I like the phrase “Boys, be ambitious.”
It is a well-known saying I learned at school.
And yet, what does it really mean to be ambitious?
I remember wondering about that as a child.
The ambition a boy holds.
It is probably something beautiful he once saw in films or on television.
He imagines when it might finally be within reach,
and how he might ever obtain it.
Perhaps ambition is not about becoming a president,
or a national hero.
It might be the simple image of a grown woman in a beautiful dress,
standing quietly by his side.
Thinking about such things,
without deciding on any final image,
I began to draw with a pencil, almost absentmindedly.
As I continued drawing,
I thought the boy should be holding a single red flower in his hand—
a flower he might have picked from the side of the road.
Giving him the flower was a spontaneous thought,
and I had not decided on its color.
But when I drew it, there was no hesitation: the color was red.
It felt as though the red flower could speak for the drawing,
expressing what this image itself wanted to say.
That flower may become a powerful symbol of his ambition,
or perhaps he is simply holding it,
waiting for the day when someone will receive it.
Kazue Shima fashion illustrator, visual story artist.
