Why Universitas Indonesia?

 

“Kenapa UI sih? Kenapa gak kampus X?”

“Jauh banget, anak Lumajang kuliah di UI. Yang deket-deket kan banyak.”

“Meskipun cewek tapi kuliahnya jauh ya, di UI.”

“Kok bisa masuk UI? Kenal orang dalamnya?

Getting accepted into the University of Indonesia was one thing I can’t be proud of more. I remembered the exact moment I checked on the SNMPTN announcement. I got home from school quite late because I was a graduation committee. The announcement was at 4 pm and I was home at about 3 pm. I directly got ready with my laptop on. I was on my period so I couldn’t do any prayer, but I did pray so hard at that moment. I asked my sister to also pray with me. I already told my parents about the announcement schedule, and I asked them to also pray for me. I was on my knee, begging The Almighty God to grant this wish of me getting accepted into UI and I would just be okay if after that I got bad things. But alhamdulillah masyaAllah I got accepted. I cried. So hard. My parents cried too. I was hugged by my father too:) Since then, I knew that my mission is making my parents cry happily more and more because seeing them crying happily was the best thing I could do.

Everything began when my father showed me pictures of an illustration of students doing different stuff, like doing an experiment, singing, playing soccer, painting, etc. It was on a Sunday Morning. We always had a Father-Kids Sunday Session. We usually painted, took some pictures with a camera, went to the park, and basically did anything fun but educational. Showing that illustration, he said that later I could pursue further education and be/do whatever I want. After that, he also told me about some universities. I was just in elementary school back then. I didn’t think about going to college yet, of course. I mean, what can we expect from an elementary schooler back then, in an era where social media and the internet were not a thing?

Interestingly, what stuck the most in my head was a campus called the University of Indonesia. I mean, it’s cool, right? It has the name of the nation there. It must be great.

Like the usual kids, I had so many dreams. One changed to another: teacher – doctor – scientist – astronaut – ambassador – the list goes on. Whatever my dream was, since elementary school, I wanted to pursue the education at UI.

This is actually something I am not proud of. It is actually better if we define our goal first and then decide what major we should take. After that, we should do a little research about what campus provides good quality for that major. That’s not what I did. I decided the uni first. Then I figured out what I wanted to do in life, which is something about the environment. Then I checked if the major that supports me in achieving my goal is provided by UI. Fortunately, it is. Fyuh.

I was an SNMPTN student. We are labeled as “students who are loved by teachers”. SNMPTN students are the ones who have good grades so we are associated with trying to get more attention from the teachers so that they give us good grades. I studied so hard, sometimes up until 3 in the morning just so I could understand a lesson and could answer the exam questions or be prepared to be taught by the teacher the next day. I needed to sacrifice my weekend and resting time to prepare for some competitions that supported my portfolio. I did not play much because I joined some organizations at a time. I did nosebleed a few times at one time because I was too drained physically doing everything just so I could get it all. Call me a teacher’s attention seeker, but because of the ambition I had from those activities or habits, I was always curious about the lessons so I was active in class most of the time. I didn’t really think that learning algebra or history or even some random kind of sport was a burden. Aside from the joy I got from learning things, I did it all so that I didn’t have to take SBMPTN. I mean, no offense, I didn’t want to study all over again to get into uni. I wanted to do it all at once: I could finish my 12 years of school optimally and get the opportunity to get into a uni directly without doing anything more.

What I was tryna say is that the process of me trying to get accepted into UI was not easy. Aside from those efforts I mentioned, there were a lot of tears and insecurities.

Trying SNMPTN to UI was actually like a suicide attempt. My senior high school doesn’t really have a good relationship with UI. The year before I got accepted, there was no one accepted in UI through SNMPTN. In fact, there was only one student accepted through SBMPTN and he’s not even in the same major or even faculty as me. Two years before I got accepted, I didn’t know. Yes, I was so clueless that I didn’t do much research about the background story my school had with UI. I was blindly in love with UI and SNMPTN. I picked only one major because that’s the only major that I wanted. And masyaAllah alhamdulillah, here I am.

I did my best, but I always think that I didn’t deserve any of this blessing. But alhamdulillah it was a fate. It was magical, indeed. Again, SNMPTN to UI was like a suicide attempt. But nothing is impossible for The Almighty God.

That was not the end of the story. Oh, my hands are hurting already typing this many lines. Long story short, the process of me trying to graduate from UI was no less difficult. I cried a lot. I was stressed out a lot. But I did have fun and enjoy myself through the process. I always try to remind myself that everything was a part of the process to strengthen me, and it would lead me somewhere better.

Graduating from college is not an end. I was so grateful to be able to graduate on time. The only one I regret a bit is that my father couldn’t see me graduate. Accompanying him being sick and experiencing his loss were some of my biggest dynamics in being a college student. May Allah grant him Jannah. InsyaAllah, Allah told him that I made it this far. Al-Fatihah.

Now I am a worker. Alhamdulillah, masyaAllah I got a job before I even graduated and it’s a job that I’ve been planning to get.

But again, this is only the beginning. Bismillah cheers to more adventures ahead! May you, the readers, also enjoy your own journey! Believe me, everything happened for a reason, to strengthen you, and everything was planned way before we were created. So cheer up! Do what you think is right, make you fulfilled, and don’t forget to place your intention for Allah! Everything will be fine in the end, insyaAllah.