#48 Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places
where other people see nothing — Camille Pissarro
Hi! How are you? Finally it’s a regular time newsletter coming at you! We’re so happy to finally be back on track, and keep writing to you our stories. We hope this weekend you get to rest or entertain yourself as a payback for the long and tiring working days! If you are going out make sure to wear mask and bring hand sanitizer — and wash hands too!
On our last #SalMonday edition, we invited our beloved classmate in university, Aya! She proposed an interesting theme of what could possibly happen before you say yes. Other than that, she wrote her story too. We’re so happy for her and wishing her the best both on preparing their wedding, and marriage life aftr that! Click here in case you missed it.
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Meiska
In case you missed it, Twitter — well pretty much every social media platform that exists today — is getting more like Instagram. Featuring the latest feature called Fleet, you can now share pictures or videos within 24 hours. Yup, everyone seems to copy the Instagram Story technology. Real time posts are getting more inevitable, yet beneficial for business purposes. Until the time comes we get to see the so-called Twitter-influencers actively promoting their sponsors lol!
Just last night, I stumbled upon this tweet:
Quote this tweet with the most beautiful words said by your parents that you can never forget
I can confirm, my parents top love language is never the words of affirmation. That’s why us the daughters, didn’t grow up inspired too much of them, from their past stories or learnings. We most likely live and find our lives meanings on our term, with their support of course! Here are my parents — not the prettiest, but — the most mindful words I could never forget:
“You’re too spoiled (at home) until your life out there (later) that will teach you to live (the hard way)”
After graduating from high school, I moved to Bogor to start fresh as a college student. I spent my first year in a dormitory that’s not hygienic at all, and slept with the lights on for one fucking year lol! Things got manageable after that because I live in my kos. After I graduated, I got a job in Jakarta, and still did not live with them at home. Most importantly, I did not regret having to move out and learn my life this way. I’m grateful for that, and feel privileged enough having parents that let their children live independently. Looking back, we were not spoiled in terms of getting the newest phone or laptop, overseas vacation and all. But supported in and out, because they wanted us to be as “most educated” and “kind” as possible.
“Keep giving”
My childhood home, was pretty much the head quarter for gardener and vegetable seller of my housing, pedicab driver, and sometimes the security officers. They used to gather and rest in our garage. My parents allowed them to keep pedicab and vegetable cart, and other working tools at our storage room and garage at home. They wanted to help them since they traveled so far away from their village to our housing complex, bringing those heavy things. Of course there are many more things that I can’t mention, but a clear lesson that, sometimes giving is not always “giving things or money”, but also making people’s lives easier.
Elsa
“I try to convey that I do care with people around me. This may sound obvious. But how often do we actually express this, rather than assume people know that we care?”
The beauty of not taking something for granted is also manifested in Thanksgiving, a precious culture that has deep philosophical meaning about caring and gratitude. Just imagine if you have a dinner together with family and beloved ones, and saying thanks each other — wouldn’t be sentimental to even think about it?
As I grow older, I forget how to be consciously connected with my emotion. Reflecting to the marvelous nuance of Thanksgiving, I tried to be mindful with my emotion and show my empathy to people.
I appreciated my Master’s coordinators
My Master’s coordinators in Lund University are just too kind to be true. They invited me and my classmates (referred as the Cohort 9 in my Master’s program) and the upcoming batch (referred as Cohort 10) to have an online fika, a Swedish culture to have a coffee break and casual conversation together.
Cohort 10 cannot start their study this year because of the pandemic. Hence, they will start it next year when I will graduate. Having a one-year gap and waiting for the study might be hard, right?
I appreciated my coordinators’ initiative to do this, and it’s just popped up in my mind to send a thank you email to them directly after we finished the online fika.
They were touched when receiving my email. I just realized, the emotion to know that they were touched with my email was strange. How should I receive it?
I supported my friend physically and mentally
All of courses in Lund University are set in group work. I have been exposed to different kind of groups from different courses. While this system provides abundance of advantage to help the students working communally, there is a drawback I can sense. The students take their group for granted and just interact professionally (because there will be a new group every two months.. the disposable feeling is true).
One of my friend in a group decided to go back to States suddenly. He has been longing to have the Thanksgiving together with his family and to stay there until new year.
And see my response related to what my friend said in the group:
It is an unknown area for me to text ‘just reach us if you need any support physically or mentally’. It is not my usual thing, especially in professional level. I even say ‘wow’ to myself. Finally my empathy meter is slightly increased and I can express it better to people.
Those two moments do matter for my personal development and growth. This lady with bad at expressing emotions is trying to do it better.
What is your greatest gratitude? Say it by leaving a comment below!
“Are your most trusting relationships intense, or consistent? Intensity makes a good story. Consistency makes progress.” — Rachel Botsman
