In Everything That We Do, There Will Always Be A Tiny Little Things that Need Attention

Here I'm talking about the jobs that we work in. Some of my friends, maybe most, already step their feet on to their first job, or second, even third job after graduate from university.

I always remember a phrase that stated "Do what you love, Love what you do". I don't even know who said that. But the only thing I know is that, now the phrase has deeper meaning than I thought I knew. Especially when I already taste what it feels like to work.

The idea of an ideal work or working place that mostly influenced by my lecturers in university and people I follow on twitter, like @ReneCC or @yoris, kind of shape my mind that: we should do what we love. Well at least if we still couldn't found it and maybe too tired (or too lazy) to look again for it, we need to love what we do. In words, it is that simple.

But not that simple in action.

No, I'm not trying to persuade you with negative thought, in fact personally I try to avoid negative mind, but reality is sometimes too complex to be simplified. I'll take myself for the example. I work for a multinational market research consultants/agency in Jakarta, when first I found out about market research I found it extremely interesting to work with the data, information, knowledge, insight, and so on. I knew about market research from a marketing magazine named "Marketeers".

Until now I still find it interesting, but...

The reality is not only about big flashy facts that we usually read on newspaper, magazines, books, articles, or whatever. Those big interesting facts need a lot of hard work than I thought before. More attention to detail. Tiny little things need to be done before we can pull the insight. Before the presentation is ready to be presented. Before the infographic is ready to be published.

Lucky me, I work in a company where learning process is praised. Everybody is encouraged to learn more everyday. To learn new thing is a challenge.

An ideal work is a state of mind. We are the one who decide what the definition of ideal is and how to get there. The company you work in will never able to shape the ideal framework of the workplace. Of course they're trying to, but the concept of ourselves lies in our mind.

So I think for fresh graduates out there, the thing that all of us need to realize is that in everything that we do, there will always be a tiny little things that need attention. Sometimes it's so much you wanna get out from the tasks. Even in something that we love.

I think I love economics, so I need to be ready to face everything. I mean, everything. Obstacles, screwed up research, you name it. To earn the point and to climb the ladder to get that BIG FLASHY FACTS!

So don't turn your back when you face this kind of situation.



Have a great day! :)

Cerita Pagi

Pagi ini di depan kantor gue ada perbaikan jaringan Telkom yang lebih masif dibandingkan hari-hari sebelumnya sehingga pedestrian dari halte busway Karet (lama) ke Wisma Metropolitan (WTC) sulit dilalui orang. Ada galian jaringan di sana-sini.

Tiba-tiba pas gue jalan ada bapak-bapak yang kerja untuk proyek perbaikan jaringan itu jalan di depan gue dan dia merunduk.

Menyingkirkan batu di depan gue yang mengganggu jalan.

Dari Abu Hurairah radhiyallahu ‘anhu,ia mengatakan, Rasulullah shallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam bersabda, ”Setiap persendian manusia ada sedekahnya setiap hari di mana matahari terbit di dalamnya, kamu mendamaikan di antara dua orang adalah sedekah,kamu membantu seseorang untuk menaikkannya di atas kendaraannya atau mengangkatkan barangnya di atasnya adalah sedekah, kalimat yang baik adalah sedekah, pada tiap-tiap langkah yang kamu tempuh menuju shalat adalah sedekah, dan kamu membuang gangguan dari jalan adalah sedekah.”(HR.al-Bukhari ,no.2989 dan Muslim, no 1009)

Sekian cerita pagi ini. :)

Have a great day, y'all!

Gue sih Nggak Mau

Tertantang gue rasanya ketika ternyata banyak orang di sekitar gue yang sangat antipati terhadap pemerintah. Pemerintahan yang saat ini tidak mampu hanya untuk sekedar membuat masyarakat mendukung pemimpinnya, mendukung pemerintahan.

Soekarno bilang: "Beri aku sepuluh pemuda, maka akan aku ubah dunia."
Besar harapan Soekarno pada pemuda, dan harusnya memang pemuda mampu memberi harapan ke arah yang lebih baik. Sesederhana orangtua yang menaruh harapan kepada anak-anaknya agar dapat hidup lebih baik dibandingkan orangtua mereka. Dibandingkan pendahulu mereka. Sesederhana itu.

