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My big day started when I was standing in front of a bank together with my dad and my mom. Like other banks, the bank where I was standing was crowded. Many people passed me by fast. I asked my dad to go into the bank to do what we had to do; paying my tuition. I had successfully passed the test to be a college student at Universitas Padjadjaran and it meant that I had to pay the tuition. For the second time, I asked my dad and my mom to come in to the bank but my dad suddenly touched my shoulder and talked to me, “Are you sure to take the chance to study in UNPAD? I do not have much money. You have to be sure to take the subject you have chosen. You have to promise me that you will finish what you start today. This is a beginning of you new life and your new responsibilities. If you are not sure to take this chance, let’s go home.” My dad talked very slowly to me but I felt quite shocked. Certainly, it was not just a simple question for me. After listening to my dad’s words, I did not say anything. I asked the same question to my own self. I asked myself whether studying English at Universitas Padjadjaran was something that I really wanted. “Are you sure with your own decision?” I asked to myself and this was the only question in my head. After being silent for around two minutes, I doubtlessly said, “Yes, I am really sure. I promise you I will finish what I start today.” My mom smiled when she heard those words came out of my mouth. Maybe, she was too happy to see that I could decide something by my own self and it meant that I was not her little daughter anymore.
***
My new life as a college student began. I was so happy to live a new life and totally impatient to have new friendships with many new people. From what I had prepared for my college life, I knew that I was too excited to be a college student. I enthusiastically packed all my things a long time before moving to Jatinangor, my new ‘home’. Being far away from my home and my family is a consequence that I have to take because of my own decision. However, I had never imagined the feeling of being so far away from home and staying alone in my new room.
My first rent room was not too large but it was quite enough for my own self. The bathroom was outside my room but it was not too far. The bathroom was not only for my own self. It was for me and for another one who stayed in the next room. There was something I did not like from my room; the window. The window in my room was actually designed in such a way that made it cannot be opened. I thought it was just like a complementary accessory so it could be considered as a bedroom. It was one reason that made me move to another boarding house in the next year.
In my first days in Jatinangor, when I had not had so many friends yet, I spent most of my time by staying at my room and watching television. It was really boring. I also felt really sad and lonely and it made me want to go home and to be with my family. I did not want to be here. In a day, I called my mom for many times and told her that I was very sad to be here. My mom just slowly said, “My dear, you just have to adapt to your new circumstance and try to start a new friendship. Remember your promise to your dad!” Yes, my promise to my dad was my biggest motivation so that every time I was sad, I just remember to that promise to motivate my own self. Day by day was passed by in Jatinangor. I have some close friends here and I have already adapted to the circumstance.
***
As a college student, I am so familiar with assignments. When I was in senior high school, I really wanted to be a college student as soon as possible because I was so bored with all homework that was given by my teacher because honestly, I was not that clever to do so many tasks of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. All I used to do was cheating. I had never expected that the assignments in college would be so much more difficult.
Having assignment is one of my consequences as a college student and doing it is absolutely not my favorite thing to do. However, doing assignment is one thing proving that I am a college student. Being a college student is very different from being an elementary school, junior high school, or senior high school student. Assignment given by teacher is also different too from assignment given by lecturer in college. I cannot cheat on my friend’s work anymore when I become a college student because the assignments given by my lectures are not about answering some questions which have certain answer like doing math assignment anymore. The assignments I get in college are too personal that make my work will not be the same with other students. For the example, in writing class in first semester I have to write about my family which is absolutely different from my friend’s work. How could I cheat on my friend’s assignment when we come from different family? Another example was an assignment in Paper Presentation class that I got in the 3rd semester.
