Start All Over

It's like about another 16 days before I go back to Indonesia. Around two weeks before I close one of my chapters of my college life: second year student. Cannot believe that I've spent half of my university life. Two more years. Yes, two more years. Whenever I remember it, I'd start feel sad about it.

Anyway, I did lots of thing these two years. Last night, I went through all my photos in APU and I realize lots of things happened here. Especially, this semester, I was so busy with a lot of things. RA, Indonesian Week, SAS, etc. that it affected my body and mind. I felt pretty exhausted back then. And I realized it influenced the way I do my job. I couldn't focus as much as before (and I was known for my ability to stay focus!) . All I wanna do is sleeping, sleeping and do nothing. Pretty bad, at least for me. I learnt my lesson. It's not that I couldn't do it properly, I just couldn't do all the things in the same time. Valuable lesson for me to respect myself as well.

Anyhow, it's almost finish and summer vacation is approaching. I'll go back to Indonesia for a pretty long time, about more than a month. This time, I will go home for my own sake. I really want to take a real break and start to think slowly of what I wanna do next, of how I want to spend my remaining two years in Japan. And I wish I could go back to Japan with fresher image of Maya. Keeping back with my old work ethics (keep focus! organized! time management!), cut off this semester's bad habits (a little bit not being myself due to lots of circumstances) , keep things that really important for me, and not give up easily. Basically, I would like to try to return to my old self like one year ago but with more smile, more open with people, and keep being positive.

Kind of glad that I will move to downtown starting next semester. With new place and environment, it's kind of easier to start all over again. And I might cut my hair, this time, I will go for short. But not too short though. It's kind of great feeling. Next semester, I am going to be 3rd year student, and it will gonna be my fresh start. I can't wait. Even though things might going to get rough next semester, I will just need to remember that I only got two years left in this small lovely place called Beppu, so I'd better to enjoy every second of it!

Tanabata: Japanese Star Festival

In Japan, there's this star festival that the whole Japan would celebrated once a year called Tanabata. During this festival, you could see bamboo tree everywhere in Japan. And on its branches, you could see pieces of colorful papers, hanging on them freely. If you see it clearer, you will realize that those pieces of colorful papers are people's wishes. Yes, they hanging their wishes on bamboo during Tanabata Festival. So, what's this all about, actually?


So, behind this Tanabata Festival, there's one Japanese folk story that I really like that started it all. Long time ago, they believed that there was this God of Sky's daughter called Orihime who loved sewing and making new clothes. The Tenkou (God of Sky) worried his daughter worked too hard and will never make time to find love, so he introduced her to a guy who was his job to take care of cows and also a workaholic named Hikoboshi.


They met, and fell in love with each other. But, they were madly in love that they did not care with their works anymore, so the God of Sky got mad at them, so they separate them from each other and taking Orihime to the other side of Amanogawa or Milky Way. Orihime and Hikoboshi really sad for not being able to meet each other anymore and made the God of Sky felt sorry for them so they let them meet only once a year.


And it's only on July 7th. On the Tanabata day, people make wish that the sky will clear all day long so Orihime and Hikoboshi could meet up on the Milky Way. If it's rained, it means the two lover could not meet each other because the water level of the Amanogawa (Milky Way) is too high and they should wait for another year to meet. Somehow it's kind of sad story, a couple that only can meet once a year, isn't it?


I remember the first time I had my Tanabata Festival when I visited Japan for the first time in 2009. It's so interesting to see how people write their own wish in a piece of paper and hanging it on the bamboo. So, I decided to make a try. I wished for being able to come back to Japan someday, and I really did.


This year, I made a wish but not sure if it will granted or not. Well, at least I wrote something lol.


So, it's almost the end of semester and I am having my exam week right now. And also, I am so busy with finding new apartment to live from next semester. Cannot believe that I will move out from AP House in less of two weeks. Well, I've been living here for two years and lots of things happened here. 

And I'm sure I'll miss this place.

