An 87 Year Old College Student Named Rose

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.
 

I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me
with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.
 

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.

She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of  kids..."

"No seriously." I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me. 

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.  At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.

As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell  you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
 

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old.

If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
 

Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change.
 

Have no regrets.

The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose." She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died  peacefully in her sleep.

Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be .When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS
OPTIONAL.

We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.

Source: http://bit.ly/11DPPnx
http://bit.ly/QsGCIt   

"The Rose"

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
An endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
And you its only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dyin'
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.

I Dreamed a Dream ~ Les Miserables

From Les Miserables, I dreamed a dream by Fantine; cast by Anne Hathaway



Still remember my past blog: What's wrong with Susan Boyle? Yup, It's a story of village girl who lives her dream. Singing the same song, a story about her life:

I Dreamed a Dream

from Les Miserables

[Fantine is left alone, unemployed and destitute]

[FANTINE]
There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

~Wilson Wijaya,Lee/ 30 January 2013~

I am an IDOL

I AM AN IDOL

Before you go on with the entry, I would like to say:

Congrats to Regina Ivanova for winning INDONESIAN IDOL 2012 and to Kamasean Y. Matthews for being great contender to Regina. Both of you are the winner. Battle is not over yet, it is just started.

For those who didn't know who they are, both are grand finalist for INDONESIAN IDOL 2012.

Watch this YouTube video to listen to her voice:

I hope that you like what you heard. Regina won the title of INDONESIAN IDOL 2012.

Now it made me thought: WHAT IS IDOL? WHO IS IDOL?

If we see from the dictionary.com, then the meaning of IDOL will be:

"any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion: Madame Curie had been her childhood idol."

If you see the title, then you will conclude that I'm so full of myself stated: I AM AN IDOL.

Actually you are right, I think myself as an IDOL, not just a mere blind admiration/adoration/devotion but a full impact to others people life. As you can see from my previous entries, I believe that people who read them can at least gain something. With this in mind, I want to call myself an IDOL then. Not a celebrity or popular figure, but a mere boy with motivation to touch people's lives. No, I don't want to be like a famous public figure. i just want to share my thoughts. If you like it, it's good enough for me. If you disagree with me, I love to hear from you.

I personally believe that everyone should be an IDOL. Yes we ought to be a role model for others. Not saying that we are all mighty but knowing that we are imperfect and accept the nature of it. Like my entry: NOTHING IS PERFECT, I'm sorry to say you can't find any "perfect" things in the world. There must be flaw somewhere, though it's just a small little one. But what I like is, our effort to be perfect, to achieve what is IMPOSSIBLE and finally can find the answer of our questions. This is what I would like you to have in mind. We are a social being, affected by others. Hence we need to see, learn, and adapt from our environment. And this is for me an IDOL is being a good example (not necessarily perfect).

If we only care about outside appearance, then celebrity or famous people can be IDOL. But I don't think their appearance that defines IDOL. Remember my notes about Susan Boyle (What's wrong with SusanBoyle?). I would like to share the story of Regina now. She has been a cafe singer for some years. Her dream was to be next INDONESIAN IDOL or at least famous singer. She tried to go for the very first INDONESIAN IDOL. Unfortunately she didn't make it to finalist. She tried again the next year and again she failed. Maybe she was not that good at that time. Maybe her appearance affected the result or any other reasons. She tried 6 times to enter INDONESIAN IDOL. And again she got disappointed. But she tried one more time. Yes this year, she made it to be one of 12 finalists. And amazingly she won the title. After 6/7 years disappointment, she made it to the end and achieved a great result by winning the competition. This is for me an IDOL.

 For me this is what defines an IDOL, their effort and story. And I believe all of them have their own story to be told. Even people like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Madonna, or even Michael Jackson. They seem to enjoy world as celebrity but trust me there are some price to pay for that. Everything comes with no "free money". Hence I don't need to be famous/rich/glamour/handsome/celebrity to be an IDOL. I’m IDOL for myself and people around me. So I proudly say that I AM AN IDOL.