Generasi Y. Generasi yang lahir pada periode 1980an dan 2000an, dikenal juga dengan istilah millennial generations. Pada tahun 1987, Strauss and Howe menggunakan tahun 1982 sebagai awal tahun kelahiran dan tahun 2004 sebagai akhir tahun kelahiran generasi milenial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials). Generasi yang familiar dengan teknologi mutakhir, tech-savvy, bahkan start-up teknologi banyak sekali yang dibangun oleh orang-orang dari generasi Y.

Iya, itu generasi gue. Generasi kita. Generasi yang dalam 10-20 tahun lagi akan jadi orang-orang yang berperan jadi penyelenggara negara, pemegang kepentingan besar, dan banyak hal besar lainnya.

KITA PUNYA KEKUATAN BESAR.

Kekuatan untuk mengembalikan kepercayaan kita, sesama masyarakat, kepada pemerintahan.
Kekuatan untuk menyuarakan apa yang seharusnya jadi hak dan kewajiban pemerintah, hak dan kewajiban warga negara, dan menyejahterakan warga negara. Mengejar pertumbuhan ekonomi dan mengurangi angka koefisien gini.


KEKUATAN, bukan Ketakutan.

POSITIF, bukan Negatif.

PARTISIPATIF, bukan Apatis.

Ayo bareng-bareng kita ubah diri sendiri untuk lebih baik, jadi lebih baik untuk diri sendiri dan kepentingan bersama. Emang masih mau nanti ketika punya anak-cucu lalu Indonesia masih gini-gini aja? Masih ngga layak untuk disebut sebagai negara besar?

Gue sih nggak mau.

Ngga ada yang bilang ini mudah, tapi ngga ada yang bilang ini mustahil.
Barangkali memang sulit, tapi MUNGKIN.

Welcome (to myself)! Eerr..

Dear all,

After my exchange program to lovely Hong Kong I've been enjoying my new job in a market research company for 1,5 months, approximately. And, what I miss? My nap time. lol.

Well, I miss economics. Like.. I don't know. Anything.
I wanna involve myself in such economics thingy. Dear!

But the interesting about working in a market research company is now that I look people in a different way. An observer. That's exciting! Everything that we see in everyday life is basically about market, about the people. How we behave, how we decide to buy brand A for toothpaste, brand B for cereal, brand C for cars, everything. To observe on why people use specific brands, how to communicate brands to people, that kind of thing. That's what I'm doing now. :))

So yea, I'm kind of welcoming myself into this new world. And trying to increase my interest in a beautiful knowledge called economics.

Ciao.

Second Hello from Hong Kong!

It's almost a week since I wrote my last post "First Letter from Asia's World City". So, straight to the point let me tell you something: I am happy, excited, shocked, sad, and grateful here.

I am happy because finally I can realizing this exchange which already became my plan since years ago.
I am excited because I found new things, new friends, and for sure new experiences.
I am shocked because I need to deal with "unusual" things. lol. (actualy it will become usual when I get used to it)
I am sad because I need to stay far away from my family for 6 weeks and especially in Ramadhan month.
I am grateful because God still give me chance for me to live, to make up my life, and let me live my life in a good (read: the best) way. What else I can ask for more? :)

Enough about me.

I have many friends here!! (oh, why still about me. :p) Not only 6 (the EPs, in AIESEC we call it exchange participants) but a lot, including The Organizing Committees and the students.
People said "Surround yourself with positive people". That's true! Because your friends create big impacts in your life. You can do trial and error session with yourself if you don't believe in that words. lol.

Well, so I'm gonna share about my culture shocks:
1. University students in PolyU can go to campus only using shorts and sandals/flip flops.
That's very raaarreee in Indonesia. Or maybe it only happen in my campus? Because even I need to wear shirts/polo shirts only to enter faculty's library. And we are not allowed to wear shorts (moreover hotpants for girls!) to enter the class. Maybe because Indonesian people consist of more than 80% moslem? Or because of the "eastern culture"? I don't know. But, I'm impressed and shocked.haha.. It's just fun.

