Saturday, April 30, 2011

CULTURE SHOCK DISORDER

First of all, gue mau curhat dulu ya ;)

Semenjak menetap di Jakarta gue ngalamin yang namanya "Culture Shock" yang emang wajar dialami oleh orang-orang seperti gue; pindahan dari daerah. Dari minggu pertama gue masuk sekolah aja udah kerasa banget. Jokes yang biasa dipake di kota lama dianggep aneh disini. Budaya, cara berpakaian, hang out style, sama kebiasaan orang-orang sini juga beda. Sekarang udah bulan Mei, dan itu berarti udah hampir setahun gue tinggal disini. Walau demikian, gue tetap ngalamin yang namanya culture shock.

Mungkin karena itulah gue ngerasa kurang fit-in sama orang-orang sini, dan ini sama sekali bukan salah mereka. Emang natural sih, maklum budaya daerah sama kota kan beda jauh. Dan gue juga yakin orang-orang kota yang pindah ke daerah pasti sama kagetnya sama gue sekarang ini. Everything they do seemed strange for me, and everything I do seemed strange for them. 


Mungkin karena itulah gue kangen berat sama kota lama dan selalu mengisahkannya ke orang-orang sini. Tapi, ujung-ujungnya gue malah terkesan menyombongkan daerah gue dulu. Padahal bukan itu maksud gue; I'm not used to live in the city and I miss my old life so very much. Maklum juga sih, mereka belum ngalamin yang namanya culture shock jadi wajar kalo nggak ngerti sama kondisi gue sekarang. Tetep aja sih, at some point this annoys me. Jangan keburu nuduh gue mau nyombongin kampung halaman gue dulu dong... Oh iya gue jadi inget, dulu ada anak pindahan dari kota masuk ke  sekolah lama gue, jadi anak baru. Baru hari pertama udah make aksesoris, rok pendek (lebih pendek dari anak-anak lama malah), tas brand, dsb. Dan dia ngaku ke teman-temannya kalo dia anak elit yang ga biasa tinggal di tempat kea gini. Mendengar hal ini, teman-temannya pun dibuat marah. Dilabraklah anak itu, dan sejak saat itu dia menjadi 'outsider', walaupun sekarang udah bisa adaptasi dan bergaul sama teman-temannya. Sekarang, gue baru ngerti perasaan dia waktu dulu. Mungkin maksudnya dia bukan menyombongkan diri, tapi dia mau menerapkan budaya dari tempat asalnya dia ke daerah karena belum bisa menyesuaikan diri sama budaya lokal. Dia pikir, orang fine aja sama budaya elit seperti itu. Tapi di daerah gue, nyatanya tidak. Gue baru ngerti perasaan dia sekarang, karena kini guelah yang mengalami hal seperti itu.

But, take a look at the bright side!  Maaf ya sebelumnya no offense, selama gue tinggal di daerah gue dulu, mindset orang-orang sekitar masih sempit dan sarana ilmu pengetahuan disana juga terbatas. Well not all of them tho. Bukti? Di sekolah lama aja, make aksesoris sama sekali ga boleh, unless kalo aksesorisnya berupa kalung salib dan sejenisnya. Kenapa gaboleh? Ntar disangka preman. Sangat tidak masuk akal. Masa make rubber band aja udah dianggep preman? You cannot judge someone from the way they dress! Terus, buku terbaru yang ada di perpustakaan aja udah terbit dari kapan tahun, dan koneksi internet disana sangat teramat lamban. Plus ga semua orang punya internet di rumah. Nyampe sini, gue agak kaget ngeliat anak-anak sekolah boleh dengan leluasanya memakai gelang, dan kebanyakan diantara mereka mempunyai pola pikiran yang 'out of the box', serta intelligent.  Mereka mampu berpendapat dengan baik, dan pendapat mereka bukan cuma omong kosong. Terus, di kota lebih banyak kesempatan buat berprestasi dalam segala aspek. Sementara, di daerah gue dulu hanya beberapa anak yang memiliki hak untuk berprestasi. Buktinya, salah seorang murid yang *maaf ya ga bermaksud mengejek* sebenernya punya suara yang biasa aja tapi entah kenapa menjadi murid kesayangan semua guru, diikutsertakan dalam segala kegiatan sekolah yang melibatkan kegiatan musikal. Sementara, teman-temannya yang  justru punya suara bagus ga pernah diikutsertakan. Kurang adil apa coba...

