Happy end of September to everyone! I am Kayo Kimizono from the Faculties of Economics (PEARL).

Hope that everyone is adapting well to the temperature changes these days. This may be my favorite time to train in the year. Not too hot nor too cold. I wonder if everyone has seen the moon in the past few days. It is so big and pretty!

A few days ago on September 21st  was the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival or 中秋节 (in Chinese) or 月見 (in Japanese). It is the second most important festival in China. I believe there are many differences between the Japanese and Chinese traditions so I would like to briefly introduce them today.

It is said that the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival is the brightest and the most beautiful. Also, the full moon is a symbol of family reunions in Chinese culture. Therefore, on this day,
families from all over the world will try their best to gather and have a nice dinner.

Something that we will definitely eat on this day is the mooncake (月饼)( 月餅). The filling can be anything! From sweet fillings like red bean paste or ice-cream all the way to salty fillings like egg yolks or salted duck eggs. However, it is a little high in calories and sugar level so I would only recommend eating one!

Apologies for the long talk about the festival but I wanted to bring this up because the main thing I want to focus on today is the Moon?. It is widely known that the Sun is always the good person, giving warmth to others and bringing life to all. Whilst we tend to connect the Moon to darker, colder, mysterious or even bad characters like vampires. But I believe the Moon should get much more credits!

The Moon does not shine as brightly nor as warmly as the Sun. It also has dented surfaces and changes its shape frequently. It is not perfect. But these exact imperfections of the Moon prove that flaws can be perfect too.  Maybe next time instead of saying “reach for the stars” when we are striving for excellence, we should say “reach for the moon”. Because then, even if you miss it, you will land among the stars. Stay humble, aim high!

With all being said, I want to relate this to volleyball a little more. The moon shines brightest when no one else is watching. This applies to us as well. As a team, we have been continuously training hard in the past year despite many external factors coming in as obstacles. And with all the practices we had to prepare ourselves… our Autumn league has finally begun today after 2 years!

The next month will be like a 100m dash for us. The games will be taking place every weekend all through October and immediately after that will be our annual game against Waseda which will also be when our beloved 4th-year seniors graduate. We will cherish our last moments with them as much as we can!

You may find our Autumn league live stream and all other updates on our Instagram @keio_women_volley so please check it out! As a team, we will work hard and play hard. We are all very thankful for your support all along and hope you may continue the support!

本日の秋季リーグ初戦、立教戦の試合結果は
0-3 で本塾の負けとなりました。