HOLDIN' ON

Aaahh...again and again...try-out and try-out again....

That girl was ready in the computer room. Yes, she was ready to have some try-out. She and her schoolmates were ready to take an online try-out. 

As ninth grade students, exams are our daily meals. To prepare for the exams, several try-outs are our breakfast.

Today they are taking Bahasa Indonesia Try-Out. As usual, they've got 120 minutes to do the test. For these students, they can finish the test on non-counting subject, such as Civics, Bahasa Indonesia and English, in much less than 120 minutes. And I can see it now, some students have finished their Bahasa Indonesia test before the 70th minute. Unfortunately, they cannot go out of the room before the time ends. This is the problem they have to face: boredom.

The students have to wait silently, or doing silent activities to kill their boredom. The most enjoyable activity is going to the toilet...maybe because it makes them refresh as they can go out of the examination room. Yet, sometimes they are unlucky, because the teacher in their examination room doesn't allow them to go to the toilet, so that they can only do anything -useful or useless - at their table. 

This is the real exam: waiting patiently. 
You must defeat your boredom. Don't let the boredom defeat you.

In my view, you have practiced facing this situation when your teacher doesn't allow you to go out from the exam room when you have finished your test...and you have to hold on inside the room.
Sometimes when your surroundings cannot comfort you, and the situation becomes boring, you'll defeat this situation...and you won't escape easily....
Or when your boyfriend or girlfriend doesn't act as you expect, and the situation becomes uncomfortable, you won't leave him/her...you will hold on.

I'm always trying to answer my own question: Why does the teacher allow the students to go to the toilet during the exam? 
My answer ( I hope it's true): Because the teacher allows himself/herself to go out of the room, he/she cannot give example how to stay in the exam room when he/she feels bored. Maybe the teacher doesn't know if there is a hidden lesson in such situation.

Hold on...don't escape easily...but wait patiently....

Doormat

Early in the morning I woke up and I went to the toilet. Then after doing anything, I took a bath. Then before I went to work, I went to the toilet once again. That morning went as usual, I felt nothing wrong. I usually go to the bathroom at least three times in the morning before going out of my house.

I went home late that day. I parked my car and entered the house. As usual, I took off my shoes and socks, and went to the bathroom to wash my feet. I can't go to my room and lay down on my bed without washing my feet. It felt like I brought any dirt to my bed. 
Something strange happened when I wanted to go out of the bathroom. The doormat disappeared. Somebody must have taken or moved it. Consequently, I had to walk on the floor with my wet feet...uuuhh.... I didn't like that situation. It wasn't so important, but it was annoying.

Doormat. Its role is never recognised when it is there in the right place, but when it is taken away from its place, it's terrible. People will look for the doormat if it isn't at its place.
When doormat is in front of the bathroom, people will recognise the look of the door and its handle. When doormat is in front the house, people will admire the architecture of the house or pay attention to the paint or the material of the front door. Doormat is usually made in simple design...and people never recognise and admire it.

Are you a doormat in your community? 
Perhaps your role is unseen and no one realises that you are important.
When you do your job well...when you responsibly play your own role...then other people will really look for you in your absence.

A Plastic Bottle

In the last few days, my classes have discussed about 'go green'. It led me to think about the recycle process of plastic bottles. It has taught me a lesson.

It was the time for me to have lunch. And as usual, I brought my plastic bottle to the dining room. When I was walking to the dining room I saw some other used plastic bottles in the rubbish bins along the corridor. And I started to think if they were alive.

A girl was holding a bottle of drinking water. He said,"How proud I am! This girl needs me everywhere she goes. She can't live without me. I've made her alive." Then after using the bottle for some time and the bottle's condition became worse, the girl bought a new bottle and threw the old one into the rubbish bin. Then the old bottle said,"Ooohh...I'm just rubbish now. Can anybody help me out of this rubbish bin? It's too dirty here. Hey, you, rubbish! Get out of my life! How can I live in the place that smells so bad?" In the afternoon a man took the rubbish and moved it into the bigger rubbish box.