2. All I can find about food is: PORK.
I can't eat pork, so it's kinda difficult to enjoy every meal. One day at Pizza Hut in Macau, me and my friends ordered chicken soup. When I was about to start to eat, my friends told me: "stop, don't eat it. There is ham in it. Ham usually made from pork." And later on, the waitress told us that there was pork in it. Even in Pizza Hut. -___-
Honestly I like Chinese food, because it's also common to find Chinese food in Indonesia. I just can't bear the pork.haha..
If any of you, my Indonesian friends, want to go to HK for quite a long time, I suggest you to bring instant food like "abon", "bumbu pecel", or anything. Though it's not that hard to find Indonesian food here, but it's FREAKIN' EXPENSIVE. Gado-gado lontong is sold for HKD 86, Kripik Tempe will cost you for HKD 30, while Rendang is approximately HKD 120. What a price... Cooking skill will be an advantage.haha..

3. People here are...what should I say, hmm..fashionistas? Because it is very common to see people wears something "unusual". Like fur thingy, or anything. It is also very common to see girls wear boots. FYI, it's summer. And HK weather is hot (more or less similar with Indonesia), but very humid. And the boys usually carry tote bags. Something that only happen in some big cities in Indonesia. It's too trendy la!
And for you fashion people: you can find any fashion brands from A to Z here in HK! Maybe that's why HK people like to dress uniquely.

4. The next thing is people here live in apartments because the land price is soooo expensive. One of the most expensive place in the world! (yes, the world. Not only in Asia.)
While for us, Indonesian people, we can enjoy the wide range of land from Sabang to Merauke as we want. And cheap. We should appreciate our beloved land, a paradise in South East Asia. :") Cursing our country wouldn't make any situation gets better, right?

5. While most of Indonesian people live with religion, half of HK people (as one of my friend told me) don't have any religion. Some of my friends believe in God, but they don't have any religion. So different with Indonesia. :)
They kinda shocked when knowing that me and my two friends whose also moslems (from Egypt and Turkey) need to "fasting" for a month in Ramadhan. Without eat or drink anything since before sunrise until after sunset.





Note: I got two challenging and one challenging-but-quite-awkward questions from the students who attended the workshops:
* First was from a high-school student whose her grandmother is a Chinese-born-in-Indonesia: Why Indonesian people discriminate Chinese people?

* Second was from university students who asked: Why moslem do terror?

The third question is challenging and creates an awkward moment for me at that time:
From a high-school student: Is that true that Indonesian people do black magic?



Thought? :)

First Letter from Asia's World City

It has been so long not visiting this site! Anyway, since now I'm in Hong Kong for six weeks I want to tell stories about what I've experienced here. :)

I've been here for almost 4 weeks. *so sad :( because that means I'm gonna leave HK soon* Many things shock me and also give me valuable experiences. I believe that money can not buy experiences. If maybe for some people doing this kind of voluntary thingy means wasting money, time, and energy, but I don't want to be hypocrite so I want to admit that I can learn many things although I spend a lot for this journey.

We all can learn many things as long as we want. No matter the situation is.
I remember a phrase from "Ranah 1 Muara", a novel written by A. Fuadi, his professor in GWU said something to him: "I'm always a student at heart.". And that's true! That's a general truth. We will always be a student. Inside or outside classes. Because the real teacher is life.

So, first of all the reason on why I go to Hong Kong is because I applied for NAKU PENDA project. The FIRST AIESEC Global Community Development Program (GCDP) held in Hong Kong! It is held by AIESEC in PolyU - The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
It was a risky decision because, first, it's a new project, which means The OCs (Organizing Committees) don't have any experience in handling this kind of project. The chance of being satisfied is low. Second, Hong Kong is a quite expensive city (or country) to live in. I come from Indonesia, which means the Rupiah's currency is lower than HKD and definitely have lower GDP per capita and definitely it will affect my expenses here (that's why I learn Economics.haha..), and I need to pay my food, telecommunications, and transportation expenses all by myself (read: my parents). Third, I already graduated and I am delaying my chance to apply for jobs because of voluntary GCDP. What a risk...

But I take it. I'm taking it.
Opportunity doesn't always come twice.

I am very very very grateful because my parents support my decision. And (finally) after a year worked on my thesis, I thought I need a break for several weeks. :) but not literally break, though.haha..

What I got?

I found EXPERIENCES that I might couldn't find in another place and time! God leads me. :)

So, for this first post about my journey in Hong Kong I only want to say:
Be yourself. Go deep into your soul. Take a risk. Be brave.

One of the pictures I took in the first day in Hong Kong.

Hello from Victoria Harbour. :)

---I dedicate this post and another posts about Hong Kong Journey for my parents. People who always support me unconditionally. Insha Allah, Allah guards you both anytime anywhere.---

Thank God It's Me!