Sesungguhnya, culture shock inilah yang menjadi salah satu beban pikiran gue sekarang~ yah tapi gimanapun juga, life goes on! Walaupun gue nggak suka tinggal di kota, paling tidak ada banyak sisi positif yang bisa gue ambil disini. Kalo gue ga tinggal di kota, gue ga bakal nemuin orang-orang baik hati dan cerdas yang sekarang menjadi sahabat-sahabat gue. Gue ga bakal bisa ikutan lomba-lomba yang sebelumnya ga pernah diadain di tempat tinggal lama. Gue ga bakal belajar untuk berpikiran terbuka dan berwawasan luas. Di daerah lama, gue belajar untuk menghargai alam dan kebersamaan. Gue belajar untuk menjadi diri sendiri dan apa adanya, dan sekarang pengalaman-pengalaman di kota memberi tambahan dari apa yang pernah gue pelajarin di daerah. Selalu ada sisi positif dari segala hal ;)

WHO NEEDS A LUCKY CHARM...

...When you already have precious best friends surrounding your heart? They are parts of my soul, pieces of my heart. Without them, I might be a breathing human with no soul. I would not go this far without their everlasting supports. I would not be who I am today without their understandings :)

Life is tough sometimes, and by the time you feel helpless and tired you can always talk to your best friends, and even if they cannot give you an advice, you always feel better because they are listening to you. It feels like pouring a bucket full of water, and as you pick the bucket up, it is way more lighter than before!

I am the type of a person who is complicated, and not all people could understand my thoughts or behavior. I do things that most people do not do, or things that considered as something strange. I tell things that most people considered as nonsense. As the result of this, I receive many rejections and misunderstanding. During the days when this happens, I stare quietly at some teenagers who seemed to have so much fun laughing and hanging out, envying them deep inside. I would love to become a normal typical teenager, being different is somehow exhausting. At hard times like this, what I truly need is my best friends, and I really appreciate their effort to help me and listen to me. I appreciate their effort to understand me even if they cannot understand the whole concept of myself. How could I pay such kindness?

My best friends are human angels; they cannot be there for you all the time, but their heart are always present. Their ears are always open, and their eyes are always aware of my conditions. I love them very much, I cannot describe how much I love them. They are the reason why I am trying to be a better person, they are the foundation of my life.

WHEN ARTS AND MELODIES COMBINED; DREAM THEATER

I am so in love with this band! Well not everyone adore the kind of music they're playing, I know. But one thing I noticed from this band is that they combined advanced techniques in playing the instruments with the power from feelings and emotions. And I also felt sad when I heard that Mike Portnoy is leaving the band; he wasn't planning to leave actually, he was just taking a break but as he asked the band to rejoin, they rejected him. Sad thing :( And now, here's Mike Pangini, the new drummer of Dream Theater! Dream Theater sure is lucky to have him, he sure is a virtuoso! I adore his skills and emotions when playing the drum :D

And here are my favorite DT songs:

WAIT FOR SLEEP

More to classical, I think. I love the way the lyrics and melodies unite! I'm currently learning this song on the piano, enjoying every note of it. I listen to this almost every night before I lay myself down on the bed :D I heard that this song is about a friend of Kevin Moore. She's a spiritualist and having hard times in her life, so he then wrote this song as a tribute for her. Such a lucky woman, every woman in the world would love to have such beautiful song as a gift! Also, this is the top comment from youtube: "Try to listen this song when you are lying in bed before bedtime and try to picture lyrics as the song is playing. Very beautiful!" VERY TRUE!

PULL ME UNDER

Somehow the strange melodies from this song are always stuck in my head. They go well with the lyrics, and the lyrics are also very epic!

OCTAVARIUM

Despite its length, this song is well-written and I once again adore the melodies that came out from this! This song brings such precious moment for 24 minutes. I've seen the live version, and was speechless when seeing Jordan Rudess playing that keyboard and synthesizer? Well I'm not really sure what instrument he played besides the keyboard but the passion and the joy he shows were really impressive! Thumbs up from me! Also, I often listen to this song when going home from school in the car :D

THE DANCE OF ETERNITY

Very complicated yet well-done melodies! The drum was epic, so as the guitar, bass, and keyboard :D I was really REALLY impressed when listening to this! It is not easy to create such masterpiece.

