The first half of this chapter felt so much lighter than usual that I wasn't expecting the emotional heel turn in the second half.
Talent can be a catalyst, but you can't get anywhere without puttingt the time and work into it. I wish I'd known that a lot earlier in life, but I'm glad Umiko was able to bring perspective into it to comfort the girls.
Then that theme of rejection continues once we find out that Umiko's film submission didn't make the cut. Rejection can hit really hard and cut you off at the knees, but I believe in Umiko. Although it doesn't feel great in the now, she has the emotional capability to channel that into her art. As hard as it is, she just needs to keep working at it. That's about all we can do.
Thank you for the chapter. This series has a lot of emotional takeaways that I should be putting more effort into actually incorporating into my own life. It can get kind of heavy at times, but it always puts me in a thoughtful mood. I always appreciate reading it.
Thank you for working on and sharing this. We're getting a bit of an early summer in my neck of the woods and the weather's slowly becoming unbearably hot. I hope the weather is more manageable where you are or that you at least have a lot of nice places to cool off as needed. Take care and I hope you have a wonderful June
