Schools: A Place to Learn or A Place to Earn?

It has been a week since the national examination for the 12th grader students was conducted. However, the hype is not over yet. Moments ago, people were shocked by the news released by the ministry of education which stated that some schools have to re-test their students due to some leaked questions issues. This phenomenon seems enough to add the preceeding sensation caused by the first online national examination ever held in some selected schools. However, it does not only stop there. Nowadays, it is such a common thing when we hear that the children of the city’s most respected general can be accepted in any schools they want without passing any tests nor fulfilling any required qualification standards. This is a sad irony when students eventually think school is merely trifles which can be manipulated. No wonder, the education system in Indonesia has finally left students with no integrity.

Students, which should be the subject of the education itself, have now been slaved by dishonesty . They pay their exam grades with answer keys they do not even know the truth. How could this happen? There are two main reasons behind it. Firstly, at school, students are taught the conservative way. What teachers say and how they write is what the students concern much, instead of the knowledge. Going home, what the students got from those eight hours at school is how to imitate their teachers. And what will happen if they do not follow their teachers’ way? It could get them anything, from an A to an E. Their originality, on the other hand, is not appreciated. It is the whole grading system that most students are afraid of which leads them to believing answer keys rather than their own ability.

Secondly, students these days are mostly money-orientated. People’s paradigm that states people with good grades or GPA are likely to have a more prosperous life, and definitely more money, has driven the students’ mind to limit what they are actually passionate about. Specifically in Indonesia, for instance, the paradigm that art-based money-making will not make an established life has made it even worse. This may be the cause why parents give their children a mathematics, chemistry, and other most-hated-subjects course instead of giving them a course that will develop their nonacademic skills. At the end, it leads students whose passion is dancing, singing, and other artistry, to a limitation to their creativity. This is dangerous as the core of education is actually, to create something better for the human race which surely will not happen without any creativity.

Despite some controversy wheter to change the education system of Indonesia or not, some people believe that this kind of system still brings  a new hope to the country as well. This kind of system, which makes students master many subjects at once, is beneficial as the basic knowledge of the students at the real work life. This same system, which seems to force students to study the subjects they hate the most, is a way to teach critical and logical thinking. And national examination, which has been considered as the roots of all education problems in Indonesia, is the easiest way to let students know what they are actually worth of and this will help them much in deciding what major they should have in college and what they want to be in the future and also acts as the simplest way to map out the students’ ability over a region and compare it to the other regions in order to make a better education strategy.

In the end, the education system this country is obtaining does have positive and negative sides. However, this system still needs lots of improvement since the subjects of the education itself, students, do not seem to hold the integrity any longer. Yet, once this issue is solved, I believe that the education system will evolve to be a better one.

This essay was written 2 weeks ago,

when the issue of National Examination was still very happening.

Anyway, I do hope someday Indonesia will be one of those

so-called

superpower

country

other country adore

because we (students) are simply

as awesome as them abroad!

Smartphones: What Is Expected and How It Turns Out To Be

It takes only few months for Apple Inc. to replace their latest products, iPhone 5S, to the more sophisticated one, iPhone 6. As we can see, the time span taken by these companies to release their so-called high-technology products is getting shorter. We cannot deny that the development of technology has brought us to the new phase of life. Unavoidably, people’s lifestyle is gradually affected that they now change their phones as easy as fashion trends. A recent study published in the Journal of Behavioral Addiction found that female college students spend an average of 10 hours a day on their smartphones, while men are reported to spend nearly eight. This phenomenon leads us to an expected fact that most people nowadays have misused their smartphones to gain popularity instead of socializing with others. No wonder, the phrase “smartphones bring those who are far close and bring who are close distant” will perfectly describe this social issue the urban society is facing.

Along with the advantages smartphones have given, we can conclude that this technology is undeniably a shortcut to more accessible internet connectivity which brings everyone connected. That is why, the ease of access, availability, and portability makes smartphones twice as addictive –and seductive- as other high-tech products. A research conducted by Nielsen Statistics in 2014 shows that averagely 62,15% of our time spent on the smartphones was contributed by chatting, browsing, and the use of utility apps. Human’s nature of feeling a need to be socially connected plays a big role as well in the field of how social media urges the importance of smartphones.

