Saturday Would Be Another Ordinary Day...

...if I've never joined this class.

Three months ago, Saturday meant nothing for a single woman like me. Except going to IES and hanging out with friends, I basically don't have anything to do. Then a friend told me to sign up for this class. Eka Tjipta Foundation is giving scholarship so that everybody who already has basics in writing can learn about narrative journalism. I got selected as one of the participants. The others were people from different backgrounds and educations. Although we are diverse, but we all have the same goal: to write better. I needed this class to refresh my basic knowledge of journalism, and to hear sharing from real journalists. I guess I want to see if my heart is still pumping for this.

So, for the following 18 weeks, we sat there on the 39th floor. We chatted, we interacted, we learned more. Most of the time, I just listened to the others. We have three mentors; all of them said that we were a serious class. Anugerah Perkasa was the first mentor, Fahri Salam was the second, and last but not least, Andreas Harsono.

Honestly, I wasn't a good student. I skipped 3 classes, either on purpose or not. I didn't do my homework well, because during the first month I was so busy with projects at work. I also didn't bring out all my curiosity, because... well, they mainly talked about politics in class. That kinda bother me. At one session, I told my friend in the class that I felt like an alien. My mentors in class kept on talking about this and that subject, he and she... like we're supposed to understand all those things already. Those facts are "simple" for them, but I guess not for me. It's like me talking about offline and online post production to a bunch of interns. Get it? Exactly. 

Among the mentors, the last name kind of amazed me. Not because of his teaching, or his achievements, but because of the way he views the world. This guy is so open about himself; about where he is standing, about what he believes (and don't believe!), about his flaws, about pretty much anything. It's like you've known him for a long time. I guess that's a good quality of a journalist. He reminded me that we're all multidimensional people with subjective views that are influenced by history and upbringing. It's like he's saying that "a journalist should has nothing to hide".

Bottom line is I've learned something from him. I don't know when I would be able to be open like that, but I will try to free my minds from ideas and influences. I know that the best way to do that is by making as many friends as possible. Narrative class, I am gonna miss you. I really hope that was not the end, but a beginning of meaningful regroup. Thank you for teaching me.