Can you be the next IDOL like me? The answer is ABSOLUTELY YES. You can be an IDOL and role model for others. A teacher is IDOL for students. Student will learn and take from their teacher. So be responsible teacher for them. You will DEFINITELY affect your student future. Parent is IDOL for their family. They are the first IDOL their children ever met. Unfortunately many of them didn't realize it. They act as they like and don't care about the children. They think money is the source of happiness. They run catching money and forget the family. Remember dad and mom, what you did will be the reflection of your child future and behaviour. It's just a simple example and all sort of life can be IDOL. Whether you are rich/poor, boos/employee, President/servant, religious/lay person, you can be one. It doesn't matter if you are a doctor/lawyer/teacher/housewife/trader/maid or anything else. What you need is a seed of "IDOL" in your heart. Every time you think, speak, and act, remember that you are an IDOL. Repeat the mantra "I AM AN IDOL". If you are ready to do it, do it right and responsibly.

You, yes you, the one reading this blog now. You are an IDOL for people around you even people you haven't met before. Like me, there is high possibility that I don't even know you but thanks for reading my blog. Thanks to spare your precious time to read my entry. And I hope and pray that you will get something out of my blog. I have faith in this. And I hope you can share and continue to be a blessing for others by starting your own blog for example. Or share motivational words through Facebook or Twitter or others social media. Share this entry if you feel benefited from it. There is no such thing as little action. The small step that you take will lead you to endless possibility. And be surprised to find out that you are an IDOL for someone else. BE AN IDOL.

~Wilson Wijaya, Lee/8 July 2012~

Where Does Inspiration Come From?

According to dictionary.com in World English Dictionary, inspiration is:

1. stimulation or arousal of mind, feeling, etc, to special or unusual activity or creativity
2. the state or quality of being so stimulated or aroused
3. someone or something that cause this state
4. an idea or action resulting from such a state
5. the act or process of inhaling;  breathing in

When we talk about inspiration, we often talks about idea, imagination, dream, person, or story.

Inspiration comes in many ways and forms.

But then the question asked where it comes from? How to get inspiration?

Well based on my experience I would like to share where to find inspiration in your life.

You must know what I'm talking about, just take it as reminder.

Sometimes what you truly need is not far away from you. Just look around.

~Wilson Wijaya,Lee/4 July 2012~

1.  Dream and Imagination

I know you will say,"I KNOW THAT!" but the question is DID YOU REALIZE IT?

Most of the time what or where do you want is just as far as dream and imagination. When we truly want to have something, our brain somehow manages to tell us. Dream more than just a flower, nice thought, or imagination.

Everything great we had now started from a simple dream and imagination. Imagine if Wright brothers didn't dream that human can fly, there will be no air plane. It's so simple to the point people tend to ignore it. Unfortunately children are forced not to dream big. Before you make it, you have to dream it, imagine it, want it. Don't let people make you down. Have faith and give your very best.

My experience:

When I was in secondary school, I imagined to study abroad. I even dreamed to enter Harvard or Oxford (I know you will tell me it's too BIG for a dream). But that's point, dream BIG enough till people tell you it's impossible. Although I didn't attend neither of them, I ended up at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. It's BIG enough for me to be able to graduate from there.

Starting from a small town, Baturaja (even Indonesian didn't know where it is - 4 hours from Palembang), I went to an international hub city, Singapore. I learned new thins and gained new knowledge. It's such a blessing for me and it started from a DREAM. Till today I still dream to attend Harvard and on the way to make it happen.

2. Creations

Anything that people make or create can be inspiration. Not just things made by human but also things that came by itself (or created by GOD if you believe). Music, film, poem, picture, painting, song, drama, theater, and so on, you name it.

Al these things can be inspiration in human life and they intended to be one.

Nature, sea, mountain, flower, rain, and even disaster. Tsunami became inspiration for human race to be one and united. Love became inspiration for film, drama, song, etc. They try to persuade us into some values or philosophies. So look around yourself, there are so many creation. What is the creation that  inspired you the most?

