speaking of ...; when it comes to ...; as for ...; if one were to say ...
active duty; active service; student taking (university) entrance exams while still enrolled in school; student who passed their university entrance exams on the first try
suddenly; casually; accidentally; incidentally; unexpectedly; unintentionally
to recall; to remember; to recollect
uh-huh; mm-hmm; with a moan; with a groan
look!; see!; here!; there!; hey!
it seems; I think; I guess; right?; don't you agree?
topic; subject; much talked about; topical; in the news
to bite at; to snap at; to jump at (e.g. an offer); to snap at; to hold on to; to cling to
not caring; not giving a damn
pride (in one's achievements, possessions, etc.); self-praise; boast
woman; female; feminine gender
orphanage; children's home
volunteer activities; volunteerism
he; she; that person; (arch.) you
number one; first; best; most; game; round
to yearn (for); to miss; to feel nostalgic (for); to recall fondly
glass (drinking vessel); tumbler; cups (suit)
that day; the very same day
kindergarten (in Japan, non-compulsory education from age 3 until primary school); preschool
awareness of things around one; ability to understand what is going on around oneself; judgment; judgement; discretion
particularly; especially; in particular; expressly
to grapple with; to wrestle with; to engage in a bout; to tackle (e.g. a problem); to come to grips with; to work hard on
at that time; in those days
futility; waste; uselessness; pointlessness; idleness
to make oneself pleasant to everybody; to smile at everybody; to try to please everybody; to make things pleasant
to begin to say; to start talking; to broach (a matter); to be the first to say; to suggest (doing); to propose
until then; till then; to that extent; the end of it; all there is to it
and; or; and the like; and so forth; and what not
persistence; single-mindedness; sticking to one point; always making the same bet
so much; so often; oh, yes!; that's it; that's right; quite
to long for; to yearn for; to hanker after; to be attracted by; to be drawn to; to aspire to
it does not mean that ...; I don't mean that ...; it is not the case that
although I say; although one might say; although called
to put out one's hand; to extend one's arm; to reach (for); to try one's hand at (something new)
dear (old); fondly remembered; beloved; missed; nostalgic
movement; move; motion; trend; development; change
to be heard; to be audible; to sound (like); to come across (as); to be well known; to be famous
murmur; mutter; murmuring; tweet; Twitter post