津波で水没しても建物は残っていた。br/ 今はもう、影も形もなくなってしまった湊span class="small"（みなと）/spanの看護学校跡地。br/ ここで看護を学び、人として育ててもらい、今の私がある。br/ たくさんの後輩もここで看護を学んだ。br/ 今もこれからも私には見える、コンクリートの壁の学校がしっかりと建っている。br/ br/ span class="small"strong石巻 高橋 /strongbr/ 宮城県石巻市吉野町 2013年3月 撮影/spanbr/ _______________________________br/ br/ This is the place where I was born and raised 29 years ago.br/ Year 1 [after the disaster]: This is the place that wrenched my heart, a place where I couldnrsquo;t hold back my tears.br/ Year 2: This is the place that made me fear that I would someday forget the scenes I recalled when I closed my eyes. This is the place that stirred up my frustration, telling me I couldnrsquo;t just do nothing, yet the things I could do were limited.br/ Year 3: This is the place where I faced my regret over the things I failed to cherish. This is the place where I reminisced over the gentle breeze, scents, colors, and sounds that had nurtured me.br/ Year 4: This is the place that gave me a push forward as I resolved to start anew.br/ This is the place where I can sincerely appreciate the joy of being alive in this moment.br/ This is the place where I began.br/ br/ span class="small"strongChiemi Kamata/strongbr/ Photo: Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture, July 2014/span