- - - - - 

When we fall down and feel like there's no exit way, we are underestimating ourselves.

When we cry and feel like no one beside us, we forget that God always beside us.

When we are too busy not satisfied with our life, we just need to take a look outside for a while.

- - - - - 

Thank God It's Me is my translation on how we should be grateful on life we have.

Who we are?
A college graduate? A student? A worker in a company? A job-seeker? An activist? Or even politician.
Whatever it is, in fact, we do not have to face a tragedy like what happen in Palestine or Iraq.
We do not have to face the war everyday. I wrote, everyday. We are not in a starve-state condition like what the refugees experience.
We even have chance to go to the university.
We are lucky enough.

There's a world outside of my front door, said Fall Out Boy. And that's why I write this.

Now take a look at the upper world.
People who live there--first-world countries in this case--can do such a mesmerizing invention. In technology, science, humanitarian action, or else. Because they do work hard to invent, at least in my opinion. Struggle for more and more.
There is no perfection for everything, but there is indeed a better way for everything.


A self-centered mind will create a mind that's in prison. Been there before.
A status quo, stagnancy. Take us nowhere.


So two things, care for more and struggle for more.
And Thank God It's Me!

Warm hug from Indonesia.

Note:
This writing inspired by several photographs of Dean Shu about Ethiopia.
I knew him from an interview several months ago for an event in his university which unfortunately I can not attend, later.

As Young As It Should Be

Helloo I'm back again! This time with an authentic character of youth: SPIRIT.

On Saturday, November 24th 2012 I went to an event named ActioNation #ApaIdemu #AyoBergerak. It is an event hold by Pertamina Pertamax to gather bright young people and their ideas for a better Indonesia. This event hold jointly in cooperation with several communities in Solo at Rumah Dinas Wakil Walikota Solo.

The purpose of holding this event is to stimulate young people to think and do something for a better Indonesia. By how? By create a positive environment through this event and reshape youth mindset. So at the event, I met two young and experienced honorable teacher, they are Mas Imam Subchan (@imamsubchan) and Mas Lemi (@mfalemi). Mas Imam is a sociopreneur and one of the founder of Akademi Berbagi Solo (@akbersolo), while Mas Lemi is a doctor and has strong passion in social issues. I prefer to call them "teacher", rather than "speaker". Because teacher is also educate and inspire, not just talk in front of the audience. :D And they did that: educate and inspire.

I wrote earlier : reshape youth mindset. As Mas Imam said at the event:

"How many of us twitpic a traffic accident before we help the victim? Or even just leave them?

How many of us tweet that they're alone in saturday night?

How many of us complain on something on twitter that doesn't work well even if it's such a bad weather, for example?

How many of us move our ass-off from bed in the morning and do something?

How many of us still make our bed up when we wake up?

How many of us check our day's schedule instead of check the timeline in the morning?"

Contemplate, ask those things to ourselves. Did we do that? Are we deserve to do that?

So reshape our mindset is the most important thing right now that we should and must do. Without a positive mindset and manner, everything is impossible. Even the easiest one.

Mas Lemi, from the very first time I saw him, I knew that he is passionate on what he do. People just can see it. :) He's a dedicated doctor and a good public speaker. He's now managing a foundation concern to kidney's health. In his busy time, he still have time to share with youth about his passion and knowledge. And he is very kind, FYI. :) You guys should meet him someday.

So from the meeting, I got points to emphasized:

1. Youth should be loaded with full of SPIRIT

2. Youth should do something IMPORTANT for themselves and for others in surrounding

3. Youth should be BENEFICIAL for others

4. Youth should be a SPARK

5. Youth should be HAPPY!

Yay! 

Warm regards from Solo, Indonesia.

Bonne Anniversaire!

Happy birthday to you. :)

Yesterday was August 7th 2012 and that means the 23rd birthday of my boy. Yeaaayy!

May all the best things come to you.

Be wiser, be a man.

I just wanna share some pics and say huge thanks to Aryo, Deary, Noval, Abi, Dinda, Nanda, Vani, Oki, Oki kecil, the contributors in the video of Wahyu Agus Kurniawan 23rd bithday. Bunch of thanks, guys. :))))

Yesterday was one of my happiest moment. Seriously this is not a lips service, haha.. That was some kind of feeling when you can do something to make other people happy with what you do.

