ALT
ALTI’m really impressed with this speech by Yuji Itadori in Chapter 255 of Jujutsu Kaisen about what does it mean for someone to have value.
We’ve all been told that we’re special and that we can do anything. We’re told that if we work hard in a specific role and be efficient in it, then we have value. If we’re productive 24/7 in the roles that are supposed to be worthy of outside recognition, our lives have value.
But what if we can’t do what we’re “assigned” to do? I know a lot of people struggle to find something meaningful if they can’t take on vibrant roles they’ve taken on in the past. They often wonder if their lives are still worth something to themselves and others.
We’re not meant to have predetermined roles for the course of our lifetime. People will always change. We will change our roles for better and worse. Value is also very subjective. What I value differs from a lot of people. And that goes for a lot of people as well. There’s an obsession with finding value based on metrics and that often leads to mental health problems.
Sure, I find value as a manga blogger about mental health. I find value as a riichi mahjong player. I find value in being an amateur K-Pop dancer. I find value in taking walks in urban nature. Some of those things are criticized as having “no value” because I’m not making money off of my hobbies.
And to be fair, I find greater value in being someone who’s compassionate and humble enough to know that we’re all interdependent on one another to get through life.
Life was never meant to be a science. We’re all human beings making mistakes along the way, but the beauty is how magical we can be when we try to make up for them.
If you know someone who’s always trying to base one’s worth and value based on extrinsic standards, then that person really needs to be placed inside a Domain Expansion for the better.
Being born in this world already makes you valuable.