Belajar untuk…. Belajar (?)

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Untuk apa sih kita belajar? Tiba-tiba kepikiran pertanyaan ini karena pada awal-awal tahun ajaran baru ini, saya cukup banyak bertemu dengan orang tua murid dan para murid dengan berbagai cerita mereka. Ada yang khawatir mendapatkan nilai jelek, ada yang khawatir tidak diterima di perguruan tinggi, ada lagi yang mempertanyakan untuk apa mereka belajar dan bersekolah.

Saat berdiskusi dengan seseorang, ada satu pernyataan yang saya ungkapkan… lalu saya revisi… lalu saya pertanyakan. Saya bilang “Yah, belajar kan bukan untuk nilai…”. Sebagai pendidik dan konselor yang berkata seperti itu, langsung dong saya diprotes oleh orang tua murid. Langsung pula saya revisi “Maksudnya, nilai itu tetap dikejar, tetapi kalau memang siswa memiliki ketertarikan, belajar seharusnya jadi menyenangkan tanpa harus ‘didorong’ oleh motivasi mendapatkan nilai bagus’. Yah, begitulah kira-kira. Tapi nih, saya jadi berpikir dan bertanya lagi. Belajar untuk apa?

Mohon maaf lahir batin kalau apa yang saya pahami dan yakini berbeda dengan pemahaman banyak netijen, hehe. Bagi saya, belajar ya untuk belajar. Mendapatkan pengetahuan dan informasi, mendapatkan kesempatan untuk melakukan refleksi, mendapatkan kesempatan untuk berpikir. Cukupkah hal-hal tersebut menjadi motivasi yang membuat kita belajar? Bagi saya, pengalaman belajar itu lah yang harus bermakna dan menjadi inti dari belajar – bukan lalu mendapat nilai berapa. Kalau semua diukur dengan nilai, kapan mau jadi pembelajar sepanjang hayat?

Saya juga percaya bahwa menempuh pendidikan dan belajar bukanlah persiapan untuk hidup. It is life itself. Ya masa ketika kita belajar, kehidupan kita di-freeze, gitu? No, right? Makanya, belajar bisa dilakukan dimana saja. Institusi, organisasi, atau situasi hanyalah alat belajar. Esensi dari belajar sendiri menjadi proses yang dijalani dan dimaknai secara sangat individual. Banyak juga kok, orang-orang yang bersekolah dan berpendidikan tinggi, tetapi pada prosesnya tidak belajar. Hal ini juga yang membuat saya percaya bahwa belajar tidak terbatas ruang dan waktu.

Yah, intinya, belajar itu proses yang dimaknai sendiri oleh individu yang kemudian membuat si individu tersebut berubah. Berubahnya bisa dalam hal kognitif, afektif, perilaku, apa saja. Hasil berupa sesuatu yang terukur ini tentunya akan mengikuti proses yang dilakukan. Pastinya, hasil tersebut juga dipengaruhi oleh hal-hal lain seperti stimulus yang diterima, bagaimana individu memproses informasi, dan lain-lain. Namun, bagi saya, belajar dilakukan bukan melulu karena hasil yang harus atau akan diperoleh. Toh, ilmu dan pengalaman pasti akan ada manfaatnya. Bagi saya, belajar ya untuk belajar.

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Moments that Change My Life 4: Say Yes to Kindness

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I am the first child of two. I have a sister who is 3 years younger than me. As other sibling relationship, we are not always in sync. When we were kids, we fought, we argued, etc. However, as we grow older, we’ve become closer. And, to be honest, I learned a lot from her.

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One of the things that I admire from her is her life moto. I found out about this a few years ago, I don’t know, probably through her social media or new year’s resolution. So she said that she will try to live her life with this principle: Say yes to kindness. When I heard that, I was like, WOW. It is such a simple principle, but it’s going to be difficult to be applied.

After that moment, I notice that my sister changes and she is being a kinder person. I think, as her principle, she always tries to help others in need. She is willing to sacrifice things for others’ sake. She does not count what she has done for others. I see her give and give and give. I see her change that I also want to adopt this value.

Say yes to kindness. It is such a simple, yet powerful phrase. If we all say yes to kindness, maybe the world can actually become a nicer, nicer place. Yes, instead of having such a long list of resolutions or targets that we want to achieve, why don’t we start with one? Let’s say yes to kindness.

Moments that Change My Life 3: About Faith

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Sepertinya kuliah jurusan psikologi membuat gw banyak belajar mengenai hal-hal baru. Lots of my reflection and “awakening” dimulai dari teori-teori atau prinsip yang gw pelajari di kelas psikologi. Ada satu kelas yang bagi gw sulit tapi ternyata meaningful, yaitu kelas psikologi kognitif. Why?