Walking down the street, people are busy looking down to their phones. Scrolling, playing, and even texting while they run to catch the bus. A long-time-friends meet up is a kind of time-wasting stuff since those silly conversations have now gone and been replaced by the silence created while having another kind of conversation with virtual friends out there. Ironically, our society is having their own clone in the virtual world lies among us where there is no more real time and space, but only a handful of technology development we call smartphones. Smartphones are such an addiction and just like any other addictions, the more we get attached to it, the more it hypnotizes us.

Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat are some kinds of today’s social media which attract our attention a little bit too much. These are the source of our “anxiety” as well. The feeling we are going to miss something if we do not constantly check our smartphones leads us to an illusion which is never real. The fact that people now take popularity as a great deal and simply state it as a part of self-quality has affected people’s paradigm about what they should use their smartphones for. Constantly receiving lots of hearts or likes on social media instantly heighten their self-confidence and create a delusional self-importance. Actually, this is the dark side we have to be worry about.

Smartphones, along with the effectiveness and efficiency they offer, have been widely misused to gain popularity instead of socializing with others. However, smartphones can actually be a great device to help ourselves perform jobs at best, but it is more important to create guide lines of when it is approriate to use and when it is not in order to optimize the use to something more beneficial.

Harry Potter: The Chosen One

Harry  James Potter was destined for greatness by the time he was born. Known as the only boy who lived after surviving a tremendous attack which had killed his parents from Lord Voldemort. It was not until in the age of 11 that Harry knew he was the one who was meant to defeat the wizard’s world most frightened enemy. However, the magic blood running through his veins had only left him stand still through all the tragedy and adversity caused by the following formidable fights with Voldemort, who never stopped trying to kill Harry. During his first years at Hogwarts, Harry outdid Professor Quirrel, Defense to Dark Magic teacher whose body was controlled by the Dark Lord to trap Harry. Chosen to Gryffindor, the so-called house where bravery and chivalry were praised for, Harry surprisingly was capable of communicating in Parseltongue, snake language for which the Slytherins were famous of. Thus, he finally unveiled the existence of the chamber of secrets which had never been exposed for decades. Harry then got the chance to face Voldemort personally right after using his blood as part of Voldemort’s resurrection potion, but nobody was killed in that duel on the Little Hangleton graveyard. Voldemort finally was killed by his own backfiring curse, after The Order of Phoenix, led by Dumbledore and then Harry Potter after Dumbledore’s death, succeeded in destroying all of his horcruxes where he split his soul into to become immortal. Harry’s courage and sacrifice to end the dark reign to save the ones he truly cared about laid him on the dignity from the wizard world and made him one of the most inspirational character people have ever heard of.

"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."

J.K. Rowling

Defining Dance.

So everyone's been asking me how I got involved into these dance stuffs.

I dont know either. It just happened. I got to know more about dance by accident.

The accident that I am grateful of :)

Long time ago (maybe 5/6 years ago), there was an audition to become the cheerleaders members of my Junior High School cheers squad. I didnt pay any attention, I am telling you, AT ALL. Well, I had dance class at elementary school but that was all. Once elementary was over, this dance stuff was so. But at that jahiliyah moment (I refer to my JHS moments) I had best friend, Camilla (I simply call her Cumpi -and we're still best friends even in distance) and she was so famous (like, jeez, can u imagine. we were still freshmen, from elementary to junior high and she had already been known by the peeps there even by the 3rd grader, it was like she was the princess and I was the pauper....) by the fact that she loved dancing and the cheers members invited her to join the audition. Cumpi said okay, BUT, with the condition that me and some of my other friends join too. So......blablablablabla we were accepted and this journey began.

The more you do something, the more you know it. I learn by doing. I did not know what dance is at all that moment. But everything was like a fast movie, it flies so fast that finally I am here, experiencing my 7th year of dancing.

