My Source of Happiness

Happiness

What is your source of happiness? An old friend of mine who I have not talked with for long asked me through a Skype conversation early today. Here is my answer:

1. Family. Whatever happens to me, in the past, present or future, I always know that my family will still be there for me. I love my family so much. I know that they will be there for whatever I am. I value family high and thus I would love to build my own family in the future
2. Dreams. Dreams keep me alive. The hardworking that I did paid off when I accomplished my goals. It feels so great when I work hard and people appreciate my effort. My dreams are an important element for my happiness. That is why when one dream come true, I need to find another one to keep me alive and have a purpose in life.
3.  People around me. It is important to have good friends that care about me and I care too. It is not nice when I accomplish something but no one there to celebrate with me. Keeping good relationship with people around me is my source of happiness.

She said, if I ask you the same question 4 years ago, I don’t think you will answer the same. I think you would have said that your ambition is number one. People evolve.

Yes people change. I change. And maybe if she ask me the same question in the next four year, I would answer differently.

Good nite folks.

Kisses from Canberra

Olivia

How to Win a Sponsored Student/Youth Program Abroad (Highly Requested)

Most people who know me also know that one of biggest passions is traveling. But when I travel, I always want to make it about learning. I do not enjoy traveling for mere sightseeing as much as I enjoy edutraveling (traveling with the purpose of education). Luckily, I have been to many places around the world to learn, to share and to give back to the communities. The fact that most of my trips are sponsored makes me occasionally and constantly receives emails or Facebook messages from (typically) Indonesian fellows that I never met in real life. These are my trips so far:


1. Hult Prize Regional Competition Shanghai (13-14 March 2015)
Head of delegation for ANU team, competing 39 other teams from different universities worldwide.

Sponsored by College of Asia Pacific and Crawford School of Public Policy ANU.

2. Summer Research Intern - ForestAction Nepal in Kathmandu (December 2014 – January 2015)
Conducting several field studies to observe the implementation of Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) in different districts in Nepal, write publication by comparing theoretical learning in classroom with the real implementation on the ground.

Sponsored by Allison Sudradjat Prize: I am one out of four Indonesian recipients to receive a prestigious 2013 Allison Sudradjat Prize to be used for personal development to strengthen bilateral relationship of Australia and Indonesia.

3. ASEAN Young Professional Volunteer Corps, Hue, Vietnam (24 Nov-6 Dec 2014)
Selected as Indonesian representative for conducting an environmental project along with 23 other fellow volunteers from 10 different ASEAN, fully

Sponsored by the Brunei Government.

4. Conference of Australian Indonesia Youth (Causindy) (September 2014) in Jakarta
One among fifteen-selected Indonesian delegation.

Sponsored by the organizer.

5. Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) June 2014 - July 2016 in Canberra, Australia
Full scholarship to continue a master of Environmental Management study at the Australian National University from Government of Australia.

Sponsored by The Australian Government.

6. International Week Bulgaria (24 May – 1 June 2014) in Sofia, Bulgaria
Indonesian participant (representing Indonesian Student Association for International Studies), organized by Sofia University.

Sponsored by the organizer.

7. International Week Vienna (11-18 May 2014) in Vienna, Austria
Indonesian participant (representing Indonesian Student Association for International Studies), organized by Vienna School of Economics and Business (VU)

Sponsored by the organizer.

8. Asian Youth Forum 2013 (May-June 2013) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Indonesian Panelist, held by The Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC) & Asian Youth Council (AYC).

Sponsored by the organizer.

9. Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) Alumni Workshop (March 2013) in Singapore
Top three alumni project out of 40 presented by participants from 10 Southeast Asian countries.

Sponsored by US Department of State.

10. Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) (July-August 2010) in Montana, USA
One out of five selected Indonesian participants for Student Leaders on Global Environmental Issues in University of Montana, Missoula.

Sponsored by US Department of State.

11. My Summit G-20 Youth Summit (June 2010) in Toronto, Canada
Official participant along with G-20 Summit, held by Canada Government with Global Vision Canada.

Sponsored by Unggulan Scholarship Department of Higher Education Indonesia.