Well, that's all from me right now. See you all soon! :D

Friday, April 29, 2011

INSIDE MY MIND: A WORLD FULL OF COLORS AND IMAGINATION

This is how it looks like:


I could never stop thinking about something, my mind always works even when I fell asleep. When you see me laying on my bed for hours and stay there in the same position, you might think that I'm sleeping or just being lazy, but I'm actually not! I was thinking about something beyond reality, becoming a part of my own imaginary world.

However, having this kind of mind bothers me sometimes. Since my mind can't stop thinking and imagining, I often distracted in class. I might seem that I'm paying attention to the explanation from the teacher, but I'm actually not! I am present in the class, but my mind is out there somewhere... And as the result, I found that I almost don't understand anything at the end of the session.

And I don't know how to keep focusing and stop my mind from going anywhere for a while :/ Well, there's always a - and + in you!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Speaking About Religions...

Akhir-akhir ini berita yang gue liat di TV kebanyakan tentang kurangnya toleran untuk memiliki kebebasan beragama di negeri ini. Yang bom bunuh diri di Masjid itu lah, ancaman bom di gereja lah, penyiksaan kepada anggota Ahmadiyah lah... Dan makin lama gue makin kesel ngeliat berita kea gini.

And so, I'm going to put my opinion about this.

Beragama itu kan hak orang, dia berhak memilih jalannya sendiri untuk mencapai satu tujuan yaitu Tuhan. Kita ga akan bisa memaksa dia untuk mempercayai apa yang kita percaya, karena dia punya prinsipnya sendiri. Dan kalopun kita merasa agama kita paling benar, ya hak kita juga sih. Tapi nggak sampe seekstrim itu juga lah dan ga usah diungkit-ungkit ke orang lain yang punya kepercayaan yang berbeda. Ingat bahwa semua orang itu punya hak, dan kita sebagai warga Indonesia harus tetap memegang prinsip Pancasila. Ingat sila ke 1: KETUHANAN YANG MAHA ESA. Dan kata guru PkN saya, sila ini mengandung arti bahwa adalah suatu keharusan bagi kita untuk menghargai agama lain. Apakah bom bunuh diri adalah bentuk rasa menghargai? Saya rasa tidak.

Jika semua umat manusia di seluruh dunia memiliki agama yang sama, apakah dunia akan menjadi lebih baik? Tidak. Kehancuran di dunia ini bukan disebabkan oleh agama yang berbeda-beda, akan tetapi hati kita yang masih egois dan dingin. Agama tidak ada hubungannya dengan kekacauan di dunia, yang membuat kita membenci satu sama lain dan merusak perdamaian adalah ego yang kita miliki.

Lagipula, tujuan orang memiliki agama kan untuk mendekatkan diri dengan Tuhan. Semua agama di dunia ini memiliki tujuan yang sama, yaitu Tuhan. Agama kan fungsinya itu, dan semua agama memiliki fungsi yang sama. Di mata saya, semua agama itu sama-sama spesial, nggak ada yang lebih bagus dari yang lain. Dan dari yang saya pelajari selama ini, ternyata semua agama itu sama ajarannya, yang membuat mereka berbeda adalah bentuk penyampaian pesannya kepada umat manusia. Misalnya nih, Kristen kan menyampaikan pesan dan pelajarannya lewat Yesus Kristus, Islam lewat Nabi Muhammad SAW, dsb. Tapi inti dari pesan-pesan dan pelajaran di semua agama itu sama, yaitu Cinta Kasih dan damai. Apakah ada agama yang mengajarkan umatnya untuk membenci? Kalo sampe ada, itu sih bukan agama namanya.

Masih ada niat untuk menghancurkan agama lain? Coba kurungkan dulu niat itu, dan dengarkan ajaran mereka. DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER :) Anda tidak berhak untuk menyatakan kesesatan suatu agama tanpa tahu sejarah agama itu sendiri. Jujur, dulu saya menyimpan dendam terhadap suatu agama lain karena suatu kejadian yang membuat saya marah besar, dan suatu hari, saya dipertemukan oleh seorang teman yang memiliki agama tersebut. Dengan cara yang objektif, dia menjelaskan tentang agamanya. Di sisi lain dia juga menyatakan rasa kagumnya terhadap agama-agama lain. Ketika saya mendengarkan penjelasannya tentang agamaya, mata saya menjadi terbuka. Ternyata selama ini pemikiran saya terlalu sempit, dan dendam yang saya simpan itu sama sekali tidak berguna. Sejak saat itu, saya mulai tertarik dengan ajaran agama-agama lain, dan menjadi seorang universalist; tidak hanya terpaku kepada satu agama.