Jadi, beberapa hari yang lalu di jalan pulang, gw sempat ngobrol dengan salah satu teman gw yang merupakan guru senior di sekolah tempat gw kerja. Kami awalnya bicara mengenai banyak hal, lalu menyempitlah pada satu peraturan yang pernah diterapkan di sekolah kami, yaitu mengenai kewajiban untuk solat Dzuhur berjamaah di kelas. We both agree that the essential of that rule is good. Ya, siapa yang tidak setuju bahwa praktik beragama itu tidak baik? Pada kenyataannya, murid-murid di sekolah kami ternyata banyak yang memprotes peraturan ini. Banyak sekali alasan mereka, termasuk mengenai kebebasan beragama dan memilih untuk tidak menjalankan praktik agama. Well, well…. Kalau sudah bicara mengenai hak seperti ini, memang akhirnya menjadi sulit. They have a valid opinion. I’m not saying that it’s right or wrong, I’m saying that it’s valid. Ya betul kan, mau beribadah atau tidak merupakan hak masing-masing orang. Bahkan, mau percaya Tuhan dan agama atau tidak, juga hak masing-masing orang. Nah, melawan argumen-argumen ini lah yang sulit bagi gw. Bukan karena gw tidak percaya atau karena gw tidak beribadah. Not at all. Sulit karena ketuhanan dan kepercayaan terhadap agama asalnya dari faith dimana tidak ada orang yang bisa membuat seseorang punya faith terhadap sesuatu. Sesungguhnya, Allah-lah yang dapat membolak-balikkan hati. Pada akhirnya, Rasulullah SAW meskipun sangat menyayangi pamannya dan telah berdakwah kepada pamannya, pun tidak dapat membuat Abu Thalib masuk Islam.

Nah, di dalam percakapan gw dan teman gw ini, kita melakukan refleksi lah (yekan gw sukanya emang refleksi diri). Yang kami temukan bersama adalah bagaimana seseorang dididik dalam keluarga sangat penting untuk menumbuhkan yang namanya faith ini. Kalau menurut Cambridge Dictionary, faith diartikan sebagai keyakinan atau kepercayaan tingkat tinggi terhadap sesuatu atau seseorang – bahkan ketika tidak ada alasan atau hal yang mendasarinya. Oleh karena itu, bagi saya, tampaknya sangat sulit sekali untuk memunculkan faith dalam diri seseorang. Kalau tidak dari kecil, kalau tidak dengan keyakinan yang sangat kuat, tampaknya tidak mungkin. Kembali lagi, hanya Allah yang dapat membolak-balik hati.

Cerita gw tentang faith mungkin agak sedikit berbeda. Mungkin apa yang gw pahami salah, tapi ini adalah persepsi, pemahaman, dan pengalaman gw. Alhamdulillah, gw tidak pernah menjadi orang yang tidak percaya pada Allah dan agama. Gw lahir dan dibesarkan dalam lingkungan keluarga yang sangat taat sehingga pendidikan agama gw dapat sejak sangat kecil. It kind of grows in me. Tapi gw pun tidak pernah mempertanyakan. Ya, ada lah ya, pertanyaan-pertanyaan seperti: kenapa Allah menciptakan orang jahat, dll saat gw menginjak remaja. So and so, gw tidak pernah lalu meragukan keislaman gw. I have a complete faith sampai akhirnya gw menemukan jawabannya sendiri.

Jadi, gw dulu adalah mahasiswa psikologi. Salah satu mata kuliah yang wajib kami ambil adalah psikologi kognitif. Dalam pelajaran tersebut, kami belajar mengenai bagaimana manusia berpikir, fungsi otak, dll. Intinya, otak adalah organ tubuh inti yang membedakan manusia dengan mahluk lainnya dan membuat manusia menjadi “manusia”. Susah kali bahasanya yaa… Suatu hari, kami belajar lah mengenai persepsi. Tubuh manusia itu punya reseptor sensasi, yang biasanya kita sebut indera. Nah, si indera manusia ini menyampaikan lah informasi melalui saraf ke otak. Lalu, otak menerjemahkan sensasi ini dan akhirnya kita tahu apa yang ada di sekitar kita. Sama lah, seperti input di komputer yang lalu ada output-nya. Nah, masalahnya…. Saking si otak kita ini sangat kompleks, we may not know how it translates information. And we have no way of knowing bahwa apa yang diterjemahkan otak kita itu benar atau salah. Biasanya, we come to other people to convince us that what we perceive is true. Masalahnya lagi, orang lain kan belum tentu juga otaknya “benar”. Masalahnya lagi, bagaimana kalau otak kita salah menerjemahkan input, dan ternyata orang lain itu hanya ilusi?

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And that’s when I realized: gila! Dunia ini beneran fana ya. Gimana kalau otak kita berbohong pada kita? Bagaimana kalau realita yang selama ini kita percaya, ternyata bukan realita. Maaaaaannnn…. And that time I completely believe that I need something beyond. Bahwa ada suatu zat di atas manusia yang Maha. Bahwa sesungguhnya gw butuh sesuatu yang membuat gw “sane”. Bahwa gw butuh bergantung pada janji yang diberikan sama Allah, bahwa ada dunia, nanti, yang tidak fana. Gw sangat bersyukur sih bahwa gw mendapatkan pencerahan ini. Buat gw, inilah yang membuat gw memiliki (mudah-mudahan) complete faith. Mungkin buat orang lain ini tidak logis, mungkin buat orang lain pengalaman dan pemahaman ini belum bisa membuat mereka percaya. But then again, balik lagi lagi dan lagi, hanya Allah yang bisa membolak-balikkan hati. And at the end, memang manusia tugasnya berdoa dan memohon supaya selalu dibukakan hatinya terhadap hidayah dan cahaya. Aamiin.

