Throughout my time interning for newspapers, there’s a scarce amount of time that allows me to write in first person because there is definitely no use of the pronoun “I” in writing articles now would it? But tonight, I wanted to take some time and talk about a few things that crossed my mind recently.  I just, feel, good, about everything right now, about where I am, despite my recent luck, or the lack of it with my scholarship. Nonetheless, I take everything as a lesson to correct myself in improve for the future. On the other side, perhaps I’m meant to stay for a while and take in as much experience as I can.

Despite the horrendous traffic, I’m relishing in the hustle and bustle every morning and the sigh of relief at the end of a long day. Whenever I venture off into the morning, I would see a lot of those in my own shoes starting their usual routine, hopping either on a packed bus or a Gojek like me, probably thinking about what to have for lunch during the day or what time they should head home in the effort of squeezing some time in the evenings with their children. Now, I used to think of this certain kind of repetitiveness quite tedious. But the past week has given me a light slap in the back at the fact that I should consider myself lucky to wake up with a purpose and set of to-do’s because others might not be as lucky.

Not only that, it made me respect those who open their eyes at the crack of dawn, to spend what feels like a lifetime in heart-wrenching traffic, sweating, huddling against others, and clutching their bags in a bus. Then, it’s another 8 hours or so in the workplace until they decide to end the day, once again engulfed in the gruelling streets of Jakarta and reach home to hopefully have enough time to rest. Until the next day, the cycle repeats. Now, I guess I can symphatize due to not having a private, everyday commute — making me feel like I belong until a sense of camaraderie emerges. So, here’s to actually looking forward to a new day, to looking forward in what’s to come, basking in that curious uncertainty…I’ll take it all.