#45 Prayer must never be answered
If it is, it ceases to be prayer and becomes correspondence. — Oscar Wilde
Rise and shine! We hope your Monday has started with new energy after a long well rested weekend.In the last newsletter, Meiska was writing about her favorite romcoms, while Elsa was commenting about epic memes she found. You can read it back here in case you missed it.
For this edition, we have #SalMonday with a writing from a theme given by the guests! We also encourage the guests to write according to the theme as well!
This time, Meiska invited Shanaz —whom she invited before in celebrating Liverpool FC Premier League title. Shanaz is an expert in sports marketing, she officially worked at the office one year after me, but fucking fast in adapting with the chaotic working situation haha! Well, she also used to be invited as a speaker in various sports marketing related (online) talk show and seminar, and often tweets about sports marketing.
A topic from her is:
"I've always been a dreamer until reality hits me like a truck"
We really encourage you to join the QnA session for our #50 Salmon Mentai edition (five editions to go)! You can ask question on our Instagram, or simply by writing comments in this post until the submission is closed at November 1st. Two lucky questioners will get very personal gift from us and will be announced on our podcast!
Meiska
Shanaz and I were kind of awkward at the beginning, I guess? But since we are always paired as she’s the marketing person, I’m the branding or hospitality person in office —that’s when we got closer. When there is an upcoming friendlies or FIFA A matches, we’re like the go-to person each of our responsibilities, and always placed in the same room in hotel. But we’re opposite in terms of behavior. Shanaz is the happy-go-lucky and calm creature, I am the easily-conducted by fire (emotionally lol) and serious person haha!
To be honest —and judge me whatsoever— I wanted to be the chosen kids. Yep like in the Digimon Adventures series. I don’t know maybe because I was invested too much, I wish Digimon and the Digital World existed. Haha, I remember I also wanted to be a Pokemon trainer but hardly knowing the names of their kind because Digimons alone are a lot already! Well, I almost wanted to focus to be a basketball player, because that’s my extracurricular choice both in elementary and junior high school. But well, in senior high school I instead focused playing with my friends haha.
Okay let’s take the proposed theme seriously. I never really want to be anything —or because I already became someone working in sports industry. But there was one thing I wanted so bad, it was being accepted in Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), which I was not. It kinda cut me off twice, all of universities I applied in both selection processes, my first choice was always ITB. My father and big sister were ITB alumnus, so I kinda think I got my chance as well.
Ended up in IPB University instead, did not keep me away from my sadness for long. Although I still entered one of the best public universities. Because the programme was like partnership between my father’s former office and the school, and the tuition fee was costly as hell! Haha, so many things to learn that, apart from all shitty things happened during my college years, I found my best friends! Maybe that is the only good thing I got from there? Who knows.
Elsa
There are always been trade-offs between dream and reality. That is a mystery of life: we never know the way until we try. Furthermore, I do believe that compromising for errors is a skill, not a talent. We need to practice it until we master it.
“The greatest thing in life lies on the journey, not the destination.”
I watched Tedx video yesterday suggested from my friend, Anton. In the video, Professor Brad Bushman said that there are two best predictors of success in life: intelligence and self-control. Intelligence, unfortunately, is something we cannot easily raise. But we still have a chance to increase our self-control by doing what he suggested from his study for over 25 years. You can watch the video below.
Nothing could ever beat my greatest confidence to chase my dream when I was in high school: I love arts and I want to be a graphic designer. But it was a bundle of nerves that unfortunately I couldn’t afford the art school. Consequently, I changed my path into something unknown. I have become a food technologist rather than an artist.
The prevailing of reality over dream doesn’t even stop there yet.
I had been a religious lady, at least until four years ago. I had a shallow concept that religion could save people from a ruthless world. But the more I saw the religion practices, I was questioning why people praised the attributes more than the values of humanity. It brought me to a moment when I finally reevaluated my belief. In the end I decided to believe in God (or a First Cause), and not in religion. I have become an Agnostic.
At the end of the day, these stories are stories about resilience. The older we grow, the more we learn about compromising for errors.
Shanaz
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
A simple question that is getting tougher to answer each day.
I was still in high school when I decided I want to be a lecturer or researcher in public policy. I decided to pursue Governmental Science in university with high hopes that it’ll lead me to it. Then reality hits me like a truck!
I was not the brightest in class, no matter how hard I tried to catch up with the others. Graduating is like an endless battle. It drains my energy much. I was more focused on my extracurricular activities, mostly involving sports. If classes drain my energy, sports is the opposite. It keeps me fully charged. I graduated with a Public Policy master's degree, but I graduated empty-headed. None. I have no clue what I learned in the past 2 years. I feel further from my dream each and every day no matter what choices I made, that theoretically should lead me to my dream.
When you can’t reach your dream, is that the end of life? Definitely no!
As I was remembering all the troubles, struggles, and surprises in life, I felt really grateful for every process I’ve been through. I felt really happy with my current job, surrounded by supportive and challenging atmospheres. I might not be lecturing. I might not be researching. But, I don’t feel like a useless human being. I can always challenge myself for the better. That is it. That is my new dream. To work in an environment where I could always challenge myself.
Nothing to be sad about not achieving your dream. Just focus on the process, learn from the ups and downs in life, then you’ll definitely find your new dream. Good luck!
Do you have any stories about the universe not taking your side like ours? Write your experience in the comment section below!
The great question is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure —Chinese Proverb
I'm in the state of longing for receiving a gift, so I will try my luck to join this Salmon mentai QnA session hehe.
the questions are: do you think capital punishment/death penalty should be existed? what is the most humane way to punish a person that have done inhumane crime?
Thanks
wishing you both abundant health!