70th Independence Day!

Tahun ini sedih bangeettt nggak bisa 17-an di Indo :(
(sedih karena ga libur sekolah sih HAHA :p)

But seriously though, it's just not the same :')
I miss running to the couch and waiting for the TV programs to just switch to the ceremony in Istana Negara..
I miss going out afterwards and finding everyone wearing either red-and-white or batik (which, btw, I wore today ^^ )


I miss just being in Indonesia :')


I celebrated this year's Independence day by watching the ceremony from my ipad :p:p
How my heart was beaming with pride for the Paskibraka! Well done!
The flag ceremony went really smoothly, and I'm just very overwhelmed :')
Suddenly I miss being a highschooler and being one of the flag bearers :) Such fun times with the best people on earth!

The ceremony this year is quite different, because after 10 years we have a new inspektur upacara! :)
When I saw Jokowi's face on the screen as he watched the Indonesian flag being raised, I think to myself, what could he possibly be thinking at this moment? And again, as he looked up to the war jets that passed over the palace. He was smiling then. What could he possibly be thinking?

I imagined in the latter instance, he was proud of these people; amazed of what they can do.

But in the first instance, I imagined him thinking back to our founding fathers. I imagined him thinking back on how much struggle the whole nation had to go through, just to fly the red-white flag. I imagined him finally coming to the realization that he is, in fact, the number ONE person in Indonesia: he had all the power of the country in his hand. It is up to him now to make all the right decisions to keep this nation standing, and moving forward.

At times I think about other countries, how they seem to achieve 'stability' and 'prosperity' so easily, and why can't Indonesia be that way.
But then I remember, how we have roughly 250 million people in Indonesia, spread across up to 18,000 islands! That's a lot of people in a lot of different places!
The road towards prospering Indonesia is not an easy one, but with consistency and just pure hard work (and prayer), I believe that Indonesia is going to prevail! ^^


To be honest, I can't even explain what is it about Indonesia that makes me proud.
I'm doing some school-related project that requires me to do quite a bit of research on my own country, and I found things that just opens my eyes.
Our economy is not the greatest; our policies are not the most accurate; Indonesia is known for corruption; it also seems that we are one of the biggest contributors towards global warming. If we focus on these issues, it seems that there are not many things  that we can 'brag' to our friends about Indonesia.

However,
think of our founding fathers, think of their hard work. Think of people like Jokowi and Ahok, who work hard to advocate for the people, especially in the fight against corruption. Think of the young people who are no longer afraid to raise their opinion and to work to make Indonesia a better place. Think of the different local cultures that we have, but yet how they are all one: they're Indonesian.


Di usia yang ke-70 ini, semoga Indonesia terus bergerak ke arah yang lebih baik. Jauh lebih baik dari hari ini!
Saat semua orang mau turun tangan dan bergandeng tangan, bekerja bersama-sama untuk memajukan bidang masing-masing, tidak lama lagi pasti Indonesia akan berubah! :)

Bawa nilai-nilai tradisional yang baik, dan bagikan pada dunia.
Adaptasi nilai-nilai internasional yang membangun dan terapkan di Indonesia.
Buka wawasan lebar-lebar; jangan takut.

Ayo kerja!


Selamat hari jadi ke-70 Indonesia!
We shall be reunited real soon!

CHEERS!
-*^^*-