Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorced mother. She is really my superhero. That's why it's important for me to support women to share their uniqueness, their personalities, perspectives, and emotions about life. Too many women in this world feel alone. They worry about the judgment of others and they struggle with their mental health. But when they listen to the Rare Girls podcast where empowered women share their voices and tell their stories, many women will feel inspired to live a life of freedom and to overcome all insecurities. They will feel it is a safe space to find their confidence, to remember their unique beauty and to feel their self-worth. And they will connect with the sisterhood of Rare Girls who encourage their success and support their dreams. That's what this podcast is all about. My guest today is Keiko Tatsumi. Keiko is a Japanese woman, the mother of two kids who are five and one. Currently she lives with them in Houston without living with her husband who is studying at Harvard University. Keiko studied about diversity since she was in college. Actually her life is connected to it. She doesn't currently work but she has had so many experiences as a minority and learned about diversity through living in many places such as Dubai in the UAE, Tokyo, Japan, New York, and Houston, USA. And she worked before as cabin crew. Keiko hopes to utilize her experience in a future career once her kids are older enough and she has a chance to get back to work. Her hobby is Zumba. She is very much into it. She practices Zumba at least three times a week. Keiko, how are you today? Hi, Tatsumi. I'm good. I'm Keiko. I'm good to see you. Yeah, thank you so much. Yes, I'm good. Like I'm living with my kids, always with my husband. And then it's every day is a hard time, you know. But yeah, but thanks to you. Thank you for the time, for your time. You are welcome. I appreciate you very much. I can imagine how hard it is and I encourage you very, very much. And really, it's a reason to feel proud of yourself because you're being a superwoman and a real hero for your kids doing it alone. And to know a bit more about you, I'll begin with this nice first question, which is, Keiko, if your friends and the people who know you could describe your personality, what would they say about you? Yes, my friend usually told me I am optimistic person and ambitious. Spontaneous people. And also, I'm a big challenger because, you know, my current life is not my husband. Thank you. And to ask about the small thing, you said that you're spontaneous, which is not common in Japanese culture, I would say. Were you born as a spontaneous girl? Do you have a thinking, a mindset that you think maybe life is too short, or you are a big dreamer, or what makes you not overthink with anxiety and instead be spontaneous and go for those adventures? Oh, well, recently, I was grown up by my parents who are very domestic, very Japanese parents, and then after I had experience studying abroad, such as New Zealand, sorry, New Zealand and Seattle, USA, I feel I can do whatever I want to do. I feel like that, you know, to see, to hang out with other people and then build up, also the building up my language skill, my world get much bigger, not like only in my city, the small city in Japan. That's why I feel like, you know, I'm a spontaneous person. Thank you for sharing that. I appreciate it very, very much. And you have lived in so many places. You sat down New Zealand, Seattle, you also lived in Dubai, Houston, New York, Tokyo. How was going from a small town in Japan and adapting to so many different cultures? Did you have a culture shock? Or are you so in love with discovering new things? You found it very interesting and entertaining. Or how did you go about experiencing, discovering, and becoming used to new cultures? Yeah, I was, you know, when I adapted to the new place or a new country, city, I always, of course, I have a culture shock. Yeah, because I moved, you know, since I was a child, I moved so many places, you know, in Japan. And also, like, so I was kind of trained to adapt into the new environment originally. So every time I have, you know, a culture shock, but I believed, but I feel naturally accepted. And after I grown up, I have a chance to live in USA, Dubai, and go back to Tokyo. And yeah, coming back to America, you know, those are different countries. Of course, I have a culture shock. For example, when I, you know, I had, okay, when I returned to Tokyo, because I got married to Japanese men, and I walked as a person. After, after working, you know, spending time my life in Dubai, and which is a very diverse, you know, country environment, I had a big culture shock, because I started working in Tokyo. And as a, like, you know, recruiting a student, you know, the company of the, I'm working at the company who, you know, which is like manufacturing company, but as a recruiter. So I visited many, you know, university and I had a chance to talk with students and professors, and so on. But, you know, I always, you know, I'm in charge of present my company, how diverse, you know, that how we are the company is more diverse, or you know, it's very global company, which we can work, you know, work with very open mind or something like that I, yeah, I need to say that. However, the company, you know, it's not enough to be diversity. So I