A Little Reminder

A little reminder for me..
That once I was wearing that orange polo shirt

Once I was wearing that RA strap
Once I had my schedule so screwed up and though

Once I through it all with my best friend.

From the Alchemist

" Fatima went back to her rent, and, when daylight came, she went out to do the chores she had done for years. But everything had changed. The boy was no longer at the oasis, and the oasis would never again have the same meaning it had had only yesterday. It would no longer be a place with fifty thousand palm trees and three hundred wells, where the pilgrims arrived, relieved at the end of their long journeys. From that day on, the oasis would be an empty place for her." - The Alchemist

How was my feeling that morning?
Yes, exactly the same.

Just a Little Bit More

Tic. Toc. Tic. Toc.


Hey, it's already 23:15 which means 45 minutes left before midnight, which means 45 minutes left before I am turning into 20. Twelve. Twelve! Finally I join my adulthood time. New journey begins from here. Well, I cannot wait!

This last one year was amazingly great! I remember last year I received bunch of greetings and prays from people around me. Remember that they said something about having an enjoyable last year my teenager years.. and I did. I had joy, laugh, smile, cry, tears, etc. I fell in love, I learnt valuable things about life, found out my passion and what I really want.. weren't that great?

And.. in this up-coming new age, I hope I will find more and more interesting thing that will become the start of my journey in adult world.

Last Glimpse of Seoul

It was mid-February when I went to Seoul for the first. The frozen temperature and Ginseng scent rose up in the air. Seoul is kind of the usual big city, just like New York or Tokyo. I remember taking this last photo at around 7:45 am before heading back to Busan. This view might be my favorite view in Seoul. Somehow whenever I see this picture, there's sorrow and loneliness in that silent morning which I couldn't explain..


..but surely one day I will come back to find the answer.

The Time I Fell Down

From last March, I was extremely busy that I feel like dying everyday. The busyness doesn't slow down even for a second. Starts from being the leader of Guidebook AP House Spring 2012, RA Training, Pick Up period, AP House Entrance Ceremony preparation, new classes, Indonesian Week 2012 Recruitment, World Festival Decoration, Belibis Dance, Piring Dance, Indonesian Week 2012 Internal Job, SAS Events, etc. I could not even list more because it's so long. I remember there was days when I had to run around the campus all day long (literally!) to get some vacant room for important meeting. Or days when my phone keep ringing and ringing until I felt I really wanna throw it away. Or day when I had to choose to dedicate all my life to my job or spend it with the people I want to spend with. Maybe people could not understand my busyness, but to be honest, there's no single day that I don't want to burn my agenda book so bad.


Expectation. Recently I heard from my friends that I am known as a girl who is very multitasking. Can take 4 or 5 different of jobs and accomplish everything in the same time. Everyone expect me of that. And recently, I felt more pressure that I've ever had before, especially when others are also busy and I have to keep moving on and on. I started to lose my focus. Mistaken on reserving the room. Forgetting some important meeting just because I was too tired and forgot to write the time on my agenda book. Couldn't accomplish things that I used to be able to. I start to feel I disappoint lots of people that already expected me so much because of my recent bad work ethics. And I lost all my self-confidence for once more.


Then, suddenly someone came out of blue. I haven't met him for awhile. I knew him for awhile and since our first meeting, he always believe in me and have faith in myself. It is like he even know me; as if he could see through my self and see my capability that I even never knew before. Looking back now, I remember that he always says thing about me that motivated me to try new things. He seems to know that I am able to do things, but because I never had enough self-confidence in myself, I often refuse to try; and he always the one who push me to try it. He never failed to convince me that I could do things better than this. And from that short meeting, it built up my self-confidence again. He is just the helping hand I needed to help me getting up when I fell down.


Thinking about it now, I think that is the importance of old friends. Old friends are just like time capsule. When you talk again with them, somehow they will remind you with the old you. And sometimes we have to remember our old self, especially when we got lost in things. In that way we can survive. Especially when you are afraid of changes a lot... just like me.