Then one day the truck came to take the rubbish from the big rubbish box to a big field full of rubbish. "Oh my God! What a place!" Then a machine took him and let him gather with other plastic bottles. And then the machine crushed them! "Lord, have mercy! I was too arrogant to be a bottle needed by the girl! Please let me out of this place!" But it was too late. "Now I'm broken into pieces. It's so painful!! All I can do is just hope and pray."

The next day the broken pieces were put into a machine. "Help! It's so hot here! I've got no shape now!" But after a while, a machine took him and made him a new plastic bottle. "Thank God...I've got my new life!" The new plastic bottle was very grateful and he swore he wouldn't be arrogant anymore.

Have you ever felt the same as this plastic bottle?

Have you ever experienced the process of recycle which is done by God?

Maybe I'm in the process now. Not being the old anymore...but not yet the new one....

May I go to the toilet, please?

My students were having mid-term exams. They had to concentrate on the exams during that week. In the exam room, everybody had to do the tests seriously. Some subjects needed much time to do, but some of them needed only a short time. Usually we have 90 minutes for each subject, except for Maths.

That day the students took a test of Computer theory. All of the students in my class

A Humble Leader

In my church, our leader is a good priest who is very strict about every church's rule. Maybe only one thing he misses. He forgets to come to the people although he usually accepts the people who come to him warmly. That day was a special Sunday for us as the mass would be led by Mgr. Ignatius Suharyo, the bishop of Jakarta. A day before He sent a message "....If there are some of your people who are sick, I have time and I can visit them...." It's a great pleasure for the people who could be visited by the bishop. He, who has higher position than my local leader, was willing to visit ordinary people who needed to be visited, who needed to be touched. The great leader who is so humble....

When he came and I met him, I reported how the mass should go. He gave this response, "Just do as what you have planned. But if there is some mistake or something that you haven't planned happens, it'll be ok, right?"

I was so happy to hear that. I wondered how he could be that humble, how he could give it all to God, the greatest planner. He believes that God's plan is always better than ours. So let us be humble before Him.

The secret of a good life is to have the right loyalties and hold them in the right scale of values. 

Norman Thomas (1884 - 1968)

 

Trust

When I was attending the university I had a friend. I knew him quite well although we were not too close. But it was about 20 years ago. Now he has got a good position in his office. He is successful in his work.
One thing that I always remember about him is that when we were studying at the university, he liked to cheat to get good marks. I cannot remember the good things he did at that time.
So what's the point?
Bad things are usually more easily remembered than the good ones. If he usually cheated to get good marks, how can I believe that he is now successful without cheating? In my thought, I do not believe that he has achieved all success in a right way.
Sons and daughters, when you're  taking your tests or doing any tasks, although your teachers cannot see, please do it in a right way. Why? Because some friends see when you are cheating, and when you become a successful person 20 years later, your high school classmates will not believe that you do it in a right way. They will not trust you.
Do not ignore TRUST. If you ignore it, it will ignore you.

Excellent Student

"Girl, would you be his partner in the next music test?" I asked her. "No, sir, I don't want my score get worse since he can't play the instrument well," she replied. The girl was an excellent student whose scores were always excellent. She was afraid if she had a bad score which broke her good reputation.

Sometimes a student was excellent only in academic field. I know the girl is a kind girl,

Are You Happy?

I think public transport drivers do not feel happy. Why? Because they always look for enemies on the road. We can see from their behaviour on the road.

Plan B

A few days ago, I was not in good health. When I slept at night, suddenly I felt I couldn't breathe since my nose was full of mucus. I woke up and felt I was dying. As soon as I opened my mouth,

Trust and Obey

The drivers of public transportation around Islamic Village are the kings of road. They drive as if they have the road. They have their own rule in driving. They stop anywhere they want. They do not queue when there is a traffic jam. They 'cut' another driver's way. They don't care about the traffic rule. But when there are some police officers there, they act as good and polite drivers. Uuuhhh....

At school, have you obeyed the rule of your school? Do you obey