Photo credit: https://www.instagram.com/ryantoanugroho/?hl=en

Moments that Change My Life 2: Getting Out of My Comfort Zone

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I always believe that discomfort is the key of learning. I’ve started believing this since I was in college, studying cognitive psychology. In that class, I learned that when new information is absorbed by our brain, we try to match the information with the schema that we’ve had. The new information may fit well, or we need to adjust our schemas to receive the information, integrating it with the knowledge we’ve had. And this process causes change. This process causes discomfort. This is called cognitive dissonance.

I believe that this cognitive dissonance is actually good, which makes me think that the whole discomfort feeling may actually be the sign of change and improvements. Getting more and more aware of ourselves, sometimes it is inevitable to feel that change and learning is not fun because of this uncomfortable feeling, which makes people not willing to learn. Working in an education setting, I see a lot of students with great potential, but lack of the ability to feel uncomfortable, the humility, and the curiosity. The first one I’ve discussed in the previous paragraph. The second one, humility, is a very interesting topic.

The know-it-all person. With the height of technology use and wide access of information, our generation is very susceptible to be the know-it-all people. Without critical thinking ability and humility, I think everyone may eventually stop learning. Why? Because they think that they know everything. I truly believe that another aspect that can support one’s improvement and learning is humility; knowing that we don’t know everything. I’d discussed this too in one of my writing: https://theadventureofizzao.com/2016/10/21/ada-langit-di-atas-langit/. And arrogance is a very dangerous thing for students that hinders them from actually learning. I saw this a lot, especially with the more advanced and intelligent students. Being humble doesn’t only mean that we seek for further knowledge, but also that we are open to feedback and other people’s perspectives.

The second aspect leads to the third one, which is curiosity. I think curiosity is human nature. Everyone is born with curiosity and the ability to explore the world. One thing, back to square one again; is that one may diminish his curiosity because he is not willing to be uncomfortable. Trial and error requires someone to fail, which is not fun! Getting to know new people may exhaust us, which may also not fun! And all those “negative” consequences of trying new things sometimes prevent us from learning and from improving ourselves.

Getting out of my comfort zone is actually the key of my learning. I don’t know with other people, but I am always aware that learning and improving are not always fun. I try to think the challenges as something that can increase my capacity, and when I fail, better try next time. I am also very aware that getting out of the comfort zone is not easy. I need to push myself to do it, even if it is only online courses or trying new food recipe. However, the biggest opportunity to get out of my comfort zone was when I had to live far away from home, alone. “Merantau”, Indonesian people said. It has become a philosophy for some Indonesian people, which actually teaches a lot of life lessons.

How do I feel right now? Am I comfortable enough that I stop learning? Hmmm… maybe I am too used to this environment that I am living in? I don’t know. I still feel that I have a little bit room to explore, but maybe not for long. Maybe I need to find another area to pursue? Maybe I need to get out of my comfort zone, soon.

Moments that Change My Life 1: Thinking about Others

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When asked about a moment that changes my life or myself, I would answer it with a super short story when I was in high school. At that time, I was a 10th grader in my high school. My schoolmates (who I did not really know at that time) and I joined this leadership activity. During the course of that program, we were given several demanding tasks that required us to collaborate with each other. I was not the way I am now. I had very limited exposure to such activity and I would even say that my leadership and collaborative skills are 0.

One of the tasks given to us was that we had to wear a red ribbon on our school uniform. We agreed about the size of the ribbon, etc. We were also given other tasks, which consume my time at home so that I forgot to prepare my ribbon. On the next morning when I arrived at school, I remembered that I had to wear a ribbon. I panicked. Then, I met this friend of mine whom at that time I didn’t even know her name. I think she realized that I forgot to bring my ribbon and she happened to have a spare ribbon. She just gave it to me like that, saving me from punishments that will be given by our seniors if we didn’t wear one.

I always remember that moment because for me, it changes the way I approach life and the way I think. I was a very individualistic person. I couldn’t care much about other people. That moment when I friend gave me this ribbon made me think how a person can think about other people and be unselfish. What she did didn’t benefit her, but she did it anyway. From that moment on, I always try and try to think about other people’s position, condition, and perspective. Then, I try to do whatever I can to help others. What my friend did was merely giving a ribbon, maybe an extra one when she made it for herself. It didn’t take a lot of effort. And I now believe that kindness shouldn’t always take a lot of effort.

As I said, I try and try to be a better version of myself. Sometimes I forgot, sometimes I slip. Recently, I was reminded again of how I should not be selfish. So I work as a school counselor in a private school in Jakarta. There’s this new regulation from the government that will give a certain amount of money in monthly basis for private school teachers. I knew this as I saw a colleague opening a document about this matter. Then, in a Whatsapp Group, another person shared the document. I knew this, but I disregarded it. What I thought at that moment was that “ah… maybe I am not qualified. I don’t want the extra load that I have to do to obtain that”. A few days later, a friend also talked about this, sharing the information that she knows to me about this endowment fund. Again, I simply thought that it is unimportant for me.