The assignment of Paper Presentation class was not easy for me. Every student had to choose one topic to be presented and the topic must be different between each student. I will always remember about this assignment because I finished this assignment laboriously. My friends and I had to write an essay about the topic we had chosen and then present our ideas in front of class using Power-Point slides. In the beginning of the class, my lecturer had managed the list of students presenting in the first week, second week, third week, and the forth week. I was scheduled to present my paper in the third week but in the second week my lecturer shockingly said that my three other friends and I had to present my paper at the day after because she had a lot of schedules and the class was rescheduled. I was shocked because I had not written an essay at all. After all of classes that I had to attend in that day, I went to my boarding house fast. I started to choose my topic than I wrote my essay. I was so stressed. I did not even remember to have lunch and dinner. Moreover, I forgot to take a bath too. However, I successfully finished my essay and my presentation slides less than 24 hours. I did it! Honestly, I almost thought to give up on that assignment but I did not do it when I saw a picture of my dad. It reminded me of my promise 1 year before. I intentionally put the photo of my dad in my desk so I always feel that my dad is watching me and saying, “Come on, my little daughter! You can do it!” That photo and my promise to my dad are two big things that always give a spirit to me. Actually, it is not a photo like other photos. It is my dad’s ID card and there is my dad’s photo on it. My dad always wore that ID card when he worked as teacher before he became a pensioner. In that photo, my dad looks much younger than he is now. His mustache and his hair were still black. It is so different from how he is now. He is much older and I can easily find his grey hairs. Because of that, now I have new motivation to finish my study soon; my dad is getting older.
***
Besides having many assignments, as a college student, I have to face final examination too. I do not hate examination. I am just not too interested in answering some questions in certain minutes to get a score as a repayment. I always hate those butterflies which always come to my tummy before test without any invitation. However, having final examination is one more thing proving that I am a college student so I have to do it proudly because many other people are not as lucky as me who can get a good education, just like the final examination in my first semester.
In the end of 2010, final examinations made me stay in my old boarding house. I just boringly watched the television in my room. I laid myself on my bed and covered myself with a blanket because that night was so cold like other night. From my room, I was able to hear the sound of fireworks which were dancing on the night sky. Every sound of firework was like a reminder reminding me that it was new year eve. I was too lazy to go out of my room to watch those fireworks because the coldness at that night would slowly kill me. I wished I had been home even if I was home I could not make sure that I would not do the same thing, watching television. At least, watching television in my own home was so much better, I thought. While watching television, I sometimes access my facebook and twitter account. On that new year eve, everybody blissfully said “Happy New Year” on their facebook, twitter, or other social medias but for me there was no “Happy New Year”. There was only “New Year” because I was not happy at all at the time but at least, I was not the only one who had to celebrate new year eve in boarding house preparing for final examination. Many of my friends did the same thing as me.
***
I was very happy to have some close friends here. My college friends were different from my other friends because we met and did everything together when we were in both campus and boarding house. Although we stay in different boarding house, we used to have breakfast or dinner together, do assignment together, and sometimes we even slept together in one of my friend’s room. We spent most of our time together and automatically we shared everything about each other too. We shared stories about our family, our love life, our old friends, our favorite music, and other things about each other until one of us had to move to another college.
Tiara, one of us, moved to Canada in forth semester. I was extremely sad when she told us that she was going to move to Canada. She is a smart girl and I always love listening to her stories about her family, her idol, and her opinions about this and that. In her last night in Jatinangor, Tiara, my other friends, and I stayed up and talked all night in Molly’s room which is not too large for six of us. It made me cannot feel the cold in that night. All I felt was just the warmth among us and absolutely the deep sadness. In that silent night, Tiara told us her stories endlessly until 2 AM and we just listened to her without telling our own story because we knew that we will be missing her so much. I was very sad but I did not let my tears fall down because I knew that Tiara moved to Canada to get better education so I did not want to look sad. Now, we communicate to each other through social media, like Twitter, Facebook, Skype, and Instagram.
After Tiara’s leaving, there were only me and four other friends. Every friendship always has a problem, so does my friendship. There was a little problem in my friendship that became bigger and bigger every day and unluckily, we were not able to solve it. We decided not to be together anymore. I do not want to say who was wrong and who was right because I think each of us had negative side which could not be accepted by others at that time. It is really sad for me not to be friends anymore with people I used to be very close to for last two years. There are too many memories between us that I cannot easily forget. I have never expected that a sweet beginning in my friendship would be followed by with a bitter ending. However, there is always something good that we can take from a bad moment. I am now getting closer and closer to my old friends again; my friends in my senior high school and junior high school whom I seldom shared my stories to when there was a conflict in my friendship here. Now, I become more thankful to God for them who still stay by my side for I really am; my bad and my good.