My experience:

I was so inspired by  so many songs, drama, films, and arts. Indeed I will say it proudly I was so inspired by Korean and Japan lifestyle. I go insane about Japanese life and tradition (HONESTLY). In one or other way, they have shaped me to be who I am now. Hollywood has been my inspiration for a whole life. Their movies has been my friend for better and worse. My mood can change easily by watching movie and drama. Here are some lists of drama/movie that has change my way of thinking (please check by yourself if you have time and like it):

1. The Bucket List (film)
2. 49 Days (Korean drama)
3. Scent of Woman (Korean drama)
4. Departure (Japanese film)
5. Doraemon (Japanese anime/manga)
6. Detective Conan (Japanese manga)

3. Past Experience

When I said experience, it's not just your but others also. Sharing, teaching, discussion are ways to get inspired by others. Think moment in the past that really inspired you to move on and stand strong. It could be the day when your parent passed away. Or the day when people looked down on you and your family. Or the day when you won your very first medal. Make them your motivation to walk your life now.

Actually it's hard to inspire and motivate people.

Don't think being a motivator is easy, you can just talk about good thing. No, you are wrong. It's hard to motivate people since only you that can motivate yourself. Motivator just remind or let you know about the motivation you have. At the end you are the judge which one to be your motivation. Coming to seminar of great and successful person is useless if you are not ready. You first have to be ready to be motivated, to learn, to hear, and get inspired. So if you are ready, talk to great people, share with others, and inspire you and others.

My experience:

I have met so many people that inspired my life.

Starting from my family, my mother is such an excellent example.

You have heard about her story from my past entry (read this).

Then moving on to superstar, political figures, and teachers.

They have shaped my thinking and the way I see the world.

Thanks to them I become the man who now are trying to motivate people.

Well I don't like to be called motivator, I prefer to say it as SHARING.

Through this blog, twitter, Facebook, etc I shared my thinking, story, and inspiration.

That are some inspiration sources for me and I'm sure you may have more.

The point is remember to look around yourself where you can find an inspiration.

Walk on the pathway in the afternoon, breath slowly, enjoy the moment and view.

There you may find such a wonderful "lamp" above your head.

The key to get the inspiration is LET YOURSELF BE INSPIRED.

I think there is no other way  to get inspired other than let yourself to be one.

Don't thin too much or find it far way in difficult place.

Look deep down yourself and soul to find the answer.

Besides that, I would like to remind you NOT TO LET OTHER DISTURB YOU.

As I said you are the key, filter of what you want inside you.

If you let people word inspire you, you will get it and be motivated.

If you let people word discourage you, you plan to fail yourself.

Hence it's become a sword with two edges.

It can become a strong weapon to conquer the world.

Or it can become a poison that kill you.

Before you get inspired, let yourself first to be inspired. Then the inspiration can become motivation to push you forward.

Dare to dream big. If you shoot the moon, you may end up shooting the star.

The one that can dream is the one that conquers the world.

Imagination is the door to the new world of fantasy and creativity.

~Wilson Wijaya,Lee/5 July 2012~

Question about LIFE: Have you???

Purpose of Life

If you follow my twitter account then you will know what I'm talking about.

Well for those who have no idea what I'm talking about well let me quote my twitter:

Question about life:1. Have you found joy in your life? 2. Have you brought joy to other people life? 3. Have you made meaning of your life?

~Wilson Wijaya, Lee/30 June 2012~

This tweet later  gained comment from one of my best friend:

Friend: Not at all. Any solution for this?

Me: I'm also on the way to find the answer. Everyone will surely have different answer. Depend on your own standard.

Then you will ask me, how the hell I get to ask these questions?

\This morning, 3AM to be exact, I watched The Bucket List on TV. The movie was really good and keep me reflecting on myself how far I have went. What will be on my bucket list to achieve before I "kick the bucket"? Where is the end of it and when will the end come?

There was conversation on movie on Greek paradise, to be able to pass the gate you have to answer the questions. Then what will be you answer, have you thought about it before? It's funny to know that most of the time we life our life as it is.

Well people say let it flow like river stream till it find the final end.

However to live my life to fullest I need to know what the purpose of my life. Sure enough I believe all of you also looking for the most final answer. What is the purpose of your life?

I think through this question we can narrow down our meditation about purpose life.

1. To find joy in our life.

2. To share the joy with others.

Hence we can make a meaningful life in our road to final end.

Either you believe in  God or not, heaven or hell, karma, etc the life is too good to be wasted. We only have one life; unless you believe in reincarnation. Though you believe that you will be born again, you will not repeat the same life. Each life is unique and different according to you.