Can you see what’s wrong in the way I think about this matter?

Yes, I only think about myself. I didn’t care that maybe my other fellow teachers may need it. I didn’t think that probably there are teachers who really really deserve this endowment fund. And when this matter was blown up because most of my colleagues are informed about the fund when it is too late, causing a rather chaotic situation; just then that I realized “maaaan… what did I do?”. The answer is: I didn’t. I didn’t do anything because I was so self-centred that I didn’t think about other people. What I could have done was so simple, as simple as sharing the information that I knew.

As usual, what I do after this kind of thing happen is to think of what I could have done better. And I realize that I have been so busy with myself that I care less about other people around me. This situation reminds me that I have to reflect and evaluate. I have to practice my belief to not only think about myself, to not being selfish.

Mental Health and Stuff

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Okay, I don’t have time to write and this is the last thing that I wrote. It is actually an assignment for my online course about Mental Health and Well-being that I join through FutureLearn. You can go to futurelearn.com to check other online courses that are free (if you don’t want certificate). The course has been very helpful!

Here it goes…

There are many things that can negatively influence mental health. This is based on entirely my opinion, shaped by my experience and observation throughout my years as a school counselor and even before that, at the time I had difficult experience related to my mental health. In my opinion, the three factors that can negatively influence our mental health are inability to cope with changes, non acceptance of life situation, and negative mindset.

Human life is full of changes. Since the theory of evolution emerges, many people believe that existence is based on one’s ability to survive and to cope with changes. Somehow I agree that people with a better quality of life is those who can adapt with the ever-changing life situation. Inability to do so may make a person feels left behind, angry, or frustrated. A small example of change is loss. I categorize many aspects of life in change, but I think almost all people may have difficulty in coping with loss. The passing of closest family member, the devastation from disaster, and so on. Those events are negative, creating a feeling of uncertainty, insecurity, etc. However, change is not always negative – but even positive changes can also negatively influence mental health. It is evident in cases where people with newly coming wealth, power, and popularity cannot cope with the change. This, again, leads to negative affect and disturbed mental health.

I believe that how we live and how we keep our mental health entirely depends on how we see the world and ourselves. Therefore, the non acceptance of our life situation will definitely negatively impact our mental health. Once we cannot make peace with what happens to us, we will have this thought that the world is unfair, that we deserve more (or less), that someone does this to us and needs to be blamed. Again, these negative affect and thought can negatively influence our mental health.

My second point is actually related to my third point, which is negative mindset. Seeing the world and our own situation as negative can diminish our motivation and spirit. This can also affect how we as human interact with other people. Expecting the worst, assuming negative events will happen, and seeing ourselves as a negative being are all evidence of negative mindset. For example, a person who has the tendency to distrust other people may approach a relationship with the feelings of cautiousness, anxiety, and distrust. He may also think that other people may take advantage of him, etc. Therefore, he builds this wall between him and others, which hinders him to create a meaningful relationship. The feeling of loneliness may come, which then may lead to worsen mental health.

In order to alleviate these factors, I think the best way is to start being aware of ourselves. This includes our emotion, thought, and behavior. By being aware of ourselves, we can also adjust our mindset and reflect on how we want to make meaning of the things around us, of the events that we experience, and of other people’s perspective. It is expected that after we’ve done this, we will have a positive mindset and the acceptance on our life situation. We can then start taking charge of ourselves, being able to help our own self in difficult situations that may threaten our mental health. After that, we can build a healthy and supportive relationship to help us go through life changes.

AdventureNotes #27: London (again!)

Published on by Izza Dinillah1 Comment

It’s been a while! After more than a year, I finally have the spirit to update my website. Back with AdventureNotes as I have been inspired by travel vloggers. This is a trip that I did in 2016 during spring. And again, it’s London!

London is a city that I visited – and would like to visit – over and over again. Yes, you can’t get enough of it. This time, I went to London because of visa stuffs. I wanted to apply for a schengen visa for my trip later to Spain. My husband and I decided to stay in London for a few nights just because we wouldn’t want to miss spending days visiting places in London.

Day 1

We went, I think, in around April/May. Having a trip in Spring is perfect because the weather is nice, the flowers are blooming, and the day is neither too short nor too long. We decided that on our first day, we will visit Greenwich area. Who don’t know Greenwich? I think it is a vocabulary that you will come across at school. That is the place where the 0 longitude lies. It is located rather in the south east of the City of London, and you can take the DLR or tube to get there. From central London, you will pass so many modern office buildings, which is really nice and also different from the old-style London touristy places. There’s also other alternatives, such as bus and cable car. Yes, if you are interested, you can take the Emirates Cable Car to cross the River Thames and get to Greenwich area.

Getting down in Cutty Shark station, you can walk straight to the Greenwich Royal Observatory. However, we wanted to take a longer route and went near the river instead. We walked to Cutty Shark, which is a kind of monument made of a real ship. You can come into the place with a certain fee. However, my main goal was to go to the Royal Observatory. Therefore, we skipped that and walked along the street to the Greenwich Pier. From the river bank, we can go inside the University of Greenwich area. The most popular view from the University of Greenwich is its Old Royal Naval College building. It is a part of the Maritime Greenwich, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site (I just knew this!). We didn’t come inside as we don’t have that much time – and part of the complex is not open for public. We walked through to the National Maritime Museum to get access to the Greenwich Royal Observatory complex.

