When I was a teenager, I decided one day to find out what I wanted to do, rather than fret about what I could become.

This awareness helped to somewhat lighten me up. And I owe it to the words of Snufkin, the philosophical wanderer in Tove Jansson’s (1914-2001) Moomin series of books: “The main thing in life is to know your own mind.”

Words can bring a ray of light.

The Asahi Shimbun recently held its 11th “Watashi no Oriorino Kotoba Kontesuto,” a contest for quotable quotes submitted by junior and senior high school students. The competition this year drew a record number of entries—about 33,000.

Nene Matsumoto, a second-year senior high school........

© The Asahi Shimbun