have a little frustrated by the company's policy, which is like hiring, you know, majority hiring the student is should be Japanese or, you know, like Japanese, yeah, Japanese, not like not so many foreigner, they have a filter, which is very I was so, and it's make me so angry. So that's why, you know, I had a culture shock and, and working there, the environment is like, you know, the, the employee, employees working as like, you know, killing themselves, killing individual to make the project successful. So in, you know, from my experience, like working people have to have their, you know, opinions or opinion or you know, even then we can argue for the project, right, for the work. But the people I was working is like, there are more, you know, be quiet, even they don't have, you know, their opinion, which they don't like that, which, which, you know, that they don't, they don't agree with the opinion, the other's opinion. So I feel, you know, that is, you know, this is the way, how can I say that this is the way the Japanese does, the Japanese company does usually. So I was so, yeah, I was so I disagree with those kind of the company culture. That is my biggest, you know, culture shock. Thank you so much for this. And so to understand even more, why is diversity important for you? What is your perspective that you can share? Because to create new, you know, to, to create a passion or new idea on the new business, only not only the business, but also like our society, yeah, makes it better to comfortable for minority people. Thank you very much, Keiko. And to know a bit more, because there are many women who struggle with nervousness and anxiety, but they do not say it. And they see other women or people who seem confident, but maybe those people are also nervous. Did you deal with anxiety? How do you overcome it? And what is your advice to other women so they don't let nervousness stop them? I do have anxiety. And also, you know, sometimes I worry about my future too, because now the current my life doesn't have, you know, I don't know what's going to happen next year, because my husband actually quit his job and stop working and go back to be our students. So I actually don't know where I'm going to live and where I'm going to have a life with, you know, the list of my life. So what I do when I encounter this kind of situation is like write about, you know, write about it, like what's going on in my head, in my reality, and do the brainstorming, you know, ask myself and then if yeah, and make this goal to achieve, you know, that's the deadline for the achievement, just so and then just try hard until the deadline, what I'm doing is like that. And if I cannot, I cannot, you know, overcome or achieve the kind of goal until the deadline I tried, I tried quit, I tried stop doing it, and then forget about it. So in my case, right, my previous company, I used to work in Japan as a recruiter. It was like that, like, I had a, you know, I had so much bad time, and it was so much comfortable. I was actually, I was working there for like two years. And in whole years, I always feel like I, you know, that policy and my, the company's policy doesn't, doesn't suit me at all. And then I feel so much comfortable in there about, you know, about the environment there. So I always want to quit the job as you know, if I have a chance. But at the same time, I feel like, okay, this is good, good for my career for the future career. So I set the goal, like, I'm gonna try my best until the next year. And I did, I tried. And yeah, I tried my best, it was really hard. But you know, if I set up the goal, I feel so much better. And but fortunately, my, because my husband got an opportunity to live in outside, which is like New York City and in Houston. So I could, I was able to stay away from the, you know, environment, luckily. Thank you for that, and for sharing that very, very much. So just how does it feel different when you were working, doing jobs that you are looking forward to at some point when your children are older, to return to work? How is your emotion compared to your emotion when you are taking care of your kids and raising them at home in Houston? Do you feel less excitement, more excitement? Is it difficult in a different way? When you have a job that is difficult, and you are feeling stressed about the future compared to being a mother 24 seven, how is the experience different? Yeah, absolutely. So much different, like 180 degree different. You know, for the job, that makes my characteristic, obviously, like, which is, you know, so I can control actually, like, if I want to do it, I, you know, go for it. And then, if it's, you know, I don't want to do it. Okay, I'll do, you know, I have to do, but I still, I can find the way that I want to, you know, I can do right. Yeah, so, yeah, so we, you know, we can control. But if I have a kids and raising kids, totally different, they are human, you know, even their kids, they are little. So it's hard to escape. It's impossible to escape, of course, otherwise they are that they cannot die. So I have like much more responsibility to, you know, working as a might be mother. Perfect. Thank you so much, Keiko. I appreciate you very, very much. And also to ask you another question. We live in a time where more and more people are on social media and Instagram all day. And therefore, you see photos and