How Much Enough is Enough?

Background: I read this tweet by Cultural Tutor on how writing letters by hand can encourage depth, reflection, and introspection. It said that:

In a world of relentless distraction and instant response, it’s difficult to introspect properly. So taking the time to write a letter — a process in which you simply cannot hide from yourself — might just help you to find out who you really are…

https://twitter.com/culturaltutor/status/1678925241853067264?s=20

And thus, I decided to do journaling again by hand to reflect on my thoughts. I still use my laptop, but I use an app called PenBook to literally handwrite my thoughts. Here’s an entry about the tendency of human beings these days to be greedy.

Enjoy!

Categorizing People: Analyzing People’s Motivation

I like analyzing people’s characteristics. Partly it is because I’m trained to be a teacher and it is useful to understand students’ characteristics to help them find the most suitable learning strategies. Partly it is because it serves me a purpose of getting them to ‘work’ or of getting something from them.

Of my experiences, I can safely categorize people’s motivation in doing something into four categories: money, personal glory, network, and altruism. Of course, one cannot be categorized into only one box. The characteristics may be a combination of some categories, but with one category to be more dominant. I even found that a person can wear different masks at a time, being in one category for certain occasions and/or purposes.

Tips dan Trik Menghadapi Ujian S3

Seminggu yang lalu, tepatnya tanggal 9 Juli 2021 pukul 16:00 WIB, saya mempertahankan tesis S3 saya di the University of Manchester. Selama 1,5 jam saya menjawab 15 pertanyaan dari satu penguji eksternal (dari salah satu universitas di Inggris, di luar universitas saya) dan satu penguji internal, dengan ditemani oleh dua pembimbing saya (yang cuma menonton saja karena tidak boleh membantu saya menjawab sama sekali).

Kali ini saya mau berbagi proses saya mempersiapkan diri dan menjalani ujian S3, eh, siapa tahu di kalangan pembaca blog saya ada yang butuh, ya kan?

Proses ujian adalah proses yang penting dalam struktur program S3 di Manchester Institute of Education karena kelulusan dari program tidak hanya ditentukan oleh kualitas tesis tertulis tetapi juga apakah si kandidat doktor bisa mempertahankan apa yang ia tulis di tesis. Sehingga, meskipun telah berproses selama 3-4,5 tahun meneliti dan menulis, bisa saja si kandidat dinyatakan tidak lulus karena jawaban dalam ujian (atau istilah kami ‘viva’) tidak memuaskan para penguji. Tiap universitas tentu beda kebijakan soal viva, karena ada misalnya seorang teman yang viva-nya semacam perayaan saja setelah selesai proses menulis selama beberapa tahun (sungguh membuat saya iri!).

Hari 29: Naksir Tiga Selebritas

[Hari ke-29 dari tantangan 30 hari menulis]

Hore, akhirnya topik menulis hari ini adalah topik yang ringan dan menyenangkan: tentang tiga selebritas yang saya taksir. Gampanglah ya mengingat tiga pesohor yang saya sukai sampai ke taraf membayangkan kalau misalnya bisa pacaran. Imajinasi yang menyenangkan!

Day 22: List 10 Things that Make Me Really Happy

[Day 22th of 30 day writing challenge]

Let’s get down to the list. This list is not in the order of importance, but rather what emerges on top of my head.

1/ Connecting with my beloved ones

This is the vitamin to my soul. Talking to them on day-to-day basis is what sustains me so far in this faraway land.

2/ Morning sunshine!

Waking up to sunshine is my mood booster. I’m a totally tropical girl in this matter. I’m still wondering why I banish myself in Manchester where gray sky is the constant feature of the weather, but hey, I guess it serves the purpose of advancing myself in education.