This is my partner.

      My artifact is a music stand. It is a product of YAMAHA. It is used when people play the music. People who play the instrument put the musical score on it. You can adjust the height of it from about 70cm to 130cm by extending the legs. It can be folded, so it is easy to carry. It has two stickers my name on it.

     My mother bought me it when I was a junior high school student. That is because I joined brass band club. I had been a member of brass band club for six years.

     At first, I was too shy, so I did not like doing something in front of many people. When I played the instrument in front of audiences for the first time, I was so nervous that my knees and hands were trembling. 

     “Mikako, what’s wrong?” the teacher of club activities said before the concert started.

     “I’m so nervous and not confident,” I said, “I don’t know how to relax.” 

     “Remember how much you have practiced!” the teacher said, “This music stand is your partner. Good luck!"

     I remembered that I had practiced the instrument hard with this music stand then, so I could have relaxed.

     After that, I had a lot of experiences on stage performance. This music stand had been like my partner. As a result, I overcame my shyness. I still use it and enjoy playing the music. Therefore, it is important thing for me. 

     Japanese people are more enthusiastic about club activities at school than people in any other country. Due to this, some problems are occurring. First, some teachers inflict corporal punishment on students to make their own teams stronger. The number of cases of corporal punishment is decreasing, but there are still students who are suffering from it. Students who recieved corporal punishment got hurt both physically and mentally. On the contrary, corporal punishment does not make students stronger. Therefore, corporal punishment should be eliminated and students should enjoy club activities.

     Second, Japanese students participate in club activities for a long time almost every day. In fact, I had the day off from club activities about once a month when I was a high school student. You can learn important things through club activities, but students cannot focus on other things such as studying and teacher are overworked. On the contrary, students may lose their concentrations if they do club activities for a long time a day. It is inefficient. Having day off is important for their physical and mental health. Therefore, students and teachers should participate in club activities for a moderate amount of time.