“my Everyday Actions Are What Make Me Who I Am” Changed My Life - Blog Posts

kita shinsuke: the modern-day philosopher

one of my favorite things about haikyuu is how realistic the story is and how the messages can be applied to everyone. kita was one of the characters i felt impacted by. of course, many of the characters before kita's introduction impacted me, but kita's philosophy deeply affected me.

kita is a character who played the sport diligently but wasn't in it for the glory. although he was raised by his grandma's words, "someone's always watching," he isn't concerned about being praised by others. being able to do stuff the right way is enough for him. before kita, we've been introduced to many characters who are willing to do anything to win and continue playing volleyball in the future. kita isn't concerned about any of that. playing to the best of his abilities and doing it correctly is more than enough.

the importance of daily maintenance is something i will always think of when i see kita. he takes care of his body, cleans up, respects his traditions, and practices volleyball daily. it's a routine he follows every day without fail. to many, this seems tedious. doing the same thing everyday without a break? without fail? without anything to gain from it? most people wouldn't bother to use as much time and effort as kita does for no desired result. i'm one of the many that find it hard to keep up a routine, especially if it requires so much consistency and effort. but kita does it without complaint, without fail, and finds genuine joy in it.

but even though kita didn't care about people's approval, the moment he was offered the captain's jersey brought him to tears. whether he cared or not, his efforts to improve himself did not go unnoticed. all that time he spent cleaning, taking care of his body, honoring tradition, and practicing volleyball led to this moment. but kita never had a goal in mind. being chosen as captain is a high achievement, but kita didn't join the team to eventually have this honor. he did what he believed was the best thing to do, and being chosen as captain was simply the result of his effort.

this panel changed everything for me. i even used this as my college graduation quote because i have such a heavy attachment to this scene.

kita didn't do all his daily practices to gain anything. he did them because it felt right, doing his best no matter what was more important to him.

i have a habit of always determining my worth based on the results. if i don't get a good enough grade, i see my effort as useless; if i'm not praised for something, then i feel i'm not doing my best; if all my efforts don't give me the results i want, i see my time spent as wasted but reading this scene changed everything for me.

the time you spend bettering yourself is more valuable than a result. after all, the only reason you get a good result in the first place is because of your time and dedication to your work. even though kita was emotional about his hard work being seen and rewarded, his goal wasn't to become captain. at the end of the day, he spent all this time doing things for himself.

the little things I do every day might not be valuable in the grand scheme of things; the time I spend dedicating myself to anything makes me who I am. the small, everyday things make us who we are. we care for our bodies, study or work, unwind, and prepare meals for ourselves. It doesn't lead to anything extraordinary, but it does matter. it matters because it's who we are. every little thing we do is a part of us, and the good or bad things that come with it are simply the results of what we decide to do.

kita's philosophy of doing things right because it's the right thing to do is simple, yet it's one of the lessons of haikyuu that has stuck with me the longest. we, as people, believe we need to produce results that have meaning to us, but devoting ourselves to daily tasks is essential to who we are as people and how we live our lives. we do the things we do because they are necessary, and the outcomes that follow are just byproducts.

kita is such an important character to me, and I wish this rant could do him some justice. all in all, kita shinsuke, you are the greatest philosopher of our time.