Later I knew, dancing is not only about moving your body. Dancing is way more beautiful than that. To dance is to express your soul, your feeling, your emotion, your love, your anger, everything. To dance is to really feel what is inside my mind. Like free-ing anything. I can be happy and sad at the same time. Dancing is to deliver something. Energy and passion. More than that, dancing is a tribute. To people, to art, to society. Dancing is a dedication. There aint no way you can dance without you being dedicated to something. That way, I always try my best at any dance I danced. Not to show people that I am a good dancer, no, not at all. Just to show them I appreciate them, by giving them the best entertainment I can give at my best. So they get something, my message, without me telling them but by my moves.

So dancing is pure to me. I'd rather not doing dance moves at all than dancing without preparation.

Because like I've told you, dancing is not just dance.



It is the love of my life, and I want to give my love the best I have.

Are You a Villain or a Hero?

Who is here, a big fan of Twilight Saga? Raise your hands. Well, I know I cant see your hands ryt now but let me tell you that I got an English assignment to analyze a VILLAIN! Nah, can you guess which character I've chosen?

Read this first :)

What do you think of when you hear the word villain? Our whole life, we have been told that the guys with black mask and unbearably harsh voice are always the bad ones. Now, growing up, we often realize that people’s appearance does not always match with their personality. Everyone can be a villain or a hero. But they were not born, they were created by the people around them, and maybe, their past.

Rosalie Hale, the beautiful blonde from The Twilight Saga, is one of those so-called villains. She came up so annoying on the movies. This adoptive daughter of The Cullen Family was formerly turned into a vampire in the age of 18 by Carlisle Cullen with the hope that she would be Edward’s soul mate. However, the two of them had never been more than siblings. Then, when Edward finally met Bella and fell in love with her, Rosalie appeared second after Edward to oppose Bella's desire to becoming a vampire. At first, nobody knows what that thing mattered to her but there was actually something behind it.

Rosalie was known as the young elegant woman during 1900s. Born to a rich and wealthy family, she enjoyed the constant praise she got from the people around her. The admiration then left her as a self-centered and materialistic girl. A man named Royce King II then showed an interest to her and soon the couple became engaged. Unlucky Rosalie, she later found out that Royce was not the perfect one. Being beaten, brutally gang-raped, and left to die in the streets, she then realized that her desire of living a fancy life in an expensive house and having children on her own remained a dream.

Awoken as a vampire, Rosalie found it hard to accept things, especially after having known Edward’s rejection toward her. Her anger was even worse. She was badly drunk in jealousy by the fact that Edward did not show the slightest interest to her, who had been admired by most men she had met, and could fall for Bella, a mere human, instead. The fact that human life only existed 18 years to Rosalie got herself sad. Ever since she knew that her body would be cold as ice and that she would live forever, far from she had been dreaming of. The illusion of her grand children playing around her just blinked away. That way, Bella should have appreciated her humanity rather than desiring to be a vampire which would never let her go through pregnancy.

Now, what lesson could we learn? People have past, whether it is good or not. Yet, we can not ignore the fact that the past they have been through can affect their whole life. In this case, Rosalie is just a victim of her bitter past. She did not have a choice. Even if she was given one, she would have chosen to die rather than to be a vampire. Bella had a choice whether to turn into a vampire or stay as a human. Yet, she chose to be a vampire, which according to Rosalie, was wrong at any prespectives. From this we find out that Rosalie had never wanted to have hostile feelings toward Bella. She was just upset that her life as a vampire stopped her from undergoing the normal changes of life and did not suit her to have children on her own. Her desire to be human was so strong that she would give up her immortality and beauty for it. The way people treat her influenced her as well. The compliments she received make her believe that beauty and perfection were the key to everything. Later when she realized, it was all too late.

We are who we grow up with. Sometimes we do not realize ho big a person's impact on our lives is. Rosalie was constantly being adored by people, so it is natural that she was irritated by Edward's ignorance. Human see things, get used to it, and then forget how it was before all got started. Finally, I agree with the opinion that Rosalie Hale is not a real villain. She chooses to be rude not because she was born rude, but because she knows how hurtful it is to not have her dreams reached and does not want anybody else feels so.

