Language: English
Forgive me for the lame af intro (wtf did I just write I don't even have a clue). I hope you are (or could at least pretend to be) surprised by it though. I swear I'm not messing with you, cause despite all accolades and trophies and what not, I never did like biology...
.... or at least in the very beginning. I'll talk you through it.
I hail from Pontianak (Chinese: 坤甸) of rural Indonesia. Knowing that, all of this should no longer surprise you at all. Science education (or science in general, for that matter) is never synonymous to my country. We, like most Asian stereotypical schools, teach Science through the utmost, painfully boring manner: endless factual recall. While it's true that science does require some bit of basic memorization to begin with, Indonesian students (in many cases) always end up mindlessly reciting buckets of (often useless) fact and neglect any logic and reasoning behind them. There was never really any 'specialization' like most high schools in the US or the UK; this curriculum expects everyone (in the science major) to master 12 years worth of math, physics, chemistry, biology, and 4-7 other subjects, which can be AND should very much be overwhelming to your average kids, let alone the underprivileged ones. Despite the many numerous attempts by teachers and school officials (and even the government through many weird policies) to change this outdated approach of learning, this is still the most dominant practice (I would say) in Indonesia. This has also led to a widespread culture of cheating and bribing among students (which I can somewhat relate on), especially in the national examinations which used to be a major requirement for graduation (they finally stopped using the exam as a criterion for graduation very recently as it is no longer deemed as a credible form of assessment of the many subjects at hand).
Who knows how or why this started really. Perhaps this is the least resource intensive method to teach, and given how the schools' infrastructure and facilities are and very especially how school teachers are (poorly) treated here (especially in public schools in rural areas), this might have been the 'only' way to hold education in the first place. Still, things could be better. It has to get better, and I hope one day to improve on this.
Anyway, that's the world I was born in. I guess my elementary school wasn't as bad as I had described above; we were one of those rebels trying to implement a more interactive approach towards learning. Still, in general, the situation above still held for me. BUT HOOOOLLYY, BIOLOGY WAS THE WORST! I REMEMBERED YEARS OF BLANKLY MEMORIZING SO MANY CONFUSING SCIENTIFIC VOCABULARIES ONLY TO FORGET THEM DAY AFTER THE EXAM. I NEVER ONCE MADE A CONNECTION FROM TEXTBOOK TO THE REAL LIFE. EVERYTHING ABOUT BIOLOGY SEEMED FOREIGN AND IRRELEVANT. I CAN'T EVEN TELL APART THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF THE EXCRETORY SYSTEM UNTIL 5th GRADE; I HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THEY WERE THE SAME ORGAN: I WAS THAT CLUELESS. UNSUBSCRIBE. HATE IT TO THE CORE.
Okay, I exaggerated for a teensy bit. I don't really hate bio. I just never liked it. You know like how I don't really hate cats. I just don't like to be around them (especially the Egyptian cat, ughh kill me).
It's not like I'm bad at it or anything. But compared to other branch of sciences, it's definitely my least favorite. So unlike many other people who pursued biology cause they had some eye-opening, mind-altering experience, I am stuck in this field for one very stupid reason: cause my mom told me to.
Here's how it came to be.
If you haven't followed my instagram, here's a shameless plug to do so @vsudaryo. But anyway, as I explained on one of my post, I joined the Science Olympiad back in 5th grade not because I liked science, but because I suck at math.Uh, actually let me rephrase that. I don't suck at math in the absolute term, I am just worse at it relative to my classmate. Thus, the only Olympiad I could participate in was natural science, cause again everyone hated the sciences.
Long story short, I placed second out of 100 at a 10-country International Science Olympiad. For the first time in my life, I actually felt that I was somewhat smart. Excited, I tried out for the Nationals for middle school level. This time, however, it was no longer 'natural science' being tested, it was either PHYSICS or BIOLOGY.
Again, this might sound funny now, but I actually liked and did better in Physics back in the elementary school Olympiad. I remembered talking to my mom on the couch telling her that I wanted to do Physics Olympiad. She, however, told me to do Biology Olympiad instead. Reason being, I for the longest time had dreamt to be a doctor (I swear some day I'm gonna tell that story), and as an applicant from a random school from a small town in Indonesia, it would be really hard for me to get into a top college unless I have some bio-related awards. So despite not liking it very much, I went through with my mom's advice, and competed in biology all the way to high schools.
If you started to lose faith in me, that's fine; I would do the same too. How tf does one do well in something if he never really likes it. To that I answer, I do like bio NOW, I suppose. It just kinda rubbed off on me over the course of time. Again, I don't have a single revelation type moment with biology, and to be honest with you, I think no one does: PASSION JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT! I don't think you can ever LIKE something, like really, really like it unless you spend a lot of time doing it AND be really good at it. For instance, I don't know a single violin player who likes the instrument but can't play one, or a soccer player who likes soccer but couldn't even dribble the ball.
