My Motivational Speech

Good Day, ladies and gentlemen, my speech today is not simply about me, but also about being different. I have chosen this topic because it is something that is very dear to me and something I have made a personal philosophy and which I endeavor to live by.
THE WALK
I think it all started when I was 18 years old and in my first year at campus. That was about the time that I started to observe people’s behavior and just to think about life. In that time, I just feel inferior. I just thought that I was useless. It was a real different situation with my past life. But, something changed me. The environment could change me, the people, the interaction. By the time, I found the real me. Now, I can feel the difference between me and others. I could be just my self.
So, WHAT DOES BEING DIFFERENT MEAN?
Being different means: - Not being afraid to challenge the norm. - Being willing to take a chance. - Asking why. - Making your own track, not just following the well trodden path. - Charting your own course and destiny. - Being the person that you were meant to be.
I believe that everyone is born unique. But through the years we work very hard to be like everyone else. We conform to society’s so-called “common-sense.” Unfortunately it is just that – “common sense.” That does not mean its “good sense.”
I remember wisdom from someone, If you want to get what everyone is getting, do what everyone is doing. I mean, just imitate what everyone is doing when you want to be better like him, or even better than him!
THE FOLLY OF EDUCATION
If I were to take just the people in this room, it is likely that most of you have spent anything from 15 to 20 years getting an education so you can get the jobs you have. Doesn’t it strike you as irresponsible that one can spend so much time getting an education and yet so many people don’t make any deliberate effort to develop their greatest asset – themselves!
Most of us won’t even read unless there’s an exam in sight. But you know what? Everyday of your life is an exam. Everyday you either pass or fail the test of life. Everyday is an opportunity to grow beyond your present barriers and circumstances. Everyday is a chance to become a better person.
The saddest part is most of people don’t realize this. If they had to be graded at the end of their lives you know what they’d get? D, D and more D’s. And yet they thought they were doing very well. They let society’s “common sense” grade them.
MY ADVICE
If I can leave you with one piece of advice it would be this: READ
Read books and explore yourselves! Doing that one thing regularly will put you way above the rest. Read books that challenge you and that make you think.
I have decided to read at least one book every month. I’m already amazed at the results.
MY FINAL WORDS
In closing I’d like to say to those of you that are skeptics out there, those of you that are saying “oh, he is just drink with the omnipotence of youth. He’ll get over it, and then he’ll be just like everyone else.”
My words to you are: “I ain’t going out like that. I know that I have an abundance of potential within me and I will bring it out to fruition. Why?” “Because…I’M DIFFERENT!”

My Second Day on the Leadership Conference "High Ropes"

On the August 2008, Cung and I have joined the Leadership Conference in Prigen, Pasuruan, for about nine days. We were in the same team and experienced so many interesting things there. On the second day, my team had outbound. First game was “giving the ball”. The rule was that everybody had to throw the ball while saying each other’s name. There were 16 people of us who played this game and did it for about 27 seconds. This game required us to consider some basic principles, as for example, focusing and concentrating on the goals, having a solid team working, and understanding each other’s capacity. of each member, self awareness, and having commitment to the agreement.

We used a rope a lot during the second game. It was quite interesting. For the two first rope activities, I didn’t have any difficulties, but in the “Tarzan’s” rope, I had some difficulties to make myself to jump over the rope like Tarzan. It took me about a few minutes before I had gained my confidence back to act like a jumping Tarzan. In fact, I could not do it well, and certainly that made me completely embarrassed. On the next ropes, I could do it almost perfectly, and I enjoyed riding “Flying Fox”. It was such an interesting game that I could not help shouting at everybody, expressing my deepest happiness for being able to pass all ropes. This game aimed at motivating and encouraging you to believe in yourself.

Third activity was “trees fall”. Oh my Gee, What a game it was that I hate and I promise not to do it again. Once, I did it in PWEC, now I did it here. I rejected Chung’s idea, and frankly speaking I almost started to cry at that time. I did not care when so many people looked at me and started to think that I was childish. Finally, I did it but badly. Actually, there were some values on this game. First, everybody have strength and weaknesses, if you felt like to fall, just let yourself fall, because if not, you will bother others. Be brave and just do it, analyze the problem inside yourself when you want to do something and do not feel scared.

The fourth activity was called “Tarantula”, a game that demanded all participants to carefully move a chair with water placed on it to certain spots by means of a rope. The objective of this game was basically to teach everybody to understand others’ ability and to do a careful analysis on the problem. The strategy was to take responsibility on your part. Fifth activity was “war game”. The rules of the game were like this, you had a president to command, soldiers as much as you have, and two people were to be the prisoners. 21 The soldiers had responsibility to save the prisoners by crossing the field that full of bomb with closing his eyes and bring back the prisoners. 22 The values were, first, analyze the goal and strategy, trust your friend to lead your way, focus on goal and instruction, delegate others, and the order must be clear and measurable.
Sixth activity was “crossing the bamboo on the surface of water”. Then the seventh activity was “spider web”. In this game, Uni Icha was the first person to enter the rope, while I was the last girl to enter in because I was the smallest girl. The strategies that we used were: think others and everyone’s ability, and trust your team.

Eight activities was “Pingpong game”. We delivered a tiny ball called “pingpong” with the half parts of bamboo. It needed patience to do it until our destiny. Ninth activity was “holed pipe”. We had to fill the pipe with water until the ball comes out. In this game, none of us could do that. It failed because the holes in the pipe were so many and it made the water always comes out. Tenth activity was sharing session about what our strength and weakness in other’s point of view. It was really works to know our character deeply and could be our reflection. After that we draw a plant that represent ourselves, wrote our strengths and weaknesses in paper and stick it on the part of our plant that represented us.

Those activities really made us close to each other and become one family, even if only that day. I was so happy to pass all the games with my best. I hope I will be able to see my friends in this conference someday and to do useful activities for our society.

Abyor Dance

Abyor dance is a traditional dance that comes from Tulungagung, East Java-Indonesia. This dance was not difficult to do, because it is a modern-traditional dance, not pure traditional like “Remo” dance. Abyor dance is used to be performed by young girls. Abyor itself means glamorous in English, that’s why girls who perform it always wear blink-blink accessories and long-beautiful-traditional dresses. Abyor dance is unique and simple, but meaningful. Abyor dance represent the life of Javanese girls who lived in modern world but still respect her tradition. Its motions reflect the beauties of smart girls and the gentleness of Javanese girls. There are motions that moving around the wrists, moving head to the left and right side like a doll, throwing the blink-blink shawls, all show the beauties of girls. It is supported with the costume also. They usually wear a long-batik skirt (batik is traditional clothes of Indonesia) or a long beautiful traditional skirt which is called sarung; a kind of short tank-top which is called kemben with two pieces of band on each shoulder; and accessories on the neck, bracelets, and traditional flower crown (but, they usually wear flowers made from plastic when perform). This dance usually is performed on the traditional-art exhibitions, art perform on schools, traditional dance competitions, wedding receptions, welcoming dance, etc. Abyor dance can be performed on any occasions. That is why, it is a good choice to have a good performance in many special occasions.