Adalah hak semua orang untuk memeluk agama yang ia rasa patut ia peluk, namun ia memiliki kewajiban untuk menghargai agama lain yang ada di muka bumi ini.

note: saya bukannya menjadi sok bijak mentang-mentang anak indigo ya disini, tapi saya memiliki hak untuk mengeluarkan pendapat. jika ada kritik dan saran ataupun argumen, silahkan disampaikan dengan cara yang baik dan santun.

Another Fresh Post!

Yeah I know, I should be in school today. But here I am sitting in my room having stomachache, studying chemistry and physics. I am sooo dilligent ;) ;) ;) :*

Gue lagi demen banget sama Iron Maiden walaupun baru punya lagu mereka dikit. Dan sekarang lagi dengerin lagunya yang "Seventh Son of A Seventh Son", katanya sih nih lagu diambil dari cerita tentang anak gifted gitu, agak ga ngerti juga sih. tetep aja lagunya keren abis, apalagi pas bagian instrumental di paling akhir.

Ini liriknya:

Here they stand brothers them all
All the sons divided they'd fall
Here await the birth of the son
The seventh, the heavenly, the chosen one

Here the birth from an unbroken line
Born the healer the seventh, his time
Unknowingly blessed and as his life unfolds
Slowly unveiling the power he holds

Seventh son of a seventh son
Seventh son of a seventh son
Seventh son of a seventh son
Seventh son of a seventh son

Then they watch the progress he makes
The Good and the Evil which path will he take
Both of them trying to manipulate
The use of his powers before it's too late

Seventh son of a seventh son
Seventh son of a seventh son
Seventh son of a seventh son
Seventh son of a seventh son

Today is born the seventh one
Born of woman the seventh son
And he in turn of a seventh son
He has the power to heal
He has the gift of the second sight
He is the chosen one
So it shall be written
So it shall be done

Dan lagunya:



Yang bikin gue demen sama IRON MAIDEN itu, mereka kalo bikin instrumental keren abis, kea Dream Theater gitu, keren! Terus lyrics di setiap lagu mereka powerful banget, straight to the point. Salah satu bagian lirik yang paling gue suka itu ada di lagu mereka yang "POWERSLAVE":

"When the life giver dies, all around is laid waste."

Powerslave itu tentang salah satu god-nya Egypt yang harus disacrifice buat jadi powerslave rakyatnya, if I'm not mistaken. Dan lirik ini ngena banget.

Speaking about Iron Maiden, dari dulu gue ngidem pengen punya band beranggotakan anak-anak dari seluruh penjuru dunia. Jadi gue mewakili asia, ada anggota yang mewakili eropa, satu lagi mewakili africa, satu lagi america, dsb. Dan lagu-lagu yang kita compose bukan lagu meaningless yang lagi ngetrend akhir-akhir ini, tapi lagu cinta kasih dan damai. The world needs love, light, and affection, instead of some galau-ish lyrics. No offense to galau songs ya, I adore some of those songs tho :P kalo emang ga kesampean anggotanya dari seluruh penjuru dunia yah, anggota dari negara lokal juga ga masalah. asal lagunya tentang perdamaian aja, apa ngga opini pemuda tentang 'all the chaos that ruined everything in the earth.' Dan nada di lagu seperti ini harus disesuaiin, jangan pake nada-nada screamo dan metal ga jelas *walopun gue suka beberapa lagu berjenis begitu hehehehehe* tapi nadanya mengandung aliran positif yang bisa membangkitkan semangat semua orang yang mendengarkannya.