That's precisely what happened to me. When I started to learn bio, I was like 'meh, whatever. as long as I can win that's all that matters.' However, over time I slowly began to fall in love with it. Life and its mysterious complexity fascinate me, and as I aspire to learn more, I became (pretty) good at it, which made biology even more enjoyable. There were tough times, yes, but that's true in everything, whether you like your job or not. You just gotta stick through it, I guess, and life will eventually (and always) find its way.
OKAY. If there's any important lesson to this long ass story (cause I forgot to think of one when I started this lol), it's this: JUST FOLLOW YOUR PASSION THIS, PASSION THAT IS A TOTAL BS ADVICE. Fact is, you can never know what you like unless you do it. Despite some hesitancy in the beginning, I still took the leap of faith and ventured off to this sacred field.
Had it ever crossed my mind that I just suck at biology? Perhaps a million times.
Would I have done better if I had stayed doing Physics? Maybe, I can never know.
I kept along with it anyway with a goal in mind, which was to be a doctor in my case. Of course, it might not end up how you imagined it to be; I'm definitely not looking to be a medical doctor any time soon, I can tell you that. But still, I tried out of my comfort zone, and I persevered despite the hard challenges along the way. And I'm glad I did, cause if anything biology has brought me, it's the long-lasting friendship and priceless moments that I'll forever cherished in my heart.
So, if you are one of those people who have yet to discover their 'passion', surprise yourself! Explore new hobbies, careers. Set out a goal, any goal, along with it and commit to it. Reach out to people, you never know what wisdom they may bring. Stay curious and ALWAYS keep your head up. Maybe someday you'll find your passion too, whatever forms it might be :)
(p.s writing in a way has slowly becoming my passion. I sucked at it obviously, but I write anyway, so if you even remotely enjoyed my blog, that gotta mean something, right?)
*cue drum roll pls*
Lo and behold.
*pause for suspense*
From the guy who brings you the (often) nonsensical BS on Biology Olympiads and the like.
*more unnecessary suspense*
As he confesses like he never confesses before
(^ this is actual BS tho, I couldn't care less tbh)
One of the year's greatest dumbest clickbait
Presents...
*spotlight on*
I. f'in. hated. biology.
based on a true story
coming soon to a screen near you...
Forgive me for the lame af intro (wtf did I just write I don't even have a clue). I hope you are (or could at least pretend to be) surprised by it though. I swear I'm not messing with you, cause despite all accolades and trophies and what not, I never did like biology...
.... or at least in the very beginning. I'll talk you through it.
I hail from Pontianak (Chinese: 坤甸) of rural Indonesia. Knowing that, all of this should no longer surprise you at all. Science education (or science in general, for that matter) is never synonymous to my country. We, like most Asian stereotypical schools, teach Science through the utmost, painfully boring manner: endless factual recall. While it's true that science does require some bit of basic memorization to begin with, Indonesian students (in many cases) always end up mindlessly reciting buckets of (often useless) fact and neglect any logic and reasoning behind them. There was never really any 'specialization' like most high schools in the US or the UK; this curriculum expects everyone (in the science major) to master 12 years worth of math, physics, chemistry, biology, and 4-7 other subjects, which can be AND should very much be overwhelming to your average kids, let alone the underprivileged ones. Despite the many numerous attempts by teachers and school officials (and even the government through many weird policies) to change this outdated approach of learning, this is still the most dominant practice (I would say) in Indonesia. This has also led to a widespread culture of cheating and bribing among students (which I can somewhat relate on), especially in the national examinations which used to be a major requirement for graduation (they finally stopped using the exam as a criterion for graduation very recently as it is no longer deemed as a credible form of assessment of the many subjects at hand).
Who knows how or why this started really. Perhaps this is the least resource intensive method to teach, and given how the schools' infrastructure and facilities are and very especially how school teachers are (poorly) treated here (especially in public schools in rural areas), this might have been the 'only' way to hold education in the first place. Still, things could be better. It has to get better, and I hope one day to improve on this.
Anyway, that's the world I was born in. I guess my elementary school wasn't as bad as I had described above; we were one of those rebels trying to implement a more interactive approach towards learning. Still, in general, the situation above still held for me. BUT HOOOOLLYY, BIOLOGY WAS THE WORST! I REMEMBERED YEARS OF BLANKLY MEMORIZING SO MANY CONFUSING SCIENTIFIC VOCABULARIES ONLY TO FORGET THEM DAY AFTER THE EXAM. I NEVER ONCE MADE A CONNECTION FROM TEXTBOOK TO THE REAL LIFE. EVERYTHING ABOUT BIOLOGY SEEMED FOREIGN AND IRRELEVANT. I CAN'T EVEN TELL APART THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF THE EXCRETORY SYSTEM UNTIL 5th GRADE; I HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THEY WERE THE SAME ORGAN: I WAS THAT CLUELESS. UNSUBSCRIBE. HATE IT TO THE CORE.
