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A Friend Who Changed My Life

Tinggalkan Komentar / English Zone /

When i was in 3rd grade, there was a transfer student from another school. He introduced himself in front of the class. During break, i got to know him and also invited him to buy snacks and play. Every day at school we always played together. He was the one who always helped me and also always made me laugh. We always play and have fun, even though we are in different classes and i realize he is my best friend who always accompanies me whenever and in any condition, until we graduated from elementary school we did not communicate for several months. Until we were in junior high school when after several months, he sent a message to invite me to play a game. Until now, we still communicate and also have fun together. So it’s been 8 years since I’ve been friends with him since we first met until now. He is my best friend who always fills my days with me and also changes my life which used to be empty and now full of fun and also changes my life from when I used to feel my life was meaningless but now I know that I only need a friend who can accompany me and also have fun with me. by Afif X-2 (made on April 2025)

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Learning To Be ‘Me’

Tinggalkan Komentar / English Zone /

I’ll be honest—when someone asks me about a major turning point in my life, I come up empty-handed. I’ve never had that one, life-altering moment that flipped my world 180°. All I can offer are short stories about me. Back at the start of junior high school, I was one of those kids who was quiet, antisocial, and didn’t speak much. I was afraid. I thought too much about people’s views of me. What are my current expressions like? Why does she look at me like that? Have I done something wrong? Most of my time was spent lost in daydream. A different world where people were kinder. I longed for a world without hatred, where no one had to carry such burdens. So, I tried to blend in. I tried to look “normal,” whatever that meant. I thought if I could just be like everyone else, maybe I’d finally feel at peace. Then, sometime in 8th grade, I came across a book. Antoine De Saint-Exupéry’s _The Little Prince. It moved something within me. So, I looked in deeper and that’s where I found my favourite quote to this day: “Of course, I’ll hurt you. Of course, you’ll hurt me. Of course, we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence.” Happy and sad, win and lose, they coexist. There won’t be any warmth without cold. That’s the condition of life. And maybe, just maybe, one of the voices that hurt me the most… was my own. Perhaps my biggest enemy has always been myself. Since then, I’ve been learning. Learning that to truly love others, I have to start by loving myself. I found out that no two people have the same colours. Everyone walks a different path, shaped by different choices. Blending in doesn’t mean erasing who I am. We’re all different shades, and that’s what makes this world alive. Now, I try to embrace who I really am. People will always talk—but that’s okay. Eventually, you find the ones who see you, who love you for simply being you. And that’s what truly matters. by Zahra Nafisa Syu’la Laili

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A Moment That Changed My Life

Tinggalkan Komentar / English Zone /

written by: Salma X-2 It was mid-summer of 2021, online school was at its peak and thick eyeliner was the new trend. I was 12, a dangerous age to be in when you’re stuck inside with nothing but the internet to go to for entertainment. I was picking out my profile picture on instagram( settled on a galaxy picture, i think i missed 2017 a bit there) and saw something on my homepage. It was an illustration with about 2k likes or so. I vividly remember what i had felt at the time. I was completely mesmerized, how can someone just do that? to create something out of nothing? See something as complex as a human face and crafted a rendition that was so unique on their own? I stared at the picture for a long time (and probably made my brain forget what it was because I can’t remember for the life of me) . That’s when i picked up my old pencil. It was rough and chewed on the edges yet still endured my academic career. I placed down a line. That was where it all began. I started drawing girls with cheap markers (blue hair and gold earrings usually), then comics about two girls on their new cafes opening, and fanart for my favorite youtubers at the time. I eventually moved on to digital art because my mom (bless her heart) recognized my growing knack for scribbling down lines and decided to buy me a tablet with a stylus pen I had abused the hell out of. The thing that started as me wanting to find a new hobby in the pandemic turned into part of my identity. It’s a bit dramatic, but I don’t think I can go back to life before drawing. Even a simple doodle had done wonders for me as a person (it’s a domino effect, but still). Now, I want to go and major in something art related for college (hopefully at one of my country’s top universities aamiin) . I know this isn’t the most exciting of stories, but it is a story that I hold close to my heart. If you made it to this sentence then please, get out there! Find what makes your brain tick and your life have meaning! Or maybe something you just like doing! Whatever it is, there is no better hobby or passion, because the spark that comes from them will always be understood. Whether you’re an adjusted adult or a 12 year old stuck in the pandemic. Go and create.

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