大学の部 優勝
福留　舞（筑波大学）

The Pen Is the Tongue of the Mind

 It can make our mind achieve its full potential. It also has the power to enhance our immune system and reduce our negative emotions. Not only that, it is very easy to do. Can you guess what it is? It’s …writing.
 Research shows that writing can even help with physical ailments. A study by the Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Language, showed that through writing on stressful or challenging experiences, rheumatoid arthritis patients could alleviate pain and stiffness while increasing joint mobility.
 So, does all writing have this effect? Unfortunately; these effects are difficult to achieve through short messages or online chatting. What is needed is expressive writing. In other words, writing about your feelings, hopes, and thoughts in a proper, structured style using a wide variety of words.
 This kind of writing is rapidly becoming a lost art. Nowadays, young people use Instagram, Twitter, and other online chat services to express their feelings and thoughts almost reflexively. This kind of writing does not engage their thought processes properly, which is essential for expressive writing. In fact, the Ministry of Education suggests that one of the major factors for the recent drop in Japanese students’ performance in the Language Arts section of the Programme for International Student Assessment conducted by the OECD, is due to students’ main form of writing consisting primarily of short text messages.
 I had an idea about this the other day. I am studying to become a doctor, and this spring I went to some hospitals as an intern. During this internship, I had the chance to go with a doctor to visit some elderly patients in their homes. I was surprised to find that many of these patients welcomed us with a big smile, as though they had been waiting for us for ages. Many of them talked nonstop during their medical examination and continued speaking as they waved goodbye to us. I felt that they were desperate for contact with people and would benefit from having communication with others. So I thought, why not solve both the problem of students not having enough chances to write expressively and helping these lonely patients at the same time?
 My idea is letter writing. Not e-mails or text messages, but actual, handwritten letters, between young people and the elderly. The letters could be about their experiences, thoughts, concerns, and daily lives. One of the heartbreaking comments I heard from the elderly patients was that they lived alone and didn’t talk to their family because they didn’t want to be a burden. I realized that the elderly who were communicating were the fortunate ones. The bigger issue was with those who kept a distance from others because they saw themselves as bothersome. Since they kept their worries to themselves, they became even more lonely, depressed, and less able to talk. This downward spiral also leads to what society today calls “solitary deaths”. If we could give such elderly people the chance to write letters to young people and share their experiences and stories, then in addition to the improvement of their mental and physical health, their writing would aid the education and future of today’s youth.
 Virginia Berninger, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, states that “handwriting or forming letters engages the mind, and that can help children pay attention to written language.” Through expressive letter writing, young people would see benefits in their mental capacities, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and by communicating with people with a different outlook on life from themselves, they could also gain an understanding of others that they would otherwise not attain from their peers.
 As a country, we have many problems that need to be solved. In order to deal with these problems, there is a need for multiple generations to interact and cooperate with each other. The older generations can pass along the wisdom and lessons that they have gained throughout their long lives while the younger generation can contribute their energy and strength. Writing can be the bridge between the generations and lead to interactions that would strengthen society and fashion a culture that is ready and able to engage in any issues which may arise both at home and abroad.
 Writing is an old-fashioned but powerful tool. As I have stated, we can use this tool to lay a solid foundation for the young people of Japan while stabilizing and aiding the elderly in our society today. So, this is my challenge to all of you listening to me today. The letter writing can start with you. Find someone close to you, preferably of a different generation, and write them a letter about anything. Just remember, as the Roman poet, Horace said, “The pen is the tongue of the mind.” Let’s pick up our pens today, and let our minds speak to make a brighter future for Japan.