The birthday is not only about the video we made, (yes, WE, because you guys are the contributors), but also it was about sharing the moment we have no matter how far we are. Far in terms of distance.

We got technology. :D Yay! Sooo happy we can enjoy the benefit.

Although I did major mistake regarding the video (I should converted the video format first before combine them all, later I knew it from Farah and Ikhsan. --" OMG thanks guys), but the birthday boy already got your message.

Your birthday messages, your birthday wishes.

That was the MOMENT. And that was priceless.

I also want to say thanks to Mamonk, Ajeng, Aya, Dito, Kotek. I'll text ya later. :p

Soo, really hope you like it hey you birthday boy. :D

Happy birthday.

Bonne anniversaire said people in Paris.

Why Write?

My last writing on "A Bit Reactivation" means a bit. Really a bit. Because after that, I didn't even memorize that I have a blog to maintain. --" So from now on, I'll try to write my experience, and forgive me if there are any grammar mistakes. :D

So, my supervisor for my thesis deeply encourage all of his students to keep writing. Because as he told me, the man who can change the world is the man who writes. When he said that, automatically I dig my memory and found two names, Plato and Socrates. The Philosophers. Plato was a student of Socrates, and two of them, in my opinion were the symbol of intelligentsia. Along with Aristotle, who surprisingly was the student of Plato, they helped to lay a Western philosophy and science (en.wikipedia/wiki/Plato). And I agreed my supervisor that the man who writes are one kind of a man who can change the world. Despite the fact that this world also need, what I call "actioners", the man who put their belief in action more than just on a piece of paper.

What I'm trying to say is: it is really good if we can do action, it's a must! And it will be better when we can mix actions and words so the impact will be greater than if we just do one of them. One is good, but two is better.

We learn from books. We should thank the authors because they are smart and have willingness to share their knowledge.

That is one thing I learn. We have the knowledge so we have responsibility to share it. Through writing.

Catch ya soon!

A Bit Reactivation

It's been so long I didn't touch this blog. Well, yeah now here I am back to you.

Mmm.....honestly I got nothing to write here. Not yet. Still shy because I had nothing left in my head.
No important things to share with you guys.

So yaa, later I will. :)

See ya soon.

Sedikit Tentang Integritas

INTEGRITAS. Apa sih artinya kata aneh itu? "kalau kamu punya integritas, artinya kamu akan melakukan segala sesuatunya secara positif dan konsisten" itu kutipan dari buku Young on Top karya Billy Boen. -a very recommended book for you who wants to be on top-
Saya hanya bermaksud berbagi atas kejadian-kejadian yang pernah saya alami. Orang-orang hebat yang pernah saya temui hampir semuanya bilang tentang "ketekunan". Mereka cerminan dari kata itu. Di dalam literatur manapun, konsistensilah yang jadi dewanya orang-orang sukses.dan lihat apa yang pantas mereka dapatkan atas jerih payah itu.

Mas Billy juga menyinggung tentang "...hal positif yang kamu lakukan...", karena di bukunya dia menulis bahwa banyak orang yang bisa sukses tanpa menerapkan integritas. Tapi pertanyaan selanjutnya adalah, seberapa lama itu akan bertahan?
Masuk akal. Mengingat sejauh peradaban manusia (lebay dikit ah), hal-hal positiflah yang selalu bertahan.

Tanya : "Tapi kan ini Indonesia, di mana semua hal yang putih bisa jadi abu-abu bahkan hitam."
Jawab : "Justru karena ini Indonesia! Emangnya kamu seneng kalau Indonesia begini2 aja? Nggak kan.makanya diubah. :)"
Sounds cliche uh? Saya yang menulis catatan ini dengan sok-sok nasionalis dan sok suci pun mungkin belum tentu menjalankan prinsip ini sepenuhnya. Tapi at least, kita harus coba. Kita harus percaya dan lakuin itu. Ingat kata tokoh Arai dalam novel Sang Pemimpi? "bermimpilah, maka Tuhan akan memeluk mimpi-mimpi itu" Mimpi aja dipeluk sama Tuhan, gimana kalau bener2 dilakukan? :)

Ngga ada salahnya buat jadi pioneer, orang yang inisiatif untuk jalan duluan, jadi leader. Siapa bilang gampang? Ngga ada. Tapi justru karena itu, pemimpin adalah orang yang kuat. Orang yang berani duluan, bilang ya atau engga dengan tegas, dan tetep harus memimpin pake hati. :)
Mudah2an catatan random malam ini berguna buat yang baca dan ngga jadi sekedar catatan omong kosong buat saya. (tolong Ya Tuhan) :D

*I really suggest you to read his book, Young on Top : 30 Rahasia Sukses di Usia Muda. Dengan cover buku warna kuning terang, pasti gampang dicari di toko buku. And follow him on twitter @BillyBoen. ;)

Note : I also posted this one on my facebook account.

