Thoughts On Only Yesterday

On Evaluating Our Life and Choices

My colleague before asked me, “What would your childhood self feel about you now? Do you think he’s happy with the person you’ve become?”

That moment was a Friday night. We were finalizing our work as we joyously anticipated the weekend.

The question never really bothered me then. I knew I was content with what I had. It wasn’t until recently that I pondered on that question.

What would my childhood self say to the person I am now?

PLOT

Only Yesterday follows Taeko Okajima as her life is shown in different timelines. In the present day in 1982, she is a 27-year-old woman working an office job in Tokyo. She files a ten-day leave to go on a vacation to the countryside.

In 1966, she is a fifth-grader who deals with the regular struggles of a kid.

Even if the 1982 setting is the primary storyline, Taeko’s childhood memories surface in her present self to remind her of the things that happened in the past.