12. Asian International Model United Nations (AIMUN) (April 2010) in Beijing, China
Head of Indonesian Delegation in Peking University – Beijing, China.

Sponsored by Dean of Faculty of Social and Political Science and Rector of University of Indonesia.

13. Peace Scholarship Award (August – December 2009) in Melbourne, Australia
Full scholarship for one semester study abroad in Swinburne University Melbourne.

Sponsored by Peace Scholarship Consortium.

14. World Leadership Conference (WLC) (June 2009) in Singapore
Selected participant, organized by the Environment Challenge Organization (ECO) Singapore.

Sponsored by Departure Abroad Scholarship from Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs Indonesia.


It is inconvenient for me to reply the question one by one so I decided to make this post to answer the question. How to get it? Frankly I do not have a secret special recipe. All I can do is to provide what I did so far to be in the position where I am now. These are kinda common sense too, but if it could help people reaching their dreams, why not?


1. Engage

Since the first semester of my undergraduate degree, I have been actively involved in various voluntary activities mostly on education and environmental issues. This led me being sent to an exchange program in Australia in 2009. There I kept doing voluntary work for different organizations. The next year, I was awarded a summer study scholarship to study about Global environmental Issues in University of Montana through the US government scholarship (this was due to my active engagement on environmental related activities). Even after working full time, I keep trying to find a way to do contribution to the society. So in 2013 I established and run sustainability project, Youth Ecopreneruship (YEP), aims to reduce youth unemployment while growing environmental awareness (www.yepcamp.org). Now that I am a student again, I found ways to get engage with communities by joining ANU Postgraduate Association for Research and, Crawford School Student Association and ANU 180 degree Student Consultation.

Yes I love volunteering. I love spending my time doing something good for others. I love organization. I love networking and meeting people. I love the ideas that born from meeting those people and moreover implement the ideas into projects. And its not only me, sponsors also love people who contribute to the society. So I can say it’s a mutual love that brings me around the world. ;)


To give you some ideas, here is list of voluntary work I did so far (outside of my work with my organizations):

• Stage Coordinator, National Multicultural Festival Canberra (13-15 February 2015)
• SET4ANU, Orientation Leader, The Australian National University (February 2015-present)
• Translator for End WTO Campaign by La Via Campesina, Denpasar, Bali (1-7 Dec 2013)
• Organizer for Indonesia Readers Festival (IRF) workshops, Jakarta (9 Dec 2012)
• Organizer for Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, Ubud-Bali (3-7 October 2012)
• Teaching volunteer for International Humanitarian Foundation (IHF) Jakarta (July 2012)
• Organizer for Amazing Race Jakarta from Global Vision Junior Team Canada (August 2011)
• Indonesian language teaching staff in Point Cook Primary School -Australia from Indonesia Student Association in Australia (December 2009)
• Organizer for “Ride to Work 2009” held by Bicycle Victoria (September 2009)
• Organizer “The Breast Darn Show” and “Pink Ribbon Street Appeal” by National Breast Cancer Research Australia (Oct 2009)
• Teaching volunteer for Community Development Program by UI Students Executive Body (Aug 2008 – June 2009)
• Teaching volunteer for House of Study by IR Students Association FISIP UI (Jan - August 2008)

2. Persistence

I got rejections. Yes many times. But I never give up and I keep on trying. I am persistent by nature and I am not scared of rejection. For me it is just part of learning. But I am picky when it is about applying for a program. I would not apply something that is out of my league (seminars on ICT for example it is just not my stuff). In today’s modern society, there is millions of information available on the Internet about programs that might suit you. Just give a try. There is no harm on trying. If you failed then it is just not for you. Try again, never give up. There is always opportunities wait for you out there.

3. Knowledgeable

I have a big passion on environmental issues and I keep being on my track. I try my best to be knowledgeable on my field by pursuing master study on environmental issues, constantly updating news on environmental related stuff and keep myself surrounded by people with the same interest with mine so we can easily exchange information. The knowledge on an issue that you are passionate on will just reflected perfectly during the interview. People can easily judge when you really understand the issue and when you are really into it.