Braveness

I'm 19 years old and I wanna do something.
Something important for people, something significant in my life.
I met many people, so that I knew much thoughts of them.
Their amazing mind, their great moves.
I wanna be great in a young age.
As great as a human could be.
Beneficial to others.
To my country.
To my nation.
To the world.

I wanna be brave. I need that.

Tulisan Pagi

Cinta itu mandiri.
Dia tumbuh semaunya sendiri, tak acuh sang waktu.
Ketika pagi datang dan kau terbangun dari tidur dengan dia di pikiranmu,
menurutku kau jatuh cinta.

Aku cinta angin pagi. Sama halnya seperti aku menganggapmu layaknya pagi ini yang menenangkan.

A Break

It's been months since the last time I wrote here. :')

We need to take a break.

My mom just called and ask me to back home.
I said : "I will, Mom. I just don't know when. I'm not really sure."
Mom : "What will you do there? Your sisters ask you too."
Me : "Then just send them to Solo. Enjoy holiday here."
Me : "No, just go home. We need to arrange something."
Me : "Yea I know, but please make sure first about that plan. I've things to do here rather than doing nothing in Jakarta."
Mom : "Come on, you can be my driver when you're here."
Me : "Noo. I'll only get bad traffic jam. And actually I wanna go to beaches with my friends here."
Mom : "Come home..."

I cried.

Did I weird or something? At the first I wanna spend some of my holiday time right here enjoying beautiful-untouched-beaches with my friends. Oh, I do wanna do this!! I want it so bad! But when my mom asked me to go home, I cried.

I know that I need to take a break. Really. But where to go?
I need amazing places to go. A beautiful scenery to enjoy. But I do miss the most breath-taking treasure in my life, whose in Jakarta.
If I could bring all of you to my holiday destinations, I'll be so glad. So blessed.
*Dear GOD, would you please help me?



But maybe I need to take a break first to the place where I've been belong for so long.
Home.
I'm going home.

Lagi, Bertemu The Creative One

Time flies dan nggak terasa sudah hampir dua minggu sejak saya ketemu lagi dengan Yoris Sebastian. This time with his girl, Mbak Debbie, ketika mereka datang ke acara UNS Blogfest 1.0. We (Me, Angga, Toto, Yoris, Debbie) spent some hours untuk ke beberapa tempat di Solo. Pertemuan yang bikin semangat lagi, terutama karena Mas Yoris ngasih tips-tips simpel tapi kreatif buat kami. Terutama untuk Toto dan Angga (kakak tingkat saya di FE UNS) yang baru aja lulus kuliah dan sedang berburu professional job. Contohnya, bikin CV (Curriculum Vitae) yang nggak standar. Kalau biasanya CV dimulai dengan nama, tempat tangal lahir, alamat, dst, sekali-kali coba deh bikin CV dengan cerita di awal. Jadi nggak biasa seperti biasanya.

Mbak Debbie juga cerita waktu sedang interview di Hard Rock, dia malah diminta untuk menyanyi bergaya ala Lenny Kravitz, bukan sekedar wawancara seputar job skill. Mungkin karena interviewernya Mas Yoris ya?hehe.. Anyway, kita butuh kreativitas kapanpun dimanapun.
Dan yang nggak kalah penting adalah kreativitas itu juga harus sesuai tempat : Think Out of The Box, Execute Inside The Box.
(Thanks to Mbak Debbie yang udah foto kami. Nice to meet youuu. :)

Hearts And Deeds

-God doesn't judge anyone according to our bodies and appearances, but God looks into our hearts and observes our deeds.-

Quote di atas saya dapat dari posting twitter seseorang bernama Donny Dhirgantoro, penulis novel bestseller 5cm. Ya, benar. Tuhan memang tidak pernah melihat seorang manusia dari tampilan luar. Sama sekali tidak. Tuhan melihat hati dan perilaku kita sebagai manusia. Sebagai utusan Tuhan untuk menjaga bumi.