Photo source: https://www.guidelondon.org.uk/blog/around-london/top-10-reasons-to-visit-greenwich/

Greenwich Royal Observatory is actually located within the Greenwich Park. We needed to walk through quite elevated road to get there. It was around 10-15 minutes walk from the National Maritime Museum, crossing the park. It was a fun walk and up there, not even inside the Royal Observatory, you can see a beautiful view of the Old Royal Naval College and the River Thames.

It was not cheap, but for the sake of fulfilling our curiosity, my husband and I decided to splurge on some more money to get inside the Greenwich Royal Observatory. The ticket price is 10 per person for adult. We got in and explored the complex. The Greenwich Royal Observatory consists of several buildings. We can come inside each building and go up to the observatory. The visit was educational and the highlight was the Prime Meridian. There is a planetarium as well there, but we didn’t have a chance to visit it (extra fee!).

Finished with the visit to Royal Observatory, we opted to visit the National Maritime Museum. It was an unplanned visit, but we got attracted by the whole exhibition in the museum. As most museums in the UK, the visit to this museum is free of charge (except for the special exhibition). There are so many things to see and there is also a great children area. We went around and fully covered the whole exhibition before going out to see the Greenwich Market.

Greenwich Market is a so-called historic market in London. The area is full of small shops, selling many things from clothes to crafts. There are also food stalls there. At the time we visited the place, it was very crowded, with so many people queueing for food. The price of the food ranges from GBP 5-10. We decided to have a little snacks before leaving the market as we planned to have lunch elsewhere.

The rest of the day was spent to eat lunch (this best eating spot – at least for us – in London called Noodle Stop near Piccadilly) and to meet friends. Tired with all of the luggage and everything, we ended our day by resting in our pre-booked hotel room. Again, we chose to stay in Easyhotel. It is a hotel chain that has properties in many cities and it always has a great offers. The first time we were in London, we stayed in Easyhotel Victoria with only GBP 25 per night. This was such a deal – keeping in mind that it was Christmas and holiday season! This time, we booked a room in Easyhotel South Kensington. We chose this place because it is close to tube station and many attractions. We paid GBP 38 for a night and we stayed for 3 nights. The room was super small, but it is enough if you really want to spend the days travelling and visiting places and only use the room to rest. What prime is its location with Easyhotel. All super central and really close to everything.

Day 2

We went out pretty early in the morning to apply for Schengen Visa. We finished quite early, around 10 am. We got back to the hotel to put documents away and planned out itinerary for the day. We originally wanted to visit the Natural History Museum, which is very close to our hotel. However, the queue was super long, reaching to the underground station. We skipped that plan and opted to walk to the Knightsbridge area. There are mostly shops and shopping mall in Knightsbridge – yes, Harrods is there. We didn’t spend too much time there and decided to visit another museum in London. We went to the Museum of London. It was such an interesting museum with loads of information, mostly about London. The exhibition areas are divided based on era, starting from the ice age to the current modern days. I got to learn about the London great fire, how it was in the Victorian age, and how it is today. Cool.

After that, we searched for interesting places near the museum. Finally, we found that Leadenhall Market is not too far away. On this day, we chose to go around by bus as we have plenty of time. We got off the bus a bit far from the market as we wanted to explore the surrounding area. We walked pass the Bank of England (they have a museum, too!), London Troops War Memorial, and Social Stock Exchange. The Leadenhall Market is not too far from there. What do we do in the market? Well, in my opinion, it is mostly about the architecture. It is unique and I think one of a kind. There are shops and restaurants, but not too much of a choice. After exploring the whole market, we hopped on a bus and basically just wandered around London, going where the bus took us.

Photo source: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/Pages/leadenhall-market.aspx

We went back to our hotel area and tried to explore the neighborhood. South Kensington is a quite famous neighborhood in London. It is known as one of the most exclusive real estate area and the buildings are really nice. We particularly were interested in the small shops around the Natural History Museum. There is this small bookshop with amazing collection. I couldn’t stop myself and bought quite a lot of books! Yes, the next day’s travel back to Birmingham would be heavy.

Day 3

This was our last day in London (and now I know that it was our last visit during our year in the UK). We only had the morning as our train leaves at 2.00 pm. After having breakfast in the hotel (nah, we bought our own food), we checked out and went to visit Camden area. I’ve always wanted to know the area since I watched this movie when I was in middle school. Now I already forgot the movie, but I’ve always wanted to go there. So this day was THE day.

Camden Market is located rather in the north of London. It was a huge complex with many crafts and food stalls. What they sell in the market is similar from one to another, and coming from Indonesia (where the crafts are beautiful), I didn’t really find an interesting stuff here. What was tempting was the food. There are so many food stalls with so many choices. There are foods from all around the world, I guess. However, it was nowhere near lunchtime and we were still full. We just walked around the market and the area. Again, we decided to take the bus back home. What interesting was that there are so many shops too outside the market. The road was just full with sellers, many of those sell London souvenirs. People say that the souvenirs here are quite a bargain and lots of tourists come here to buy gifts for their loved ones at home.

