Back at Keio After Three Years: An English Vlog About a Reluctant Return to University

Why a working founder is still enrolled

The creator studies economics at Keio. They say they were supposed to graduate two or three years ago, but they have been away from school for about three years while putting work first. They started their YouTube channel about two and a half years ago. Two years ago they founded Link Up, which they describe as an English coaching company. Life since then has been "all about that." Now, they say, they have reached a point where they "should probably go back to school."

The return starts in April, the week the video was filmed. Their first class is on a Saturday. Their new timetable has classes five days a week: Monday and Tuesday are fully booked, there are some classes on Wednesday and Thursday, and there is one on Saturday. They expect to be "a really busy student" and sign off the introduction with the Japanese phrase ganbarimasu ("I'll do my best").

A morning run first

Before class, the creator goes running in a park with people from the company to get some exercise in. The run is harder than expected. They say they are out of breath and "so unfit," and they complain about their right calf. They also worry that they are overdressed in long sleeves while everyone else wears T-shirts, but afterwards they say they feel refreshed and good. Then they go home to change and set off for campus.

Nerves on the way to campus

The commute is where the anxiety shows most. The creator compares it to filming abroad, noting that they were in Hawaii the previous week and had no trouble filming in public there. As they get closer to school, though, they say their palms are sweating. They point out Tokyo Tower behind them as a sign that campus is near.

They try to work out what is making them nervous. Their best guess is that they will be studying with people about three years younger. They know it is not objectively a big deal, but they think it matters among students. They act out the moment they fear most: being asked their age, answering "25 this year," and getting a shocked reaction. They say they wish they could be like the tourists around them, just enjoying the day, and they can't explain why going to school feels so hard right now.

The arrival doesn't help. They trip, then get lost, and joke about what a bad start it is.

Hiding in the bathroom, and the reason for "now"

Once on campus, the creator films from a bathroom where they are hiding because they feel sick and "a little" like throwing up. They tell themselves there is nothing to be embarrassed about and that they will go out and do their best.

Here they give the practical reason for coming back at this point. Keio has a time limit on enrollment, they explain, so they have to return now or be expelled. They add that they have been paying tuition for six years and cannot simply back out. They also promised they would graduate and want to keep that promise.

Making one friend: Nadine

After class, the creator talks with the student who sat in front of them, Nadine, whom they later call "the French girl." The two swap Instagram accounts instead of YouTube channels, and because the creator's phone battery is dead, they search on Nadine's phone. Nadine mentions that this is the first class she has taken with a substantial number of Japanese students, since her other classes are mostly exchange students. The creator tells her they were nervous because everyone seemed so young.

Nadine says she probably won't attend the Saturday class every week, that she will mostly be on campus on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and that as an exchange student she wants to keep some weekends free for herself. When the creator asks whether she'd like to say hi to the camera, she declines, saying she's a bit shy. Afterwards the creator is relieved: "Thank god. I made a friend."

The student cafeteria

Campus is quiet because it's Saturday. The creator heads to the gakushoku (student cafeteria), considers the options including a hamburger, and settles on curry. They are struck by the price: they estimate that curry of this quality would cost about 1,500 yen elsewhere in Tokyo, but here it is 620 yen.

An honest review of the first class

Over lunch, the creator admits the class did not go well. It involved "a lot of math, a lot of complicated stuff," and they weren't focused. They spent the lecture checking email and sending Slack messages, "basically doing work in the classroom." They think it would make sense if they actually listened to the teacher. They call it "not a good day, not a good start."

They also reflect on how the social side went. The other students looked friendly, but the only person they spoke to was Nadine, because she was the only one they made eye contact with. They assume there were many students behind them but say they never turned around because they were too scared.

Why go back at all

The creator then takes on a question they say they are often asked: why return to university when they already have a job, given that university is mainly a path toward a career? Their answer is not about career utility.

They call university entrance exams (juken) the first big challenge of their life. Without them, they say, they don't think they would have studied English, and they would probably still be in Kyoto, "probably still doing Yankee," meaning living as a delinquent. Graduating from Keio would therefore mean a lot to them personally.

They also leave room for an uncertain future. What they are studying now might turn out to matter directly to what they are doing in five years. They acknowledge that a degree isn't strictly necessary, but they say people still take note of what you studied and what you were passionate about as a student.

The third reason is social. The creator says they are "terrible at socializing," which they note surprises many people, and that they want to meet people outside work, including students in general. More broadly, they say they always feel they need change in their life, and although student life makes them more anxious, they are excited to see where it leads and hope to meet new people.

They sum up how their view has shifted over the day. At first they were dreading the return and felt they had to do it. Having sat down and thought it through, they now see it as "definitely my choice," and they intend to make the best of it.

Facing the student affairs office

The last errand is at the Gakuseibu (student affairs office), where they need a new sticker for their student card. They describe a "personal trauma" with the office. Two years ago, staff there gave them news (rendered in the transcript as "June net," most likely ryūnen, meaning being held back a year) that left them crying on the floor. That moment appeared in an earlier video, which they say everyone at their company loves and keeps showing to other people. They find the exact spot where they cried and point it out.

The dramatic confrontation doesn't happen: the office is closed, because it only opens on weekdays. They shrug it off and decide to go home.

Winding down and a livestream

Before leaving, they lie down under a big tree that they call their favorite spot at Keio and enjoy the sun. That evening they hold a YouTube livestream. It was scheduled to end at 9:00, but they kept talking and answering questions for about 45 minutes because they were enjoying it.

Afterwards they reflect on what talking with viewers gives them. They say it is hard to get feedback and that sometimes they don't know what they're doing with their videos. When viewers say they watch every day and like the content, it gives them energy and motivates them to do better, and they thank the audience for the support.

They also mention that they haven't been feeling well lately. They went to the doctor and were given a lot of medicine, and their mother was very kind about it. They think it is a cold, say they have no fever, and insist they are "totally all right."

Where the day ends

The creator ends the busy Saturday by going to sleep. The vlog doesn't claim the return has been a success. The first class went poorly by their own account, they made one acquaintance, and the confrontation with the office never happened. What has changed by the end is their attitude: a return they started out dreading has become one they call their own choice, with graduation, a kept promise, and new people outside work as what they hope to get from it.