Keni
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
blake kathryn
titsay
One Nice Bug Per Day
Game Changer & Make Some Noise
roma★
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
sheepfilms
❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
almost home
Game of Thrones Daily
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Origami Around
Claire Keane
Noah Kahan
oozey mess
Discoholic 🪩
seen from United States
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@huffeldooduffle
Reflections From the Land of Brötchen
Harlesiel Salt Marsh in the North Sea, Germany, where I conducted fieldwork for my master’s thesis. I originally wrote this blog post in March of 2025, but somehow I completely forgot about it! So I decided to pick it up again from where I left off… 🙂 March 2025 And just like that, 6 months has passed in the land of bröt, or the land of bread. I know that I haven’t written anything in a long…
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Summer in Rwanda
July 30th marked the first day I visited a country in Africa. That is, Rwanda. Excluding, of course, the layovers I made in Ethiopia and Burundi, which I didn’t get to see much of except the airport. Mukama, staff member from the organization I’m interning with, Conservation Heritage-Turambe, picked me up from the airport. We rode a taxi together from Kigali (the capital) to Musanze. The road…
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Climate Action Capacity Fellowship (2021-2022)
Climate Action Capacity Fellowship (2021-2022)
Final Reflection CACF Sophomore year at Middlebury College as an international student from Indonesia? It was a rollercoaster ride. I am sitting here watching the rain, in humid Jakarta, now cooled by the rain and breeze. There was so much that happened that I don’t know how to process it all in one go. I sift in my mind through the past year’s loneliness, extreme sadness (according to a…
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1st Year at Middlebury College
1st Year at Middlebury College
Well, Ma, here is the blog post you wanted me to write, hahah… I am sitting here outside of Atwater dining hall, having eaten breakfast. The sun is bright and yellow, a lemon in the sky. The breeze is soft, but crisp upon my skin. Everything is a garden salad, a burst of summer colors. It’s truly been a remarkable year to start college. 1st Semester The first semester I had to take classes…
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How to Be Healthy During Quarantine
How to Be Healthy During Quarantine
The Turning Point
Throughout my life, I was never what you would consider a “fit” girl. I never joined a sports team. I only once joined a sports club. During school days, I relied on P.E. classes and walking for exercise. During holidays, I almost never exercised.
I grew to be a bit chubby during some parts of my life. I was never confident with my body. I thought I was too big, considering how…
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Papuan Lives (Also) Matter
Papuan Lives (Also) Matter
Here is an article I wrote that was published on The Jakarta Post, on June 4th, 2020. It is about the recent tragedy regarding George Floyd, and the Black Lives Movement that grew stronger as a result.
Please look at these links if you are interested in learning more, signing petitions for the Black Lives Matter cause, or donating to organizations that work for this goal:
https://blacklivesmatter…
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The Importance of Self-Love
The Importance of Self-Love
I have learned that confidence is not thinking you’re better than others. Instead, confidence is about believing in yourself. It stems from self-respect—which can only blossom from self-love. But self-love is not always easy, I know. It is much easier to be critical of yourself. It is easier to feed your insecurities. To wallow in self-doubt.
Of course, I’m not against self-criticism. In moderate…
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Thank You, CSC
I never knew this day would come so soon.
And yet here I am, pondering the symbolism of my white kebaya, my graduation dress. The white of its laces represents the light of hope which still kindled within me, only a few weeks prior. Then, email after email came. Bombarding us with their false promises. Turning eyes to trembling glass. Now my kebayais stuffed deep inside the dark folds of the…
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World Hijab Day (2019)
World Hijab Day (2019)
Hi internet explorers!
I hope that wherever you’re reading this from, you are healthy and safe. I am sure most of us are still trying to comprehend the fact that we’re living through one of the most historical moments in our lifetime, or maybe even the century. And all of us, from the richest to the poorest, are affected by the coronavirus, to varying degrees. But during challenging times like…
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What I've Learned from China
What I’ve Learned from China
Coming home to Indonesia after six months, inevitably I always get asked *the* question: “Cina itu gimana? How is China?” And I think, where do I begin to describe its richness? In culture, history, beauty. I ask them what they most want to know and if they say, “Oh, anything!”I look in their eyes and give them the story I think they’d like to hear most. Whether it’s funny, enticing, gross, or…
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To Know Oneself
“The Art of Being a Couple”
Recently, I watched this video by an inspiring old man named Theodore Zeldin. Listening to him I have begun to realize the inexplicable reason for this strange state of my soul. I am now brooding upon our need for a shift in perspective, as he advises. I mean that humans have become increasingly busy, increasingly ambitious, but who says we must be that way? Who says…
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menjelma nostalgia
Aku ingin
sembunyi
Aku ingin
menjadi
kelopak bunga yang dihembuskan angin
tanpa daya, tanpa cerita…
Aku ingin
setiap jejak kakiku
melebur dengan fana waktu itu
Aku ingin
terbang bersama
lantunan melodi yang mengayonkanku
jauh, jauh
hingga…
menjelma…
nostalgia
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Hi, beautiful people! 🙂 Honestly, there are times when I feel like I have no right to write, that my words don’t matter to the universe. That these frail sentences won’t matter to anyone but myself, as a way of letting go of the feelings that pent up inside my heart or as a way to express the things I can’t control or put in order. Yet, I promised someone important that I will write more regularly. So, dear reader, despite the doubt, I will do just that. Starting with… a recap of January!