Moreover, we are all heroes in our own story.

Villains exist only if we see it from one point of view.

Future Me!

So guys I'm posting some more good contents since my previous posts were too ........ (I invite you to fill in the blanks) hihi. The following article was written by my partner in English Class, Ni Putu Octaviana (16714136).

I think I have told you several times before that I'm not that 'ambitious' person. I do not even have annual resolution, but I do have short-term targets. And this essay talks about my future plans, which contains my long-term targets that I seldom write about so ya, maybe it sound a bit dreamy to you or it has big a possibility to change in the other time (we never know).. But, indeed, these are the plans of how I want to be in the future that I could imagine of right now...

RULE NO. 1

Please just say 'aamin' right after you finish reading it :)

                A sophisticated girl called Bethari will be majoring in Industrial Engineering. Bethari excells at social subjects rather than the natural science which explains why she is skilled at communicating with other people. At first, she wanted to be a dentist, then she unexpectedly dreamt of meeting FTI’s dean. I guess that dream was a sign for Bethari to choose FTI ITB. Giving up her dream to become a dentist, she applied for FTI ITB.

                At 22, Bethari plans to graduate from ITB then she will share the knowledge she has acquired in university by joining Indonesia Mengajar. Indonesia Mengajar is a sosial act, usually conducted by young teacher for the one who needs. They will be sent into Eastern Indonesia area, especially the region where’s no school there.  Her interest sterns from a concern that most children in remote areas don’t get proper education which makes them can be easily fooled by some bad people  in their adult time. Their knowledge of outer world is limited, so they may not have a dream at all and they are already in despair. Therefore, they can’t develop the real talents they have, they just stuck without trying to be better.  From my thought, this situation is a big flaw of Indonesian ‘s education system which leads to a dark future. I’m sure Bethari’s contribution will change their future in to a good one. She has such a great personality, so Bethari will get the children's attention easily. Hopefully, the children will absorb the knowledge which they will be given by Bethari.

                After coming back from Indonesia Mengajar, she will pursue her Master’s degree overseas. Her English skill will be very helpful for her in making connections and conversations abroad. At 25, she plans to marry and has kid the following year. She plans to live abroad too, in a place where she can find a mountainlike scenery.  Bethari doesn’t want to be a staying-at-home houswife because her mom looked so stressed by not working anymore.  She will be working while taking care of her children. So she can watch what will her children are going to be. Later, in her old time, she will be living peacefully with her husband while watching her grandchildren. With things that Bethari has done, i’m positive she can reach her dreams. Hopefully all of her efforts will be paid in the end and she will be happy with her future.

RULE NO. 2

Back to rule no. 1

Well, thank you :)

oh may gahd

Oh may gahd jeez it’s 2015!!!

Well my last post was in January 21, 2014 and it's been a year! Wow that’s quite a long time.

I hope you know that not posting something here doesnt mean 2014 is just as flat as highway. It’s waaaaaayyyy too adventurous for me, I must say. So many ups and downs, tragedy and irony, tears of pain or joy, and so many other things I cant even mention one by one.

It’s new year though, I’m not gonna tell you about my resolution or something like that (I didnt even write one, to be honest hihi) but I just wanna welcome all of you here to once again, be involved, to my experiences.

For your info, today I’m no longer wear that white and grey costumes, I AM A COLLEGE STUDENT wohoooooo so you’ve gotta be ready to read that oh-so-whimpy minds of superwhimpy college student –plz come on you know what I mean..

I’m wishing you a great day today and dont forget to make everyday count. Salam super!

PS: sorry for that sok-cutie-library-photoshoot, just wanna provide you some recent photos of myself during this perantauan stuff (which shows me getting too much fat lately), hoping your eyes will still be okay after seeing that :p

One more PS: actually what makes me do this bloggy things again is this english subject (academic writing-WR) which requires me to put my essays here after being revised by the lecturer so from now on, in order to make everything easier, I’m gonna put labels ‘cherish english’ in each post containing my tasks for WR.