Okay, I exaggerated for a teensy bit. I don't really hate bio. I just never liked it. You know like how I don't really hate cats. I just don't like to be around them (especially the Egyptian cat, ughh kill me).
It's not like I'm bad at it or anything. But compared to other branch of sciences, it's definitely my least favorite. So unlike many other people who pursued biology cause they had some eye-opening, mind-altering experience, I am stuck in this field for one very stupid reason: cause my mom told me to.
Here's how it came to be.
If you haven't followed my instagram, here's a shameless plug to do so @vsudaryo. But anyway, as I explained on one of my post, I joined the Science Olympiad back in 5th grade not because I liked science, but because I suck at math.Uh, actually let me rephrase that. I don't suck at math in the absolute term, I am just worse at it relative to my classmate. Thus, the only Olympiad I could participate in was natural science, cause again everyone hated the sciences.
Long story short, I placed second out of 100 at a 10-country International Science Olympiad. For the first time in my life, I actually felt that I was somewhat smart. Excited, I tried out for the Nationals for middle school level. This time, however, it was no longer 'natural science' being tested, it was either PHYSICS or BIOLOGY.
Again, this might sound funny now, but I actually liked and did better in Physics back in the elementary school Olympiad. I remembered talking to my mom on the couch telling her that I wanted to do Physics Olympiad. She, however, told me to do Biology Olympiad instead. Reason being, I for the longest time had dreamt to be a doctor (I swear some day I'm gonna tell that story), and as an applicant from a random school from a small town in Indonesia, it would be really hard for me to get into a top college unless I have some bio-related awards. So despite not liking it very much, I went through with my mom's advice, and competed in biology all the way to high schools.
If you started to lose faith in me, that's fine; I would do the same too. How tf does one do well in something if he never really likes it. To that I answer, I do like bio NOW, I suppose. It just kinda rubbed off on me over the course of time. Again, I don't have a single revelation type moment with biology, and to be honest with you, I think no one does: PASSION JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT! I don't think you can ever LIKE something, like really, really like it unless you spend a lot of time doing it AND be really good at it. For instance, I don't know a single violin player who likes the instrument but can't play one, or a soccer player who likes soccer but couldn't even dribble the ball.
That's precisely what happened to me. When I started to learn bio, I was like 'meh, whatever. as long as I can win that's all that matters.' However, over time I slowly began to fall in love with it. Life and its mysterious complexity fascinate me, and as I aspire to learn more, I became (pretty) good at it, which made biology even more enjoyable. There were tough times, yes, but that's true in everything, whether you like your job or not. You just gotta stick through it, I guess, and life will eventually (and always) find its way.
OKAY. If there's any important lesson to this long ass story (cause I forgot to think of one when I started this lol), it's this: JUST FOLLOW YOUR PASSION THIS, PASSION THAT IS A TOTAL BS ADVICE. Fact is, you can never know what you like unless you do it. Despite some hesitancy in the beginning, I still took the leap of faith and ventured off to this sacred field.
Had it ever crossed my mind that I just suck at biology? Perhaps a million times.
Would I have done better if I had stayed doing Physics? Maybe, I can never know.
I kept along with it anyway with a goal in mind, which was to be a doctor in my case. Of course, it might not end up how you imagined it to be; I'm definitely not looking to be a medical doctor any time soon, I can tell you that. But still, I tried out of my comfort zone, and I persevered despite the hard challenges along the way. And I'm glad I did, cause if anything biology has brought me, it's the long-lasting friendship and priceless moments that I'll forever cherished in my heart.
 |
| IJSO 2011 |
 |
| TOBI 2014 |
So, if you are one of those people who have yet to discover their 'passion', surprise yourself! Explore new hobbies, careers. Set out a goal, any goal, along with it and commit to it. Reach out to people, you never know what wisdom they may bring. Stay curious and ALWAYS keep your head up. Maybe someday you'll find your passion too, whatever forms it might be :)
(p.s writing in a way has slowly becoming my passion. I sucked at it obviously, but I write anyway, so if you even remotely enjoyed my blog, that gotta mean something, right?)
That cute Valentino back in middle school though :3
ReplyDeleteLen, pernahkah kamu merasa lelah/jenuh untuk mempelajari biologi setelah sekian lama? Jika ada, bagaimana kamu bangkit dari kejenuhan itu? Terima kasih.
ReplyDeleteHehe kadang msh struggling sih utk melawan kejenuhan but I feel like klo sesuatu yg emg kamu suka, you'll eventually bounce back and remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing in the first place and that helped me to persevere despite my inherent laziness
Delete