JAPAN Forward’s “Ignite” column is a series where students in Japan share their voices in English. Nagisa Omi, a high school student in Hokkaido, chose to broaden her world through English, and she made some life-changing discoveries along the way. She found that every turning point in her life “began with meeting people who challenged my ‘normal.'”
Omi shares the journey in this 51st essay in the Ignite series. Hers is the third of ten presentations by the finalists in the GEM Talks 2026 competition, a youth leadership training program for high school students. The program focuses on the “power of talks,” writes its founder, Kanako Date, working to hone students’ logical thinking, practice brainstorming ideas, and strengthen their self-awareness and communication skills ー objectives Nagisa Omi took to heart.
Individually and collectively, high school students like Nagisa Omi, from the small town of Kushiro in Hokkaido, are already at work taking on challenges to shape our global future. Ms Omi is the co-winner of the Special Jury Award at the 5th National High School English Presentation Camp final on the stage of the International Forum in Tokyo. Would you be willing to try her challenge? Let’s listen.
Ms Nagisa Omi (©Japan Forward/Mika Sugiura)
51st in the Series, ‘Ignite‘
Nagisa Omi
Co-Winner of the Gem Talks 2026
Special Jury Award
Watch Nagisa Omi deliver her presentation in English:
Who Decides What is ‘Normal’
by Nagisa Omi
[Unofficial Transcript]
I have a habit. Whenever I watch a funny video, I never press “like” right away.
First, I check the comments. Only after I see that other people “like” it do I finally press “like.” Before asking what I think, I ask what everyone else thinks. That was my normal.
“Nagisa, you’re kind of weird.” I used to hate hearing those words because I was afraid of being different. To me, being normal meant following the path everyone admired: study hard, earn good grades, and get into a good university.
I believed there was one right path. And I was afraid to step off it.
My Story
I grew up in Kushiro, a small city in northern Japan. Whenever I dreamed about doing something big, I often heard the same words.
“Be realistic.” “It’s just Kushiro.” “Know your limits.”
I heard those words so many times that they became my normal.
The more I heard those words, the more I wanted to challenge the limits I had come to accept as normal.
So I started looking beyond my school. And whenever I found an opportunity, I took it.
Once, I traveled to the United States with other students from Japan. I expected America to change me. But unexpectedly, what changed me was the Japanese students.
Unlike me, they were not afraid to speak of their dreams.
When someone wanted to challenge themselves, no one laughed.
For the first time, I saw a different kind of “normal.”
When I came back to Japan, I wanted to improve my English more than anything else, because I realized that I still had a lot to learn.
However, one day, one of my teachers laughed and said, “If I spoke English, Nagisa would probably make fun of my pronunciation.”
Everyone laughed, but it didn’t feel like just a joke to me. Because of it, I felt like my efforts didn’t matter.
I wanted to find a place where I could feel excited again. So I started looking beyond my school. Then I found GEM Talks.
But the moment I thought about applying, I started doubting myself again. “My English isn’t good enough.” “Many of them have studied abroad.” “There’s no way I can compete.”
New ‘Normals’ Change the Future
Then one of my friends asked me, “Will you really have no regrets?”
That’s when I realized how different our “normals” were.
To me, not applying felt safer. To my friend, not trying was the real risk.
I had discovered a new way of thinking. So, I applied.
Looking back, I realized something. Every turning point in my life began with meeting people who challenged my “normal.”
Changing what feels “normal” can change a person’s future. So I started asking myself: how can we make that happen more often?
I don’t think it should depend on luck. That’s why I want to create a platform that intentionally connects young people with someone whose normal is completely different from their own.
Too often we stay surrounded by people whose “normal” is similar to our own. When different normals meet, they create ideas that would never have existed otherwise.
Just one conversation, one mentor, or even one friend can completely change what a young person believes is possible.
That’s where a new normal begins.
It’s a starting point.
I used to read their comments. Now I want to write one.
Don’t let someone else’s “normal” define who you are. Then, who decides what is normal?
Thank you for listening.
About the Author:
Nagisa Omi was a 3rd-year student at Hokkaido Kushiro Koryo High School when she took part in the GEM Talks 5th National High School English Presentation Camp. Earlier, a one-week training program in the United States became a major turning point in her life. In it, she met Americans and, to her surprise, other Japanese students willing to challenge common beliefs ー and to have others challenge their sense of normal.
“In regional areas, not just in the city, I want to live my life without being overly bound by the opinions of those around me,” she told Japan Forward. The high school student intends to apply her experience from the GEM Talks competition to future initiatives that help others broaden their perspectives.
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Presentation by: Nagisa Omi
3rd-Year Student, Hokkaido Kushiro Koryo High School
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