videos of women who look very nice. Maybe they even have plastic surgery, or they are fitness influencers. And many girls are struggling because they look at them and they feel ugly. They don't see themselves as beautiful because they compare. Did you feel that experience? And what's your advice to other women and girls who are growing up now so that they see their beauty? I don't really understand the people who think like that way, because human being is not only their appearance. And then, you know, it there. So the people unique beauty is the many, you know, in the various fields, such as like appearance and personality. And then I think I believe the most beautiful person is not about the face, appearance or body, but also that it is like to do have like personal magnetism, right? Those people who can in the physical confidence have an invisible confidence, like being proud of being self. So it's that person must attract many people, right? So my opinion of like beautiful women is like those kind of people. So yeah, so like if we use like social media in the wrong way, it's gonna be, you know, it's like, it's a good, you know, convenient item, but it can be a horrible poison. So we gotta be careful about it. But just be confident, you know, that is, you know, everybody makes makes beautiful. I agree 100%. And so to ask you, you lived in many places, every time you need to make new friends, how do you make new friends? Do you look for the personal magnetism that you spoke about? Or what is the criteria or the way that you make new friends and understand this is a good person to be a friend for me? This is not so much. Maybe your advice to other women who are living in new places, so that they do not make the wrong friends. Okay, the first of all, I believe there is like no, no, like, you know, bad person or wrong person. But yes, and also, like, it's kind of hard to find a people who's right friend and you know, get a good friend immediately at the first place. So I when I, you know, but I, on the other hand, like, it's possible to be a good friend or, you know, best friend in the future. So what I do is always like open my heart. And you know, whenever I get into the new place, and be just, you know, friendly, of course, like no one, no one, no one doesn't like, like, unfriendly, you know, unfriendly personalized. So I better be friendly as a person, you know, friendly, because I, you know, my, I'm optimistic, as I tell you, so I feel I always open, you know, open my heart. Yeah, so later, of course, there's people who doesn't, you know, doesn't match my personality or people I don't really like, you know, I don't really get along with. So in that case, like, just step away from them, you know, that I always do. So at the first time, and at the first moment, we don't know. So just like be, you know, be social and be nice to them, of course, because you like to be nice by somebody, right? We don't know. Just don't judge by a peer, awkward appearance or, you know, don't, there's, you know, don't judge by the appearance or shut your, yeah, don't, don't judge by appearance. And then, because like there is no characteristic, like characteristic and or categories about like being nice people or someone. Yes, just ask yourself, you know it. Thank you so much for that. That's very, very important. And you, after so many years of life experience, if there is any advice you can give to other women that maybe they can remember or something new you learn so that they can live a happy life, they can experience new emotions, they can be spontaneous, what is your advice to other women for a more happy life? Okay, I was, you know, to be, be yourself happy is, you know, spend that life with happiness is choose all the time we have to choose, you know, then the main character is you. So every single phase I what I did was like choosing my life. For example, like, you know, I chose my life to be the cabin crew to go to Dubai, without my husband and family. And then that choice was, you know, choice was brought me incredible. And then, of course, I had a really hard time as well. But everything thing I chose, so I don't complain myself, I don't complain my life. And also back to, back to my country, and had a very challenging years is also, I chose, so I chose, you know, working, I go back going back to Japan and working as a, you know, like recruiting recruiter, and, and I continue working, even I don't, I didn't like is that is my choice as well. And, you know, going to, I mean, going to America, the sender is not my choice. But, you know, like, I chose the place to leave, I chose, you know, to have the kids or like, do every small even the small thing is my decision. So I don't really complain about that, you know, that I made in the past like 10 day 10 years. So yeah, so like, all we need to do to be are happy is choosing your life. It's my advice. I agree with you so much, Keiko. Thank you so much for participating in this podcast, for sharing your life, your voice and your wisdom. I wish you all the happiness with your husband and kids, all the financial stability and to live and discover all the countries you want in the world. Thank you again so much for participating. Thank you so much for sharing your story and then your time to introduce me. It was a great chance to speak myself, speak about myself. It's very interesting. Thanks so much.