A.
School has been pulling me in like the tides of the sea that draw in sand–eroding the land ever so slightly until one day there’s no land left. But don’t worry, I won’t drown! Once I told you about the subjects I’m taking, right? Well, I forgot to mention how I changed a lot of things. The subjects I’ll permanently take over these two years are Biology HL, Economics HL, English A Literature HL, ESS (Environmental Systems and Societies), Math SL, and Chinese ab initio. HL means higher level, meaning there are more class hours dedicated for it, hence it’s more rigorous. IB is… demanding. It feels like a never-ending stack of homework or that pile of laundry that you keep putting off. It’s manageable though, don’t worry. And as much as people talk about how little they sleep or how stressed they are, I believe that if you can discipline yourself you’ll do fine…kinda. Hehe.
Anyway, in Biology, I’ve already learned most things we’re learning right now, since I was in jurusan IPA (science major). However, it’s still challenging, because I always have to study and memorize things before a test, otherwise I’ll probably fail. Reviewing and taking notes everyday is crucial, otherwise you’ll get left behind… unless you’re a genius that is.
All my life, Economics has been my weak spot. I never could understand when I read something in the news about it, or when someone started discussing it. So I thought that if I actually wanted to learn something new I’d better take it. It was the best decision ever. Economics is my favorite subject right now, maybe because I have an amazing teacher, or maybe because I it’s so relevant and important to understanding the world. After all, “you can’t always get what you want”–no one can–and it’s that allocation of resources that we study. During the holidays I read Poor Economics, which I recommend everyone to read, because it taught me so much about effective and non-effective ways of helping the poor. It’s quite easy to understand the concepts of Economics, and satisfying as well.
Literature… gahhh!!! This is the class that worries me the most. I took it thinking I’ll be okay, ready to face the risk of challenge, or whatever. How disenchanted I was upon the realization of it being the epitome of technical difficulty! It’s true that I love reading. That is not an issue. I read all the books and understood them easily. I loved the class discussions about the characters, plot, themes, similes, metaphors, backgrounds, and so on. However, believe me when I say that analyzing literature is not fun. Especially when you have to do it in a certain structure, at a certain depth, with an abstract and subjective marking scheme to judge your work upon. I hate how my grade hinges on how well I write the analytical essays. I dislike how the IB turned something I love into a seemingly insurmountable burden. I just pray that it’ll be worth it in the end…that there will come something out of it. However, dear reader, if you don’t want to torture yourself, it’s better to take English A Language and Literature, which is relatively easier. It doesn’t dive so much into one area but instead skims a broader range of texts, such as advertisements, news, novels, and so on.
ESS was the other subject that brought my grades quite low. In comparison to the others, it’s almost the easiest. It has a lot of overlap with both Biology and Geography. So, if you come from any of the two majors (science or social sciences), you’ll do fine in this class…kinda. 😀 However, I don’t really understand how we’re to be graded because I try the best I can with this class, the way I do with all the others, yet the teacher says I’m not thinking critically enough or that I’m not engaged enough. He actually gave me a 1 out of 4 for thinking skill on my report card. LOL. So my solution was to stop asking or asserting stupid things, in other words, to filter my words more–and to show 10 times the engagement and enthusiasm as I did in the first semester. Wish me luck!
Math SL is absolutely incredible. It’s easier than ESS for me, because I already took two years of high school math as a science student back home, and we were already beginning calculus at the point that I left. During first semester I barely studied but this semester we’re getting into trigonometry, so I think I’d better change that habit quickly. 😛
Last but not least… Chinese. Although I’m taking this at the most amateur stage, it’s another favorite subject. The teacher is funny and wholesome and he makes us enjoy learning the language. It’s taxing, but I believe it’ll be worth it in the end. My goal is to be able to speak with Chinese locals by the end of two years. 😉
Besides regular subjects, we’re being introduced for the first time ever to Extended Essay and Internal Assessment. My topic for EE is how socioeconomic factors affect the prevalence of dengue fever in a region of Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia. But please…let’s have no more talk of academics! :”)
B.
