WIRAWANCHEN

Social media is the realm of ' flexing '. Which side of our lives we choose to show off is our choice.  Some people highlight the warmth of their little family, while some showcase the joy of buying luxury items.  Some people share how cute they are with their loving partners, while some point out how success they are with their career, business, or study.  Some people constantly post their routine with their adorable pets, while some frequently expose their body transformation.   Some people love flexing the excitement of their travelling journey, while some prefer uploading how dedicated they are in their religious community.  Some people are eager to share their experience or knowledge in a particular field, while some are enthusiastic to demonstrate how good they are in singing or playing musical instruments.  Don't we all flex in our own way? For me personally, nothing's wrong. We use our social media to document our lives, don't we?  What's the problem? Wh

Last Tuesday, I landed in Jakarta after spending 5 days in Pekanbaru, my hometown, to celebrate CNY. From the airport, I took a cab to get home. Everything went as usual. I got a driver. He helped me to pick up my bags. I opened the door and sat in. Then, the driver started to involve me in a small convo.  I was asked if I was a college student or a professional. I told him I work in a telecommunication company that provides wide-range services from VSAT to fibre optic connectivity, data centre to cloud services, and smart surveillance to data compression technology. My answer triggered him to talk about his life prior to being a taxi driver.  He explained that he had previously worked in the mining industry, was stationed in a remote area of Papua for years, and was in charge of the IT department. Knowing that I work in a telecommunication company, he told me that he had experience in deploying VSAT device and activating radio wireless connectivity. Since I work in marketing division,

Never in my life would I have thought of being the best graduate. At the graduation ceremony of the LSPR Institute that was held on 1st December 2022, I was announced to be the best of the best graduate from the master's degree programme. When I delivered  a valedictorian speech, I mentioned that getting to this point has never been easy. Working as a professional on the weekdays and dealing with the postgrad thingy on the weekends really drained my energy. However, my dream to be an academic kept me going. Every time I felt exhausted, I looked at a note stuck on the wall: finish your master’s degree and find a Ph.D. scholarship. After months of sleepless nights, I got a master’s degree in communication studies! I thank my mum and dad for their unending support. On the stage, I mentioned that my mum and dad didn't go to college, but they manage to encourage me to pursue this master's degree. They once told me that they had never experienced attending a graduation ceremony.

Pursuing a master's degree has been a dream since I took my undergrad study. After receiving my bachelor's degree in December 2020, I began my professional career in a telecommunications company while also deciding to start my postgrad journey. Becoming a professional and a postgrad student at the same time was not a piece of cake. It was just like a rollercoaster ride, with some ups and downs for sure. I had to split my attention between working on the weekdays and dealing with my postgrad thingy on the weekends. But, luckily, I could overcome those challenges pretty well by making friends with sleepless nights and shots of caffeine.  It took eighteen months of attending lectures, conducting ethnographic fieldwork, analysing data, and writing thesis reports until I successfully defended my thesis on 23rd September 2022. What an exhausting yet exciting life journey! I told myself that getting to this point isn't just about the completion of the study, but also about consist

My dad didn't study feminism. He doesn't even have any idea what the term means. However, I've just realised that dad has been actualising the essence of feminism in the family since I was a lil kid: gender equality. Despite the fact that my dad works and leads the family, he occasionally volunteers to help my mum with chores. Throughout the pandemic, my mum and dad decided to stop hiring a house assistant. Therefore, all the family members share the responsibility to do all the houseworks. My dad believes that the domestic works belong to everyone in the family, not just women. When it comes to making a family decision, he listens to my mum's arguments although he already has his own.  My dad also has the ability to cook. He sometimes offers himself to cook and suggests mum to take a rest. His speciality, by the way, is cooking seafood. Not to mention, he is also a skillful mechanic who is able to fix almost everything in the house. I assume that my dad's love lang

After keeping in touch through social media for months, I once met Dr. Geofakta in person. Bang Geo, this is the way I address him due to the fact that he was born in Payakumbuh, West Sumatra and he is only 6 years older than me. Bang Geo has become one of my academic role models. He received his doctoral degree in 2021, exactly when he was just 29 years old! What amazes me is that, despite his rushing schedule as an assistant professor, Bang Geo is also a director in a training centre that focuses on digital marketing, personal branding, and public speaking.  I visited Bang Geo's office to discuss our joint research project. In this mid-March, we are going to present our research update in a panel held by the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. And of course, the event will be conducted online. But, aside from seriously talking about our research, Bang Geo also shared a lot of his personal experiences as an academic and a professional. Listening to his story has made me realise