Photo source: http://retiredandtravelling.com/little-venice-and-camden-market/

Overall, it was such a relaxing and fun visit to London. We didn’t have that much in our itinerary, but for me, it was more enjoyable. Well, again, it was not enough. I don’t know how much more visit that I have to make to London until I see the whole thing. Anyways, see you next time, London!

Ada Langit di Atas Langit

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Dua artikel berturut-turut dan judulnya berhubungan dengan langit. Tenang, tenang… isinya beda kok! Berbeda dengan artikel sebelumnya yang membahas tentang langit biru, kali ini ingin membahas sebuah fenomena yang sepertinya kok sering saya lihat akhir-akhir ini. Maklum, I am a people observer. Kegiatan people-watching bagi saya terasa menyenangkan! Hehehe…

As an intro, ada yang sudah baca artikel ini: https://brightside.me/article/why-generation-y-is-unhappy-11105/? Saya sudah, dan saya suka. Saya suka dengan sudut pandang si penulis yang tidak lagi-lagi membahas karakter generasi Y saja – tetapi mencoba mengelaborasi dengan pengalaman nyata para anggota generasi Y. Intinya sih, ada sesuatu yang menyebabkan si generasi Y ini tidak bahagia: kepercayaan bahwa dunia seindah surga dan bahwa mereka (kita) pantas untuk mendapatkan si surga ini. Intinya yaa… perasaan ke-aku-an yang sungguh besar sehingga menganggap diri sendiri spesial.

Padahal, selalu ada langit di atas langit. Naaah… yang perlu disadari adalah langit di atas langit ini tidak hanya dalam arti positif loh, tapi juga dalam arti negatif. Misalnya nih, ada si X yang punya pengalaman bertahun-tahun, pintar, dan latar belakang pendidikannya baik. Dia merasa sebagai orang yang paling ekspert di bidangnya. Hal ini membuat dia merasa lalu harus di “servis” saat diminta berbagi ilmu atau merasa harus mendapatkan gaji super besar saat diminta bekerja di suatu perusahaan. Betul kah? Yhaaa… ada langit di atas langit, Pak! Dalam lingkungannya, mungkin ia yang paling hebat. Tapi, sudahkah mencoba untuk lihat keluar? Sudahkan mencoba untuk bertemu orang-orang baru di lingkungan baru? Mungkin – mungkin yaa – di luar sana ada orang yang jauh lebih hebat daripada si X.

Sebaliknya, ada langit di atas langit bisa juga terjadi dalam arti negatif. Pernah punya teman yang sepertinya hidupnya selalu susah (suka mengeluh maksudnyaa…)? Seberapa parah sih keluhannya dan korelasinya dengan realita? “Duh, males banget bawa anak kecil naik angkot panas-panas. Coba ya kalau ada motor kan lebih enak.” Buk, ada loh orang yang anaknya lebih dari dua dan memilih untuk jalan kaki kemana-mana karena ingin menabung agar anaknya bisa masuk sekolah yang bagus (walaupun ya, harusnya sih sekolah bagus harus bisa diakses oleh semua orang). Atau mungkin juga, ada orang lain yang kemana-mana harus naik sepeda karena harus berhemat uang yang pas-pasan.

Self-centered. Sifat ini seharusnya sudah bisa diminimalisir pada masa anak-anak awal, sekitar usia 3-6 tahun. Tapi memang, manusia pada dasarnya adalah mahluk yang self-centered. Setelah dilatih dan melihat orang lain, barulah kita semua belajar untuk tidak hanya memikirkan diri sendiri, tetapi juga orang lain. Selain itu, kalau seperti yang dijelaskan oleh artikel yang saya sebutkan di atas, sosialisasi dari orang tua dan orang-orang di sekitar juga merupakan pembentuk karakter generasi Y yang utama. Isi sosialisasi inilah yang membuat para generasi Y (termasuk saya juga, mungkin) merasa paling spesial pake telor. Hasilnya, terpupuk lagi deh, sifat self-centered yang seharusnya sudah bisa diminimalisir.

Jujur, saya suka risih. Tidak terlalu suka dengan orang-orang yang tidak menyadari bahwa ada langit di atas langit. Tapi, gajah di pelupuk mata seringnya tidak terlihat. Mudah-mudahan tulisan ini menjadi pengingat bagi diri saya sendiri bahwa masih ada orang-orang yang lebih lebih hebat dari saya – dalam hal perjuangan (atau mungkin penderitaan), talenta, keahlian, dan lain-lain. Semoga tidak ada orang yang risih dengan saya karena hal ini. Semoga, semogaaa ya Allah, saya dijauhkan dari sifat “merasa yang paling …” supaya bisa lebih banyak belajar dan memperbaiki diri dan supaya bisa lebih banyak lagi bersyukur.
Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa billah…

 

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No Blue Sky for You No More

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Beberapa minggu kembali tinggal di Jakarta (baca: Bekasi), salah satu hal yang sangat saya rindukan dari Birmingham adalah langit biru.