This month, on the 22nd of January, was my birthday. It was the most heartwarming thing anyone’d ever done for me. My best friend, Karol, planned most of it. I swear, it’s times like these that I feel Allah has blessed me with more than I deserve.
I don’t think you’ll be very interested in the story, so I’ll try to make it as short as possible. I was sitting there, trying to study Economics, but failing to concentrate because I was 97% sure that my friends were going to do something. Then Eesaa from Bangladesh came in and asked me to come outside. I forgot what he said because at that moment I was already grinning ear to ear and unfocused. The moment I stepped outside Kiki from China blindfolded me and put me in a chair. Then, she, Eesaa, and Amjed from Yemen pushed me to the playground, where a sweet drawing awaited upon a swing. After taking it, they blindfolded and pushed me again to the glasshouse. Along the way there a handsome tall stranger or something constantly talked about his presence, and how he’d replaced Eesaa, haha. ^_^ At the glasshouse, Karol opened my blindfold and there were about 12 or more people there, gathered in a circle around me. It was a clock. Each person said something nice about me or their favorite memory, and some brought a gift. My heart died. Karol also cooked Indomie for us all. They’d bought me a small fruity cake which was delicious. Fairy lights gave a warm ambiance to the room. I hugged everyone who came, because I truly appreciate them all. And Karol, if you’re reading this, I just wanted to remind you that you’re one of the best humans I’ve ever met. I’m not even exaggerating.
What’s interesting is that two times in a row during my birthday I’ve been reminded of time. Someone said the moral of the surprise was to cherish each second, and on my 17th birthday my parents gave me a watch so I’d inget waktu (remember time). It makes me think strange things, haha. Like how my life might end soon…? You never know.
C.
CCE stands for Chinese Cultural Evening. In this part, I’ll let the pictures and video do the talking.
Here is the video of the performances!
Anyways… besides that some other things that happened so far was:
Kak Rafa’s visit. She’s an alumni of UWCCSC who’s now attending the University of St. Olaf
Joining Creative Writing Zhixing and Choir Zhixing. This is the blog for Creative Writing Zhixing.
Trying to run for College Assembly, with the help of my good friend Eesaa, but failing because on stage my voice shakes and any trace of charisma is lost
Organizing Bravery Buddies with Abigail, which is a project that partners people up from campus to motivate each other to complete something you’re scared of doing
Trying to get to the bottom of what happens to trash and food waste at UWCCSC
Organizing a World Hijab Day (which is on February 1st) workshop with the two other hijabis, or as Karol calls it, swagijabis, on campus–Neha and Coumba. B) I’ll add pics of this later.
That’s all, folks. Have an amazing day!! ❤
Starting with ABC (Academics, Birthday, CCE 2019) Hi, beautiful people! 🙂 Honestly, there are times when I feel like I have no right to write, that my words don't matter to the universe.
Brave New Year
In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
-Abraham Lincoln
2018 ended with the sky bursting asunder in tears. Fireworks scantly glittered the black curtain of sky last midnight–before the rain hushed them to sleep. I lay under my covers, next to my cousin and little sister, just as last year. Except this time, no message from a special someone would…
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To Answer a Friend
To Answer a Friend
This post is especially written for my friend Alvin A. who asked me a bunch of questions that I felt would be best answered in the form of a blog post. 🙂
Here ya go:
Since Muslims are a majority, are they nice to you or giving you a hard time? If you’re talking about Chinese Muslims, I’ve never met one so far. Religion isn’t a big thing here, because communism doesn’t support it, so most people…
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Orientation
On Monday (tomorrow), school will finally begin. Right now, rain is drizzling down as the sky rumbles. It’s beautiful to watch, especially from the window view of my room–like a watercolor painting of subtle grays and urgent flashes.
Frankly, I’m pretty excited to start because I haven’t gone to school for about… um… three months, I think? Yeah. My brain will probably have to load for long…
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UWC Changshu China (A New Beginning)
UWC Changshu China (A New Beginning)
Hi everyone!
This is a post that I’ve postponed for a long time now. Originally I’d planned to write about UWC starting from the selection process but a part of my heart whispered, “You shouldn’t write about it unless you actually got in. What if it turns out like AFS?” So I never wrote, except to parchments of paper.
For those of you who don’t know, UWC stands for United World College. In short,…
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