Sweet memories with Ichi while I was working on something - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
Someone said, "A writer is a poor person and poor job, they can not earn money by writing." If this sentence is true, why on earth I keep writing? There is no future and no guarantee that I will get lots of money and become rich, but why I insist to write and publish articles and having 4 different blogs? What the reason behind my "stupid" acts?
Actually, I have been writing for 10 years or more (I do not remember the exact time). In fourth grade, I wrote my first school assignment and it was writing a story! Unlike most villagers' children who speak in a local language, my father taught me to speak in Indonesia every day so that I could easily catch up with everything that taught by the teacher in class. At the time many students in the village could not understand the Indonesian language clearly because they used to speak in the local language. Meanwhile, the formal language in school is the Indonesian language. By building strong formal language my father hoped I could easier communicate with children from educated families. But who's know, based on language I could write a story. However, I had some lack on these experiences where no one did not have the ability to teach me. Someday my high school teacher told me, "You know, Acik, your paper has a problem in this part. But you can learn how to write a paper when you study at a university. You will understand what I mean." At this point, it triggered me more and more to study in university. "I have to make it!"
My first year at a university, it was the fun part when I had to finish at least 3 papers a week and presented them in front of the class. Yeah, choosing a program to study Economics management made me busy by writing papers and presentations every week. Feeling tired and exhausted, of course, but I was excited because I could learn how to write and make a better paper and understood what my high teacher told me. However, after graduating, I hadn't typed again. I left it behind and busy with work life.
After I lost my career path completely, to heal my depression and my broken heart, I learned something else for example learning how to create ribbon flowers and write again. I almost died in 2007; someone tried to brush my existence in this world. In the next year, in 2008, that person tried to destroy me again. Then I completely lost the opportunity to build a bright career in 2008. I planed to build my career from zero and would study again to get a Master's degree which meant before 30 years old I would get my Master's degree and had a bright career. But, all those planed ruined, that's why my heart broke, my dream just burnt like that, and left nothing. While trying to pull up myself together, I started writing in 2010 (or 2009, I do not remember 🙄) by joining a payment blog which means every article I had published, I would receive appreciation. The articles that I wrote mostly about politics. The payment was not much just enough for a phone bill a month, however, I gave it to people who needed it. And I was happy!
While writing, I also was doing a small business in 2010. Unfortunately, I had to stop this business that I planed would succeed in the next 5 years because my business partner took all the money from the sale of my goods. Feeling upset, of course, I had customers and I could see that my business would thrive. But, I needed to leave it behind. After that happened, I tried to focus on writing.
In 2011, I wrote an article for one of the famous women's magazines in Indonesia. After waited for about 2 months, my article officially published; it was the first time I made publication! I was over the moon even though the money was a little! I wrote an inspiring article based on true events! Why? I just wanted to share a little my story so that could inspire others who had a hard life. In the same year, I joined Citizen media as a part-time writer. Most of my articles were Highlight and got Headlines! Even one of my articles helped "some kind" government organization to get financing; they said because of my article they got a big money. However, I did not receive any money from the articles that I wrote, neither from this citizen media nor this government organization. Moreover, this government organization copy-pastes my article without acknowledging me as a writer. The worst part was someone stole one of my articles because he wanted to gain popularity instantly. Yes, the article that I wrote was number one on Google search at the time. So, he wanted his blog popular and got many readers by stole my article.
In this citizen media, I wrote many kinds genres, from gardening, traveling, inspired stories, some politics, et cetera. I kept writing because I love writing and I just felt glad if my articles could help others. For example, when I wrote tourist spots that we visited, it means free advertising for this particular place, right? Or writing about Singapore culture, then it would give others a view of what Singapore cultures look like.
Anyway, in 2012, I was thinking to create my own blog and left citizen media where I had joined for about 2 years since 2011. Whether get money or not, I just wanted to become an independent writer by creating my own blog where no one could easily steal or copy-paste my articles. What I had learned when joined that particular citizen media is that I think someone easy to stole the article that published on it because this media could not protect the writer and the articles.
Even if I experienced bad things when joined the citizen media, in 2013, one of the publishers reached me and proposed me to publish a book with them by collaborating with another writer. I rejected that proposal. Why? Because at the same time I wanted to start helping children in the village by giving them books so that they could see another world. Helping children was my priority! It was the time when Ichikraft Give and Care born!
After a proposal from a publisher came to me, this citizen media contacted me to join a talk show on their local Television, a year later they asked me to join a discussion with some of the people who worked for the Indonesian government and another else. All of those works had money, they would pay me! But, I rejected all of those opportunities that could build popularity, my name, and moreover would get money. The reason why I rejected all those offers because I just want to focus on goals, one of these goals is to focus on what I am doing and what I want to be in the future, furthermore, helping villager children even though only some kids! Since I was a child, maybe in fifth grade, every time when I laid down on my bed, my eyes had always been looked throughout far away in the sky and said to myself, "my future is out there, I will get higher education so that I can helping other who need help." Maybe they felt disappointed that I rejected them, but I am not someone who hungry for popularity or fame. Someone said to me, "You should have taken those offers, made "them" shocked and jealous badly!" In this word, "them" means people who had made fun of me because my father was nothing but I wanted to study in a university and have a big dream. Well, I am not some kind that person who does something for other people. What I am doing, all those my hard work, my achievement is for my future. My father wanted me to become an educated person, so I just want to make him proud. That's it!🙂
Ichi was my assistant! - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
One of my blogs is The Journey of Ichi's Family. I changed the title 3 times. But I think the last title will last forever since my beloved cat died last year; Ichi was my cat's name, in Japanese means one. After 8 years of writing on this blog, I just feel grateful because I could share true event stories that could inspire others, or just sharing my experiences for some/ many things like culture, traveling, tutorial, the knowledge that I know, or just simply to keep sweet memories by writing. But not politics articles like before because I have done with political matters. So, this blog is like a "gado-gado" which means no specialty like most blogs that only focus on one field such as fashion or traveling blog. Basically, if someone asks me, "You can cook?", I say "YES!" or "You can sew?" My answer is "YES!" or another question, "You can do gardening?" I said, "Of Course, I can!" or "You can design handmade flower and cat collar?" my answer is "YES, I am!" I just love writing!😊
What I have got after 8 years of writing in this blog? Well, there is no money, popularity, which is simply nothing. However, like I mentioned before I feel grateful because writing is means I have always learned some or many things. For instance, when I wrote how to make an Autumn flower, I designed and created it before make it published. Another example, before writing about local (Singapore) culture, it meant I learned it first, understanding how they live, what foods they eat, or their habit. There are so many things that I have been learning since I do writing.
In the past, after losing his decent job, my father became cheaper labor that only earned $ 4 a month for living. It was not enough to buy food for a week, yet my father kept this job even if many people around made fun of him or simply bullied and humiliated him. He kept going and run until someday all of those people shocked because my father sent me out to study at a university. Then, all those people hate me a lot because their children couldn't surpass my achievement. The bottom line about this story is that having a dream is a must; we have to keep walk even if doing something small and ignore all the noise around. Today is small, but who's know the future, a small thing that we have been doing today will become something big in the future. The future hasn't written yet; we write our own future!🚀😉
I think my father was the biggest influence in my life who tough me to learn many things in this life. Someone said, "Do not say I can't, but have always willing to learn something new." Do not stop learning because the world keeps teaching us every day.
Note:
- Written by Acik Mardhiyanti
- Do not copy this article without permission
