if a crisis approaches, there may be few people who can sense it early.
But unfortunately, no one can stop the world from changing. So I want to keep doing what I can to create a brighter future.