Kata orang, warna biru langit di setiap daerah itu berbeda. Well, mungkin. Saya adalah salah satu penggemar kegiatan mengamati langit. Kalau berdasarkan pengamatan saya, memang sih, warna langit setiap tempat memiliki “pesona”nya sendiri. Favorit saya? Birunya langit Liverpool di musim panas, birunya langit York saat musim semi, semburat jingga saat matahari terbit di Borobudur, dan… yang paling dahsyat menurut saya adalah warna warni langit saat matahari tenggelam di Sumbawa Barat. Magical!

Pink Sky

Nah tapi, setelah beberapa minggu di Jakarta-Bekasi, ternyata kok langitnya abu-abu? Yhaa… disamping akhir-akhir ini sering mendung, sepertinya, berdasarkan pengamatan subjektif saya, polusi di ibu kota tampaknya semakin parah, ya? I don’t mind with non-blue sky. Saya suka hawa-hawa mendung gloomy yang kalau di UK sana sedang sangat dominan karena sudah autumn saat ini. Di Jakarta pun, hawa mendung bagi saya membawa perasaan menenangkan.

Masalahnya, meskipun sama-sama abu-abu, langit tertutup polusi tuh nggak ada indah-indahnya. Malah sumpek dan bikin pengen kabur ke UK lagi #eh. Bahkan saking tebalnya, asap polusi sampai terlihat seperti kabut. Sedih!

Biangnya ya apalagi selain asap kendaraan bermotor? Saya salah satunya. Iya, saya mengaku bersalah jadi salah satu kontributor polusi di Jakarta. Cuy, moda transportasi itu kebutuhan primer warga dunia – terlebih bagi masyarakat penglaju seperti saya yang jarak tempuh setiap hari bisa lebih dari 20 km. Jarak tersebut tentu tidak bisa (tidak efektif) bila dipaksa ditempuh dengan cara berjalan kaki. So, what should I do?

Setidaknya, saya berusaha (superduper sekuat tenaga karena terbiasa dimanja dengan kendaraan pribadi) untuk meminimalisir penggunaan mobil pribadi sendiri. Kalau bisa, carpool (lebih populer dikenal dengan tebeng menebeng) lebih baik. Disamping kondisi lalu lintas Jakarta yang makin lama makin parah dan membuat malas menyetir sendiri, naik kendaraan umum atau ber-carpool bisa jadi alternatif yang lebih hemat.

Well, semoga saya bisa dengan istiqomah menjalankan sharing kendaraan ini, setidaknya dengan suami dan orang-orang terdekat) dan semakin banyak juga orang-orang yang berusaha dan punya solusi untuk mengurangi polusi Jakarta sehingga langit biru pun tampak kembali di kota tercinta ini. Ya, supaya there’s no more no blue sky for you no more.

University 101: Everything is Data (4)

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Apa yang muncul dalam pikiran kita pada saat mendengar kata ‘data’? Ada yang mengasosiasikannya dengan pekerjaan, soal, ujian, penelitian, dan lain-lain. Namun, sebenarnya apa sih yang dimaksud dengan data, dan mengapa data merupakan suatu hal yang penting untuk dibahas dalam hubungannya dengan universitas – baik pada jenjang S1, S2, maupun S3? Menurut Merriam-Webster Dictionary, data adalah fakta atau informasi yang digunakan untuk analisis dan penghitungan sebagai dasar dari penalaran, diskusi, dan argumen. Berdasarkan definisi ini, dapat disimpulkan bahwa data bisa memiliki berbagai macam bentuk. Fakta atau informasi yang digunakan sebagai data bisa merupakan angka, bentuk, narasi, atau hal-hal yang dapat diamati.

Tentunya, data dalam bidang disiplin ilmu pun berbeda. Ya, mungkin saja teman-teman yang mendalami bidang informatika lebih banyak berhubungan dengan data yang bersifat numerikal. Di sisi lain, teman-teman yang berkuliah di bidang ilmu sosial, seperti antropologi, lebih banyak berhubungan dengan data yang bersifat naratif. Eits, tapi jangan bahagia dulu saat merasa akan atau sedang belajar cabang ilmu sosial yang biasanya minim data numerikal. Berbagai penghitungan statistik, grafik, dan data berupa angka juga merupakan hal dasar yang harus dikuasai oleh semua orang di semua cabang ilmu. Sulit? Nggak, kok. Justru hal ini merupakan salah satu basic skills yang perlu dikuasai untuk bisa survive tidak hanya dalam pendidikan, tetapi juga pekerjaan di masa depan dan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.

Hmmmm… ini berarti kita tidak bisa ‘kabur’ dari urusan data mendata pada saat memutuskan untuk masuk ke pendidikan tinggi. Segala sesuatu yang kita pelajari dan kita ungkapkan harus berdasarkan data. Orang-orang yang dulunya takut melihat soal dan data harus memberanikan diri menghadapi dan menggunakan data. Atau mungkin, persepsi kita bisa dibalik sehingga lebih nyaman dalam memandang data. Anggap saja, semua hal yang kita ketahui – bahkan dari kecil sekali – bisa dianggap sebagai data. Segala pengetahuan yang kita miliki dan simpan di dalam otak juga merupakan bentuk data apabila kita gunakan untuk melakukan analisa, penghitungan, atau perencanaan.