Terus, masih ada hubungannya sama ini... jadi waktu itu gue mimpi gue udah buat bandnya, dan anggotanya ada 5 orang; gue (mewakili asia), cowo1 (mewakili africa), cowo2 (mewakili negara timur), Tyler (mewakili america, cuma dia yang gue inget namanya -__-), dan cewe yang mewakili eropa. Beberapa hari kemudian, gue ngepost sesuatu di salah satu group yang gue join di Facebook. dan ga lama kemudian, dibales sama orang yang bernama TYLER. foto di profile picturenya SAMA PERSIS sama yang gue liat di mimpi. Hopefully, this is a good and positive sign that making this band is possible :) dan siapa tau Tyler yang ngebales post gue di group itu jadi anggota juga wehehehe (orangnya ganteng lho... :P)

Yah, semoga tercapai lah ya cita-citanya :)

SIMPLE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY

I've concluded that a single simple thing would brighten the entire day! So few days ago, I went to Physics excursion along with my physics mates and ate some chicken for lunch. I haven't eat chicken and any kinds of meat for a long time since I've become a semi-vegetarian (still consume fishes or sea foods, and sometimes still consume meat). And all in a sudden I was craving for KFC chicken. Just as I went home from the excursion and going out with my auntie, she bought me a portion of KFC chicken! :D

Also, I haven't ate cheesecake for months, and I've been craving for it in a long time. Suddenly, yesterday my grandma called me because she had some snacks, and as I opened the box, voila! it's a piece of cheesecake, and a good one :)'

I want to read national geographic magazines since I am really interested in nature, and my grandma actually own 2 NatGeo magazines and keep them in her wardrobe for a long time! She didn't know she had them until I told her that I really want to subscribe the magazine. Even tho the magazines are the old one, but still... The information inside are very useful :)

Yesterday I watched '?' with grandma and a cousin. I haven't watch movies for a long time, and even tho I dislike the ending of this movie, it brings a smile on my face :D After finished watching the movie, I have a chat with some of my friends via BBM, and even this simple activity makes me happy until today, I don't really know why... :)) Earlier, I hugged one of them in school to cheer her up, and I somehow feel relieved from all of the burdens I kept for weeks.

Well, that's all for now. Hope that this simple post would bring a smile on someone's face, or that something simple would happen to brighten your day! :D

Saturday, April 23, 2011

When You Become A Stranger in A Room Full Of People

Sometimes you found it hard for people to understand you, and sometimes you can't even understand yourself. What you do, what you think, and what you feel, are too complicated to explain in sentences. And as no one understands, they rejected you for being a stranger. They noticed something strange in you, something unusual... and so they create an invisible wall between you and themselves, afraid that strange things inside you will affect them.

Things sure are tough when this happens. And as you walk trough many people that surrounds you, you feel something strange that no one understands, not even you. perhaps it is loneliness, or fear, or even peace. When you are getting tired of walking alone as a stranger, you tried to be someone else, yet you will be yourself again. You cannot be anyone else but you, never. Sooner or later, you'll be you. And I do not know if I, myself, is a kind of person that the world needs. I don't feel like my present is useful; I tried to make differences by telling people what I see and what I hear and what I feel about something, but then again people rejected my actions. They call me a liar, fake, a dreamer. This leads me to the edge of my hope, and I have wasted all of my energies for doing this. Yet my energies ended up useless. Rejection happens even tho there's a little bit acceptance from some people.

I know, I shouldn't be hopeless like this. but I am really tired. I keep seeing things and hear them, and something tells me that I need to inform this to people, but I do not know how.

And here's the big question:
SHOULD I KEEP CLIMBING THIS RUGGED MOUNTAIN?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

MUST. WATCH. THIS.



and I go LMAO because of him.

A Letter From One's Deepest Heart

The people with different lights in their soul are the ones that the earth did not understood, like a star shines in the sky blue horizon. It is such a pity for a master, to judge an artist by another masterpiece. When a human appears with a brand new aura, he shall shine the color of his heart to the world. Thus, a child would destroy the bubbles that he has not seen before. A man would feel like a dog stuck in a group of wolves, when the earth reflects his color to the empty sky. As he walks, the icy cold eyes shall guide him untill he is perished. Yet, the earth will never recognize revolution as his soul transits. What is the point of living in a coincidence, when life owns a pathway to the golden star? What is the point of dying, when the spirit of water did not fulfill the thirst of mankind? Flowers shall embrace the world with their own colors and hues, as a monotone fruitless grape tree will be nothing but a spot of darkness. One will not recognize warmth if he did not know coldness.