I'm not a spiritual leader nor a wise old man. I don't really like to have a deep thought and meditation. However it struck me to think about my life. The thinking is so deep yet so engaging to keep me go deeper. In religion they tell you that purpose of life is to be together with your creator, to be free from all misery, and to find final rest and peace.

Knowing that it doesn't make my life can go in waste and doing nothing.

Living my life to fullest give more meaning by making a way to make a value of my life.

I won't teach you how to live you life, it's your choice to make.

But I would like to engage you in reflection and thinking how you want to fill your life.

If you choose to make a meaning in life, please do so.

If you do otherwise, I will not against it as long as you don't disturb others.

Answering the Question

Back to my friend comment, any solution to answer the question. No, I have no solution till now, you can follow Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, or any other religious figure on earth. Else you can make your own spiritual guide on answering the question. I think the best answer is YOU, yes it depends on how YOU see and live it. I will try to help you answering the question through reflecting question. Let me break the explanation to each question:

1. Have you found joy in your life?

Before answering this question, please answer the following question in your heart. Give a thought. What is joy in your life? Having a lot of money? Having a big house? Having a big name and famous? So far what have you done to make it happen in your life? Education? Religion? Work? What defines the joy in your life? What values that effect you? Religion? Philosophy? Social norm?

Joy is a joy as long as it fill your heat. For me a joy is when a mother gives birth with love to her child. Joy is when a father dies to protect his child. Joy is when a child can live a happy life with their parent.

I may not be rich to found joy, may be my poor situation make me find joy and value in money.

I may not be clever to found joy, completing degree with my best effort is a joy for me.

I may not be religious to found joy, having a simple prayer in my room is joy of life.

As you can see the situation and condition limit the meaning of joy.

They define and make meaning of joy itself and back to YOU.

Hence the answer I suggest is WHAT DO YOU THINK?

2. Have you brought joy to other people life?

Well this is an arrogance question. I could say I have big impact for thousands or billions lives. If you see it like that, Jesus or Buddha or Muhammad have brought joys to their follower. Then until we can be like them, we have not brought any joy to other people. WRONG, I don't think so. Even just one people means that I have brought joy to him/her. Have you treated your spouse well? Have you loved them as yourself?

A teacher gives joy to student trough teaching. A mother gives joy to her child through love and care. A man gives joy to a woman though sharing of love and life. A simple smile can bring thousand joy to some people but at the same time can bring sadness. Everything has two side of coin in it, bad and good. Again it backs to situation and condition how it will turn out.

Money can bring joy to a family but at the same time can be a disaster. Love can bring joy to people but at the same time can hurt them deeply. To bring joy to people for me means to know what to offer to them. Simple conversation can be a joy. Your presence can be be a joy. A kiss can be a joy. Hence the answer I suggest is WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

3. Have you made a meaning of your life?

If wasting your life is what you chose, then you have made meaning of it. If developing your talents made you happy, then you have made it. If having family is your sole purpose, then you have got it. A value comes from the owner how he/she values the value. If you see my past entry on Words about Working Bryan Dyson said:

Value has value only if its value is valued.

I think this the answer of this question. A meaning has a purpose and mean only if you give the meaning to it. Hence the answer I suggest is WHAT MEANING YOU GIVE MEANING TO IT?

Conclusion

A life is only life until you give meaning to it.

Whether you will succeed in your life or you will fail it, the decision is yours.

The question can be a guide to you to pass though the road of life.

You can make it as a mere question that pass you one day.

Or you can make it as obsession to fulfill your desire.

Else you can make it as guide and reference to move on.

I aint a teacher nor a philosopher, just a normal student of knowledge and wisdom.

However don't get blinded by the question till you forget what is truly important.

Stay still, stop, think, and reflect is good as long as you decide the next step.

If you stop at some point and  not moving on, I wish that is the point when you have found the answer.

If not then i suggest you to keep moving forward with new perspective.

Life is a choice whatever you chose please be responsible about it.

~Wilson Wijaya, Lee/30 June 2012~

Who is She? My Mother

Brief Career History

 The author interviewed Madam Lim, a single mother in her late 50. Her husband just passed away on May 2010. She runs a medium restaurant selling variance of food and a small bakery shop. She has four children, three daughters and one son. The oldest daughter is a dentist, currently working at family clinic. The second daughter is a medical student, currently serving as intern. The son is a university student, currently studying in the last year. The youngest daughter is an accountancy student, currently studying in second year.

