Money is merely one of the tools for realizing your aspirations, so it seems the questioner still hasn’t found their “desired place”—somewhere they truly belong.
The problem is that money can be addictive, making it easy to become dependent on increasing the amount itself. It’s similar to gaming or drug addiction: you get a sense of achievement each time, but in the end, you’re never truly satisfied.
Wanting to be appreciated is a perfectly natural human desire. If that’s what you’re really seeking through papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan), rather than money itself, then I think that’s okay. If having your papa (a male supporter) be pleased with you and pat you on the head makes you happy, perhaps that’s something you’ve been missing in life. Let yourself be fully satisfied by it. Being valued and accepted by others is like nourishment for living—something parents should properly provide during childhood, though some children don’t receive it. Still, this is different from having an aspiration.
An aspiration isn’t about worrying over other people’s opinions, nor is it simply the desire to make money. It’s not that difficult, either. For example, putting some loose change into a donation box on the street can be a fine aspiration if it truly comes from your heart. Giving a tip to the person who cycled over to deliver your Uber Eats is the same. That’s why they call it a “small token of goodwill,” right?
A great aspiration is called a “grand aspiration,” but not everyone needs to have one. In my sixty-some years, I’ve never had a grand aspiration myself. Maybe a medium-sized one? That sounds like something a small-business owner would have. But that’s my place in life, the vessel I was given by heaven, and I’m fine with that.
It’s enough to have aspirations suited to your own stature. Don’t get swallowed up by the magic of money, and don’t overthink other people’s opinions or your self-esteem. Aim to become an adult filled with small aspirations each day. That’s the path to true happiness.
The very act of the respondents answering questions here is itself an aspiration. That’s why they call it “volunteering one’s effort.”
Some people, like me or Make-Otoko, write jokingly with smug tales of supposed exploits, while others simply follow the policy of having fun above all else. There are all kinds of people here. But at the root of it all is a sense of social responsibility: sharing life wisdom with these young women involved in papa-katsu, and thinking together with them about the troubles they can’t easily discuss with people around them. I suppose this is one small place where I belong.
Ah, sorry. Since this is 5-7-5-7-7, am I supposed to answer with a matching poem?
50,000 yen
The adult allowance
Plus transportation
And on top of all that
My aspirations included
In my sixties
I’ve graduated from money
And other people’s praise
But I’m still repeating
Papa-katsu
If we’re inserting
The same aspiration, then…
I’ll refrain from saying more
Actually, let me write it:
“Pussy-piercing”
I’d love to receive
An aspiration from a girl
Let’s dream together
I’ll pay the money
For the privilege of it all
Nineteen is right in Mac-san’s and my ideal age range, so we’d rate her very highly. Though I don’t think Mac-san and I are what the questioner had in mind as their “ideal.”
Seriously, though, it’s painful to live by other people’s standards. You should recognize your own efforts yourself.
That said, I think I’d feel insecure if I weren’t surrounded by cute girls. All the respondents here probably couldn’t survive without cute girls around them.
Totally unrelated, but my pay-per-meeting 5 arrangements never work out. They never last at all—I’m the one who ends them. Maybe I’m the kind of person who can only feel satisfied by giving a high allowance, rather than by getting good value for my money. My “ideal” is a high allowance.