I have many friends in my hometown, Tangerang. Until now, I have a good relationship with my old friends both my friends in junior high school and my friends from senior high school. We often hang out together when I am home because most of them study in Jakarta so they are home every weekend too. We are used to sharing everything about our college life, our love life, family, and many more. Most of my friends are girl so that when we hang out or lunch together, gossiping is the most favorite thing to do. I also printed some pictures that were taken we hang out and I stuck those pictures on my wall in my rent room. Sometimes, those pictures make me want to go home but my assignments force me to stay in Jatinangor.
***
For me, having a long holiday means having more hours in a day because I do not have to do so many things that I have to do by myself in my boarding house. I do not have to think about what to eat like I always do in my boarding house every time I am hungry. It is not due to not having enough money to buy meal. It is about my ennui of the meal there and I usually need a long time to decide what meal my tongue will probably accept. Moreover, I have to go out of boarding house reluctantly to buy meal and it also needs a long time to go to the place where I buy it. Sometimes, my hunger just goes out of my tummy because it has been there for so long and it does not want to wait anymore. When I am home, everything will be easy. I can eat my mom’s cook every day without paying. It is a simple happiness that I always miss.
It was the last week on December, 2011 when I finally went home for a long holiday which I had waited for so long. The time I had waited holiday was even longer than the holiday itself. I had prepared all things that I would probably need for my holiday. I packed many best clothes of mine into my red bag a night before. Honestly, packing is one of activities I am not good at but I believe that everything done by a big intention will be so much easier just like that night when I enthusiastically packed my things. Just for that night, I labeled myself as an expert in packing. As usual, I excitedly went home by bus to Tangerang, my hometown. I went to Leuwi Panjang bus station first by taking DAMRI bus before I took a bus destined to Tangerang from there. Honestly, I always enjoy my long trip from Leuwi Panjang to Tangerang but not with my trip from Jatinangor to Leuwi Panjang bus station because as we all have known that DAMRI bus is always full and very crowded that sometimes makes me hard to breathe. I stood at the roadside waiting the bus impatiently. In front of me, cars, busses, trucks, and motorcycles passed me by endlessly that blew dusty wind to my face. It forced me to cover my snub nose with my hand avoiding the dust to get in to my lungs. Above me, the sun shone brightly and my sweat started flowing copiously. I wiped my sweat for many time because I was having a sheet of tissue with me. Behind me, there was a stall which I bought a bottle of mineral water at. After around 30 minutes, from the place where I stood, I finally saw the bus that I had waited was getting closer.
The bus that I took was full. I really thanked God because even the bus was full, I got a seat and I did not have to stand for around 45 minutes. I sat near the window so I could look at the outside. This bus run slowly and it stopped for many times to pick many passengers up that made this bus become more and more crowded. I could not feel the cold air from the air conditioner anymore. I took a look at people in the bus. Most of the passengers were student like me and surely they had the same destination with me, Leuwi Panjang bus station, to go home. I could see a lot of happiness in their face even they had to stand because they were not as lucky as me who got a seat. I could see their longing of being home. Through their face too, I could see my own happiness. Being home is good. Going home is better. All of a sudden, all things that I was thinking flew when the bus’ conductor patted my shoulder asking for my cost. After I gave him Rp5000.00, he passed me by fast just like my last final examination that I had passed before this long holiday.
Sitting in bus, I did not talk too much to my friends. I got my headset hung on my ears and one by one, my favorite song was automatically played. My favorite singers sang their song in turn but sorry to say that I did not really listen to them. My mind was busy thinking about some things making me happy at that time; home, long holiday, no more examination, and no assignment for at least for more than one month later. Sometimes, I reluctantly bring my assignment to home when I have not done it yet but I often bring my unfinished assignment back to Jatinangor because I am busy hang out with my friends. However, it did not happen at that time because I went home for a long holiday, not just for spending my weekend. In the bus, I could not stop smiling and awkwardly, it even made traffic jam in that day was not so annoying like in others day.
Long holiday is always the only thing that I wait for so long but I believe that I am not the only one waiting for it impatiently. Then, when a long holiday comes, I feel like I am the luckiest bird which successfully escapes for its isolated cage after spending several blue months of its life in it. The cage is made of some college things, like assignments, assignments, assignments, presentations, and examination. Obviously, long holiday is like the only key of the cage making me free. Free! I am free from those college things which mean that I can go back to my warm home and leave my cage named Jatinangor eagerly for awhile. Saying goodbye to Jatinangor is my favorite thing to do.
***
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