A Woman with Self-Confidence

Oita Godo Newspaper (morning edition on November 15th, 2008)

...many encounters...happiness...

A popular model who is attached to a female fashion magazine Camcam, Maki Nishiyama, came to Oita Prefecture for a fashion talkshow which was held in Tokiwa Assembly Hall and she was interviewed.

This twenty years old model is from Niigata Prefecture. Although this new "Camcam's face" has been attracting attention recently, this lady said that "rather than always focusing to the future", she is trying her best "to live in today without any regrets".

On the contrary, "this year I've been running around and concentrating on my job, so I thought that it would be nice to pace my life more slowly", said her with a carefree smile. "When I look back at my life, I felt that there were times when I have felt empty and lonely.　Apart from my job, I want to live a full life too. A girl who lives a full life, she will shine no matter what she does. I also want to be a woman who lives with self-confidence".

She started modelling from the age of four. "Recently, finally I can think that it is OK to be myself, it is good to treat myself better. To smile from your heart".

She has lean arms and legs, also beautiful skin. What is her secret for beauty? "I don't do anything. I don't exercise my body and instead I eat a lot. The thing that I am particular about is to remove my make up properly. After my job finishes, I will remove my make up then go home. Often I don't wear make up in front of many people in  private".

She does not wear accessories. "Different from her appearance, and refreshing" is what people often say about her. "Because I was raised up among brothers, that's why I naturally became like this. But in this magazine, I want to become a girl who looks nice in Western clothes. While trying to improve myself to be an ideal woman, I'm doing modelling".

She said that expressing the effort and hardwork of stylists, hairmakers, cameramen, editors, and staffs with her body is her job as a model. "And I feel so happy that I have many encounters with them, and I am also grateful to work in a place whereby I can do what I think is right, and to pass it on to other people as well".

Last but not least, she gave message to fans in Oita. "As a woman myself, I want to care about my appearance, beauty, and figure. Let us be beautiful together!"

Comment: I agree with her that sometimes we are to pre-occupied with our hectic schedule and tons of activities, and we often forget to stop and take a deep breath. At times, it is good to reduce our activities and relax, as relaxing does not necessarily mean that we are being unproductive, but instead we can allow ourselves to re-evaluate what we have been doing so far. It is good to be able to do reflections abot our priorities in life, to ask ourselves whether we have lived the life that we want, and whether we are going towards achieving the goals that we have set. Often, doing less things with a focused purpose is actually much more productive than doing many things without knowing the purpose. And I agree with her, that it is important for us to have self-confidence because everybody is unique and each of us can shine in our own ways. ^^