Apa yang menjadi pikiran saya saat ini adalah mengapa terkadang manusia melihat manusia lain hanya dari tampilan fisiknya saja? Bahkan, Tuhan yang memiliki segalanya pun tidak pernah melakukan itu. Tuhan adalah Sang Maha Pencipta. Dia yang memiliki kekuasaan untuk menciptakan makhluk-Nya sebagaimana yang ia kehendaki.

Terkadang klasifikasi fisik memang diperlukan di dunia nyata. Tuntutan pekerjaan misalnya. Tapi ini juga tidak berarti bahwa kita berhak menilai seseorang dari tampilan luar, bukan begitu?

Dengan pengetahuan itu, saya menyimpulkan : jika saya menghina, paling tidak memandang sebelah mata terhadap orang lain, berarti saya juga menghina Tuhan. Karena Ia lah Sang Maha Penguasa. Penguasa makhluk-makhluknya, penguasa langit dan bumi. Itu kesimpulan yang saya dapat. Apa yang saya punya sampai-sampai saya berani menghina Tuhan? Ckckck...

Well, don't take it too seriously, I don't mean to do that guys. But if you don't mind, observes it deeply with our hearts and minds. Maybe sometimes I did it too, but always remember those words to remind us. Remind that we are only human, which is imperfect. With plus and minus side of us, we can be a good human.

It's impossible to be a perfect one (perfectness only belongs to God), but there are many ways, much ways to be a good human.

Au revoir!

Teman adalah ....

Silakan anda isi sendiri titik-titik di judul tulisan saya itu. Saya yakin bahwa masing-masing dari kita punya jawaban sendiri.
Ya. Teman, sahabat, kawan. Sebagaian dari kita mempunyai kategori yang berbeda dalam menentukan apakah orang yang kita kenal itu berstatus "teman", "kawan", atau "sahabat". Ada yang berpendapat bahwa setiap orang yang kita kenal adalah teman. Sedangkan orang yang sudah kita kenal dengan lebih dalam dan bisa menerima kita apa adanya adalah sahabat. Saya termasuk salah satu orang yang berpendapat seperti itu.
Kenapa? Pertama, saya adalah orang egois yang bisa seenaknya melakukan apa yang saya mau tanpa memikirkan orang lain. Tapi tunggu, itu hanya dalam beberapa hal yang tidak sesuai dengan prinsip saya.meskipun kami berteman, saya adalah tipe orang yang...yah, mungkin agak susah dipahami. Hehe...oke itu kekurangan saya. Karena sifat saya itu, maka saya berpikir : "beruntung sekali saya! masih ada yang mau jadi sahabat saya untuk mendengar cerita-cerita membosankan yang saya ceritakan." Tidak semua orang bisa menerima kelebihan dan kekurangan diri saya, diri anda, sebaik orang-orang yang bersedia jadi sahabat anda!
Kedua, mulai sejak lahir manusia adalah makhluk individu dan sosial. Dan oleh karena itu, ketika seorang anak kecil sudah mulai berinteraksi dengan dunia luar maka ia akan mendapat teman. Teman bisa didapat dari mana saja. Tapi sekali lagi, teman yang sekedar teman belum tentu mau berbagi cerita sedih bersama anda.
Ketiga, sahabat sejauh apapun mereka berada pasti selalu memikirkan anda. Walaupun tidak mungkin setiap detik dan menit anda memenuhi pikiran sahabat-sahabat anda, tapi percayalah suatu waktu pasti ada ikatan yang mengikat dan menarik anda kembali kepada sahabat-sahabat anda.

Tulisan ini saya buat karena saya sedang merindukan sahabat-sahabat saya. Jujur, sebenarnya saya ingin menjadikan semua orang yang saya kenal jadi sahabat saya. Tapi apa bisa?haha... Menyenangkan sekali rasanya punya banyak teman, apalagi banyak sahabat. Karena faktanya : dari lahir sampai kembali lagi ke Yang Maha Kuasa, seorang manusia PASTI butuh bantuan manusia lainnya. Sejauh ini belum ada cerita mengenai bayi yang lahir sendiri tanpa bantuan bidan atau dokter kandungan ataupun jasad tak bernyawa yang membenamkan dirinya sendiri ke liang kubur.