4. Networking

Yes you need recommendations from people that knows your ability and competence. Yes you need to keep good relations with anyone without exception. You never know when you will need their recommendation. And yes if you can prove to people that you are competent in your field, they would not hesitate to recommend you to join a program even when you do not ask for their recommendation.


I hope this post give you some courage to apply for your dream programs. Remember the most important thing is not about what you learn from the program you join but what you can give to others. The knowledge that you gain will not be useful unless you share it to your fellows and unless you implement the ideas comes out of the program for good causes.

As Christopher McCandless said “Happiness is only real when it is shared”. ;)

Me during Hult Prize Competition in Shanghai May 2015.

Good luck lovely peeps!


Love,


Olivia

List of Gratitude (for Decisions in Life)

This may seems like another excuse but the real reason why I have not write in my blog is because I have been dealing with my anxiety disorders the past few months. Like other common psychological disorders, I am not totally cured and it will be there through the whole of my life. Yet I am getting better through some practises, which I will share later in the blog. One of the reasons why I have it is because the past experiences I had. As a human being of course I made mistakes through my life. But one particular past experience that was totally under my decision might be so strong that every time present event triggers the past memories back, my disorder returns. I sometimes blame myself for letting me push myself too much. But then mistakes are there for me to learn. So I should not blame because I also made some good decisions in my life with I rejoice. Here I am listing it (in chronicle order) just to be grateful that life is not only about bad decisions but also about good decisions and experiences.

1. Studied super hard during my last year high school to be accepted in International Relation study at University of Indonesia (rumour said the highest passing grade for social science for the whole nation) - 2006
2. First time I took a lead of a university scale project on global warming issues with BBC Indonesia and managed to get my GPA cumlaude that semester - 2007
3. Travel to Bali with friends from my saving money working as a tutor and part time admin officer at uni - 2008
4. Did my first full time job during university break, working in National Commission on Violence against Women - 2009
5. Did my study abroad program in Melbourne when I was 20 under full scholarship (which was very competitive to get) -2009
6. Applied for a full scholarship summer study in Montana, USA, two days after returned back from my study abroad program in Australia, got accepted and experienced the best 6 weeks of my life in US -2010
7. Bought return tickets and accommodation in Phuket, Thailand for my whole family and travel there 5 days after I returned from Australia -2010
8. Travel to Srilanka and India without any plan with 2 of my travel buddies (just because we found cheap budget airline ticket), met cool people on the way and still in touch -2012
9. Quit 1 year 8 months job in the government, accepted a new job with double salary and went to Ubud, Bali to volunteer for Ubud Writers and Readers Festival prior to starting a new job– Oct 2012
10. Received 5 offers master scholarships since 2012 but declined four and chose the scholarship to study in Australia- 2013
11. First solo travel went to Vietnam, met super cool people otw– Oct 2013
12. Received the prestigious Alison Sudradjat Prize from the Australian government, the most prestigious award in my life so far and made a speech at the Aus ambassador residence upon receiving it – 2013
13. Designed and implemented my project, Youth Ecopreneruship Camp, with US summer study alumni, inspired 30 young Indonesian participants, supported by East West Center University of Hawaii, 2014
14. Solo travel to Eastern Europe for 3 weeks (Austria-Hungary-Rumania-Bulgaria) to attend two International Weeks– May 2014
15. Join the ANU-UGM research project for legislative election, interviewed few most of interesting people I met in person so far and got the research published into a chapter of a book -2014/2015
16. During ANU summer break, went to Hue Vietnam doing volunteer work under Brunei Gov program (2 weeks) and went to Kathmandu, Nepal for internship (6 weeks) – Dec 2014/Jan 2015
17. Decided to participate in Hult Prize Regional Competition Shanghai to represent my university (ANU), despite all the obstacles – supported fully by the university and featured in the university publications 2015
18. Bought my first apartment when I was 23 and my first house when I am 26 (not because I am rich but because I know how to manage money) 

Those are the list as of now, I will add more when I remember decisions that make me feel grateful, or when I make a new good decision. What about you? What are good decisions you made so far that make you feel grateful about it? Tell me about yours, I would like to hear.

Good morning hi from me :)

Love,

Olivia