Madam Lim is a Chinese descendant. She can speak Mandarin and some dialects. She was in food and beverage industry for almost 21 years. She started by helping her husband in running the business since her husband is illiterate. She, herself, was not degree holder. She only finished her Junior College. Due to her family financial background, she couldn’t pursue university degree. She started to work since young to help her poor family. She has nine siblings.

Madam Lim is brilliant and smart even though she couldn’t enjoy university life. She has sharp thinking, excellent communication skills, and good management skills. She picked those skills by herself through the experiences she has undergone. Madam Lim managed to expand her husband business from a small restaurant to a medium restaurant with strong customers’ loyalty. The restaurant is well known for their fast serving and delicious food. She also managed to open a small bakery shop, catered to birthday and wedding cake, along with the restaurant. On top of that she successfully entered her four children to university. Even some people didn’t believe that she could do that.

 She is also an entrepreneur. On May 2010, her husband passed away due to sudden heart attack. Then she has to manage the restaurant and the bakery shop alone. She struggled with the family economy to sustain her three children education cost. Due to the economy recession, the business didn’t go well. Luckily she got opportunity to open family dental clinic together with other relatives. She also joined her friends in other business projects. She is a good risk analyst, excellent predictor, and deep thinker.

The fairy tale is too good to be true. In fact she was diagnosed with diabetes type II, a genetic illness (Amy Adams, 2000). In spite of her illness she continued to fight and pursue her dream. She wanted to see all her children to be successful in the future by having university degree. She continued running the restaurant and bakery shop; and looking after other business. She is a strong-willed person.

What's wrong with Susan Boyle?

Susan Boyle, 47 years old woman from British Got Talent. She is not really pretty lady. She is far away from entertainer's look like we often see on television. She is not really sexually attractive. She said she hasn't been kissed and lived with her cat in her house. But she has something that sometimes people forgot to see: DREAM.

I believe all of you know about her, at least heard about her. The phenomenal audition in British Got talent has struck everyone who watched it. More than 25 million viewers and still can grow more watch the audition on youtube. It's funny, isn't it.

What does make her so different?

I watched the audition for more than 20 times now. I looked for comment video from yotube; NBC, CNN, and other news program. There is a interesting comment made by the anchor:


"If Susan is pretty, sexy lady, will she become famous like this? It's just because she is not beautiful. It makes her interesting."

Well, I can say I agree and disagree with that.
Yes, it becomes interesting since she is not pretty.
But, she is truly beautiful.
She is full of confidence, brave, and never stopping to dream.
She chosen a right song for her audition "I dreamed a dream-Les Miserables"
Susan Boyle's audition

Like the Amanda, one of the judges of BGT, said:

 
"I'm so thrilled because I knew everybody was against you.
I honestly think that we were all being cynical and IT'S THE BIGGEST WAKE UP CALL EVER, and I just want to say that it's a complete privilege to listening to that."

Yup, that's what Susan brought to us. A wake up call. Never judge a book from its cover. From simple, humble, and unattractive woman, come out beautiful voice like an angel. We tend to think ugly people, the less attractive ones, is not important. They make our world become ugly, not beautiful.
They are like eyesore and need to be disposed or be covered.

What make Susan become superstar is not 100% her voice.
I agree she has beautiful voice, but other people also have it.
What she has that make her different is DREAM.

She dreamed for 47 years to sing in front of many people.
She dreamed for 47 years to become professional singer.
She dreamed for 47 years to rock her audience.

And this what sometimes other programs forgot to bring to surface. Not only family background, social background, appearance, but also about hope and dream. Idol program is here to make dream of person like Susan to become reality. We have a lot of entertainer with good look, sexy body, nice voice,and young age. But we do need person like Susan who teaches us never stop dreaming.

Someday your dream will come true and you need to believe it.

Even though people look down on you.
Even though people mock you in public.
Even though people laugh at you.
Even though people say it can't happen.
Even though people don't support you.
Just believe in yourself.

Show the world you have talent.
Roar to the world your voice.
Shout to the world your dream.
Tell the world your talent and dream.
That's what Susan has taught us and me.

"I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high,
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving."