Losing soccer—and putting my pride aside to study abroad

Soccer had been my whole life since I was five. I got into both high school and university on athletic scholarships, but everything changed when I suffered a serious injury during my second year of college. Treatment didn’t go as planned. I underwent three surgeries and ended up spending a full year in the hospital. I had always thought, “Soccer is all I have,” but then my doctor told me that pursuing a professional career would be difficult. Rehabilitation was incredibly hard, and at the time I had no room to think about what might come next.

Once things finally began to settle down, I started taking another look at what I was good at. I was studying at an internationally focused university, so I decided to take a leap and spend a year studying abroad in Manchester, England. For someone as quiet and shy as I was, it felt like an enormous challenge. But I knew that if I was going to go, I had to learn to speak up. I went into it determined to put my pride aside.

Discovering the joy of connecting with people

I chose Manchester because, of course, I still loved soccer. It’s a city famous for the sport, with bars everywhere showing matches. I joined a local soccer team myself, and I would put on my jersey and go watch games, soaking up the atmosphere of a place where the sport is such a part of everyday life.

I had never been good at talking to people, but in Manchester, soccer gave me countless opportunities to connect with locals. At bars, people would naturally draw me into conversation even if I didn’t start it myself. At the stadium, someone sitting next to me might say, “I’ve been to Japan.” I had barely ever spoken to strangers before, but before I knew it, I was the one starting conversations. I remember thinking, “I had no idea talking to people could be this much fun.” I was already in my twenties when I discovered that feeling for the first time.

Discovering new sides of myself, one encounter at a time

My host family had six people, but whenever there was an occasion, 15 or 16 relatives would gather for a big party. It was always lively. One day they told me, “Tappei, you’re such an outgoing person. I think you’d be good at a job where you talk to people.” I had always thought of myself as shy, so it was surprising to realize that other people saw me completely differently.

Little by little, I became more open—singing and dancing in front of people, doing things the old me never would have imagined. I had taken dance lessons as a child, but I had always been too embarrassed to dance in front of anyone. Eventually, I even found myself thinking that I wanted a career built around communicating with people.

Finding a career in hospitality where communication became my strength

As my time in the UK was coming to an end, someone I knew introduced me to an opportunity in the hotel industry, and I decided to take the job. It was a chance to use both my English and the communication skills I had developed, so it felt perfect for the person I had become. When I told my host family I had found a job, they surprised me with a huge celebration. I had only known them for about a year—I was, in a sense, still a stranger—so the fact that they would do so much for me brought me to tears.

I’ve since moved into hostel work, where I find real fulfillment in connecting with guests, including serving as a guide for running events. I never imagined that someone as quiet and shy as I used to be would end up working this way. People sometimes tell me, “Your whole expression changes when you talk now.” That experience taught me that when an opportunity appears in front of me, I should trust in my own potential and start by saying “yes.” I’m glad I’ve become someone who can do that.