Dear wifey - In searching of the life path

Dear wifey,

It all start with Resistor color band.

Until 2003

After graduated from my high school, I was not clear to what life path that I would like to take. Obviously that must be not relate to social science, since I dont like remembering facts. I prefer thinking and solving problem. It made me love science, especially math, physics, electronics and ... computer.

The first two I love because I like calculation. Thanks to Pak Tri Wahyudi, Pak Sahroni, Ibu Rina as some of teachers in junior highschool and highschool that cultivate this interest.

About electronics, I like device since I was child. There were quite many electronic devices that was broken in my hand just because to pay my curiosity. I just wanted to see to internal of the item. I open it, dissambly, and I dont know how to reassimbly again. When I was i junior high school, I met with Pak Wawan Gunawan that teach semi extracuriculer study electrical engineering. It started with quiz of calculating the value of resistor based in its color band. I failed, but then I found my othet interest, electronics.

I interested with computer because of its sophistication and my incapability to afford one. I met this superb device in junior highschool when we have course in DOS, wordstar and lotus 123. In highschool I learnt with word, excel, paint (yes paint!! We were teached drawing logo of several Indonesia TV station) and somehow I discovered programming started with Visual Basic. After realizing my excitement to computer, Pak Arif the computer tutor who doubling his role as physics teacher, proposed me to join computer science olympiad representing my school. He promised to tutor me along the way. Indeed he tutored me by passing some books. I was learning Pascal in several weeks. Interestingly I win the region competition and then sent to province. Since that time I fall in love with bew stuffs call programming.

Reaching the end of my highschool, I confused again about my life path. Older sister in law of my father (who partially subsidise my education expense since highschool) who I called as Matuo Lin was expecting me to be a sailor to be like her husband. Even she sent me monthly money so that I can go routinely to swimming pool so that I can chase minimum body height to be accepted in local sailor academy. However this proposal change suddenly. One day she invited me to her home. She asked what major that I want to take in university. With full of honest and pureness I said "I don't know". She seems didn't like my respond. Conclussion from that day talk was also interesting. We came out with electrical engineering. The term that seems come from no where. I assume one of he reason this proposal came out because my cousin (her youngest son) was also taking electrical engineering in University of Indonesia (one of greatest university in Indonesia). However my destiny seems not to go to that great uni. Because budget consideration, she suggest me to try State University of Jakarta.

The problems was Electrical Engineering in State University of Jakarta was not pure engineering degree. State University of Jakarta was high institution to breed a teacher that later on to university. But after conversion most of its major still relate to education. Electrical Engineering in this university didn't aim the student to be an engineer but instead to be a vocational school teacher that will teach ready to use engineer. Honestly I was expecting to be an engineer instead of teacher.

Luckily there were special track for admission in that university. For whom that have sufficient grades in high school, can enter to this university without test. I passed the special track and then enter my new life journey as Electrical Enginering Education student a.k.a teacher candidate. In the mean time I burried my dream to study in one of the greatest university in indonesia. Start from this years I started to see that often destiny is very interesting.

Destiny is not dead end path. It is open paths where we have privillage to choose the path to go. Indeed sometime there will be an obstacle along the way.