Tidak lepasnya kehidupan kita dari data mengharuskan kita untuk merasa nyaman bekerja dengan data. Keluwesan kita dalam bermain-main dengan data sangat dibutuhkan, terutama pada saat kita berada dalam lingkungan akademis. Memang sih, pada saat masa awal perkuliahan, biasanya ada mata kuliah yang memang dikhususkan untuk membantu para mahasiswa untuk membiasakan diri dengan data. Namun, apa salahnya kita tahu lebih dulu mengenai hal-hal yang bisa dilakukan terhadap data.

 

  • Putting it into context

 

Data tanpa konteks tidak memiliki arti. Tidak percaya? Ini contohnya: sebagian besar anak mengalami obesitas. Ada yang salah? Secara bentuk, kalimat tersebut benar. Namun, informasi tersebut tidak memiliki konteks. Anak dimana? Batasan yang disebut sebagai anak, berusia berapa? Selain kelengkapan informasi tersebut, kita juga perlu mengetahui konteks data secara lebih luas. Misalnya, ketika kita sudah mengetahui bahwa informasi tersebut berlaku pada anak-anak yang tinggal di Amerika Serikat, maka kita juga perlu mengetahui informasi yang relevan dengannya. Sebagai contoh, konsumsi makanan dengan gula buatan sangat tinggi di Amerika Serikat. Contoh ini merupakan informasi yang tambahan yang juga bisa menjadi data. Kedua data tersebut saling melengkapi dan bisa digunakan bersamaan, memberikan konteks pada satu sama lain. Bagaimana dengan data numerikal? Data numerikal juga membutuhkan konteks. Misalnya, 10% warga Jakarta merasa bahagia. Seberapa banyak 10% warga Jakarta? Tentu harus dikalikan dengan total jumlah warga Jakarta. Arti 10% ini tentu berbeda apabila disandingkan dengan 10% warga Pontianak. Putting it into context. Angka 10% yang tampak kecil menjadi jumlah warga yang puluhan ribu apabila dimasukkan ke dalam konteks kota besar.

 

  • Interpret it

 

Setelah melihat data dalam konteks yang benar, barulah kita dapat melakukan interpretasi data. Lagi-lagi, data bisa diinterpretasi apabila kita mengerti konteks dan arti dari informasi tersebut. Proses interpretasi data harus dilakukan sebelum data kemudian diolah lagi atau dianalisis lebih lanjut.

 

  • Critically analyse it

 

Nah, bagian yang cukup krusial dan unik dalam penggunaan data di tingkat universitas adalah analisis kritis. Pada aktivitas ini, kita bisa mempertanyakan informasi yang kita dapat dari data tersebut – baik mengenai ke-valid-an data tersebut, cara pengumpulan datanya, apakah data tersebut relevan dengan konteksnya, dan lain-lain. Bagi saya sendiri, proses ini adalah proses ‘mempertanyakan kebenaran data’. Butuh panduan bertanya? Yuk mampir ke https://theadventureofizzao.com/2016/06/17/university-101-the-art-of-asking-questions-1/. Data yang telah dianalisis secara kritis sehingga kita mengetahui kelemahannya dapat kemudian digunakan dalam proses-proses pengolahan data berikutnya.

 

  • Convert it

 

Aktivitas konversi data merupakan aktivitas lanjutan dan tambahan dari pengolahan data. Apabila tidak dibutuhkan, proses ini bisa di-skip. Pada umumnya, data dikonversi apabila bentuk lain dibutuhkan untuk proses pengolahan data lanjutan.

 

  • Present it

 

Data juga harus dipresentasikan atau disajikan. Nah, penyajian data tentu tergantung pada bentuk data. Pemilihan cara penyajian data juga harus memperhatikan kenyamanan pembaca. Kita menyajikan data dengan tujuan membuat pembaca mengerti, kan? Oleh karena itu, kita harus menyeleksi cara terbaik untuk mencapai tujuan kita. Data-data numerik biasanya kemudian disajikan dalam grafik sehingga lebih mudah dipahami. Data narasi disusun dengan kalimat yang efektif sehingga pembaca dengan mudah mencerna informasi yang diberikan.

 

Lalu, apa sih tujuan menggunakan data dan melakukan hal-hal di atas terhadap data? Tujuannya adalah untuk mendukung argumen yang kita miliki. Lagi-lagi, dalam konteks akademis pendidikan tinggi, mahasiswa banyak diminta untuk berargumen dan mengungkapkan pendapat. Tentu saja, pendapatnya orang berpendidikan beda yaa, dengan argumen warung kopi. Argumen dalam konteks akademik harus didukung oleh data yang valid dan dapat dipertanggungjawabkan. Nah, hal ini lah yang membuat data memiliki posisi yang penting dalam kehidupan akademis.

Practice makes it perfect. Sama seperti keterampilan yang lain, keterampilan mengolah, mengumpulkan, dan menganalisis data perlu dilatih sehingga kita lancar dalam menggunakannya. Mari mulai berlatih bermain-main dengan data!

 

Photo source: http://www.biznetsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/bigdata.jpg