Maka tak salah jika dibilang "sebaik-baik manusia adalah manusia yang bermanfaat banya bagi manusia lainnya.
Oleh karena itu : "MAKE FRIENDS, AND KEEP THEM FOREVER". -Billy Boen. Author of Young on Top-

Keep your friends, fella! :)

A Leader in You

Banyak hal yang melatarbelakangi saya untuk menulis tentang hal ini. Bailout Century, pertanggungjawaban Boediono, Sri Mulyani, dan tentunya Presiden Yudhoyono. :) Momentum pemilihan Ketua Himpunan Mahasiswa Jurusan Ekonomi Pembangunan juga salah satunya.

Saya pribadi mengartikan pemimpin sebagai seorang pelayan terhadap orang-orang yang dipimpinnya. Pengertian ini saya dapat dari sebuah artikel di harian Kompas yang mengupas tentang kebangkitan India sebagai sebuah negara dengan perkembangan cukup pesat. Mohandas Karamchan Gandhi, well-known as Mahatma Gandhi, beliau lah yang memiliki pernyataan tersebut. "Leader is a servant. Their true willingness is to serve their people."
Ya, karena hakikat pemimpin adalah membantu masyarakatnya (orang-orang yang dipimpinnya) agar bisa mandiri, agar orang itu bisa mengeluarkan kemampuan terbaiknya demi perbaikan dirinya sendiri dan orang-orang sekitar. Nah kalau pengertian yang ini, saya dapat khusus dari idola saya : Yoris Sebastian. :)

Gandhi juga berkata bahwa kekuasaan politik bukanlah tujuan akhir, tapi hanya sebagai sarana untuk membantu rakyat memperbaiki nasib mereka dalam seluruh bidang kehidupan. Apalagi jika pemimpin itu menguasai hajat hidup orang banyak! Presiden contohnya. Seorang Presiden, Ketua, Direktur, atau apapun jabatannya tentunya harus memiliki kualitas pribadi yang unggul. Pribadi yang berkarakter kuat dan mengerti apa yang dibutuhkan orang-orangnya.
Menjadi pemimpin adalah takdir setiap manusia, setidaknya untuk diri mereka sendiri. Sebagai ayah, ibu, kepala bagian, project officer, gubernur BI, Ketua KSSK, Ketua DPR, MPR, Ketua Partai, maupun sebagai diri mereka sendiri. Maju mundurnya suatu kaum ditentukan oleh sikap dan perilaku mereka, bukan karena hal lain yang mungkin saja bisa seenaknya dijadikan kambing hitam. Dan semua itu dimulai dari diri sendiri.
Saya belumlah menjadi seorang pemimpin yang sempurna, atau mungkin tidak akan. Tapi ada banyak sekali cara untuk menjadi pemimpin yang baik. Belajar, belajar, berbagi, mendengar, dan bertindak. Menjadi pemimpin adalah suatu proses panjang, bukan sekedar tujuan sesaat. "Celakalah orang yang menikmati hasil tanpa menjalani prosesnya," pesan kakak tingkat saya, Johan Fithra Zulfikar. (hey, by the way we are competing in Election of Chief of Himpunan Mahasiswa Jurusan Ekonomi Pembangunan with the other two bestfriends : Ragil Putra Wijaya and Arif Darmawan) wish us luck, guys! Hehe... :)
Untuk jadi pemimpin nggak harus jadi ketua, tapi yang paling penting adalah : bermanfaat bagi orang lain. Sebaik-baik manusia adalah yang bermanfaat bagi sesamanya. Percuma doong kalo ilmunya kebuang gitu aja. Ya nggak sih?

Be Strong for Yourself, Be Useful to Others.(parkourindonesia.web.id)

"Behind a great power, there's a great responsibility" -Uncle Ben. Spiderman 1-

A LEADER IN YOU!!!

Ikhlas and Nobody Syndrome

Ikhlas.
Something that, until my 19 y.o, still unreachable. A phrase I got, "nobody syndrome", might answer why it's that hard to reach something named "ikhlas". It's nice to see people in their success, we'll feel proud of somebody we've known because of their success, but for some people inluding me it could makes me feel "I am still nobody and nothing".
Envy somebody could make your effort harder than before, but if those efforts make you feeling like you're just nobody, can we please on envying someone else's life?