One of Those Things I'm Thankful the Most (part 2)
Then the abstract was actually got accepted. It was surprising, really. So then there came next round of work: working out the paper. I want to quote Coldplay's song to express how it was, I mean the process of finishing the scientific paper: "nobody said it was easy..." Because sure it wasn't. Not just because I had a very limited amount of experience on doing it, but also because my mind was usually just full of fitious imaginative stuff. Not mentioning other dirty, sinful, nasty... Anyway, the only thing I had in mind was that "I've at least tried my best, so there shouldn't be any regret later" before sending the paper. Oh, forget to mention, I sent the paper just right on the very last day of uploading period, right on the deadline. Not wise at all, I know. And for addition, just for fun really, I had just actually finished writing it some minutes before hitting the 'upload' button. In my deffence, I've written the whole draft since days before, but still, it felt like I couldn't let out a single proper word before the very deadline finally came. Procrastination! Yes, another bad... bad.... thing to do. But let me tell you, this thing is just like an epidemy for college students. Like MERS, or SARS, or Swine Flu, or even the infamous Black Plague. Once it catches, there'll be a long and winding road of recovery waiting for you. Plus, there's no vaccine to fight it off in the future. The only way to escape is to boost your immune system, which is super hard to do, in my opinion off course. Well, at least that was what I could conclude from observing people in my faculty. So, what awaited me later would actually change my whole life like never before. Well, that was what I really hoped for anyway... A week after a notification of postponed announcement... there came the real announcement. [I know, I'm being dramatic here. Hey! Come on, everyone loves to be dramatic. Even Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes are dramatic! (based on the BBC series at least)] It got accepted. The paper was actually accepted. At first, my heart was exploding like a firework. The amazement was of no comparison... as well as the utter despair that came afterward: How the heaven am I gonna pay to go to London? Yep, it was a conferrence, not a competition or a workshop or any othee things so yes, it requires you to provide the whole flight and accomodation by yourself. To be noted, I and my friends registered independently, not as a representative team of an organization or anything. So yes, off course we have to pay to go there by ourself. Right in time, China decided to devaluate its yuan and escalating IDR price to 14.000 compared to USD. Many economist said that it was one of the worst time for our IDR value since 1998. At the moment, it was about IDR 18.000 for EU€ and IDR 21.000 GB£. To make it simple, I can buy a plate of chicken fried rice, soup, and ice tea with that amount of IDR in my campus canteen. Guess that'll explain my concern better. Anyway, I didn't have that much money, and to be honest, I don't think my parents had so much money in their bank account either. I tried to calculate total amount of money I'd need to prepare for the whole journey including flight ticket, hostels, food, transportation, visa... ah, that's another thing to write about. Later on, maybe... And yeah, it was a lot. My friend and I needed to work super hard to find sponsor, either from campus or companies or any other places... which required quite amount of endurance, I'd say. Why? Because the whole administration and bureaucracy stuff are in layers, pretty much complicated, and you had no control over things while the clock kept on ticking... I'm currently still where I was weeks ago. If I can make it to London, I'll write more detailed information regarding making recomendation letter and/or asking for financial aid in my campus, plus, how to deal with making visa and preparing things. But for now, I just want to express my gratitude to those people God had sent to me to give me hope, even in the midst of uncertainties. They are one of those precious things I'll take care of my whole life, the ones I'm just so grateful and thankful about. They are people I'll try my best not to let down ever for they don't cease to cheer "don't give up!" or "I'm sure you can make it" or "we're doing our best to support you" and "we're right behind you all the way." My dear parrents in Indonesia and US, my best friends, particularly the one I just met during volunteer work and had been so eager on helping me out, and another one who would be my loyal partner for naughty drinks, and so many others God had sent in many ways possible, who are so willing to help even when I can't give anything in return. I hate myself for being weak. I feel bad for asking help. I've let so many hearts down. And helps keep on comming. I can't see the end of this road just yet. But I have faith. I try to have one, at least. Things may not go as smoothly as I expect it to be, but there's no way I'll know whether things will go north or south. There'll always be a chance that it works so much better even beyond my wildest dream. I'm gonna quote another Coldplay's songs "if you never tried then you'll never know." I'll hang on to that for now. God knows I will. I never considered myself as a religious person, but I always like to keep some slivers of hope that The Higher Power, whatever name would be, is watching over me and working in mysterious way I may not be able to decipher ever. These are a biblical verses I'm quoting for those who share the same way of belief: "I will never abandon you and I will never leave you" - Hebrew 13:5 therefore... "God is my saviour. I will not be affraid" - Hebrew 13:6 (as in today's service, coincidentally)
