#umat

After 5 GAMSATs, 2 undergraduate degrees, 2 overseas moves, and 3 career changes, I sat staring at my computer frantically refreshing my inbox in the hopes of receiving a life-changing email. It had been 2 hours since other aspiring hopefuls had started receiving their offers, or the cruelly dreaded EoD (email of death). I refreshed my inbox again and... nothing.  I crinkled my eyebrows down and let out a big, dramatic sigh. I guess the good news was that I hadn’t gotten rejected yet, but... I also hadn’t gotten in anywhere either.

The longer it went on, the more scattered I felt. Maybe I didn’t submit my application properly? Maybe I didn’t get in anywhere, and I was going to get my rejection email right as others were getting their champagne-popping-worthy messages instead. It looked like the offers were being released in batches. School 1 at 10am, school 2 and 10:32am, school 3 at 11:04am, and so on.  My lowest preference school had already released their offers, and I’d gotten nothing. I crossed my fingers, telling myself that this could be good news. After all, it might mean that I get an offer for a school higher up on my preference list!

My 5th school came out... 4th preferenced school... 3rd... and still nothing.  And oooooh golly did the stakes feel like they were getting hotter and higher with each passing moment. My 2nd preference released their offers... nothing. Oh my god, this means it’s all nothing. It’s all or nothing now.

Two hours later, it arrived. The sender? My first preference. Subject? “Outcome”. That can’t be good, right? ‘Outcome’ is the signal to let you know that you made it this far, but not quite far enough. I didn’t care. I just wanted an answer—heck, needed—an answer for it to be over with. Applications had started 6 months earlier and this meant that I could finally plan some part of my life—if I didn’t get in, maybe I’d go live overseas for a while again? I’d always liked the idea of London. Yes, that would do! Med school, or London. Med school, or London. I practically chanted this phrase over and over to remind myself that if I didn’t get in, this was not the end. It’s just a ‘not yet’.

Breath held, I clicked on the email as fast as I could move my fingers. My heart thumped and eyes darted around the screen like a kid storming around the room after an afternoon of sugar and red cordial. I could barely concentrate or register a single word in the email.

It didn’t matter. I saw the one word that I needed to: “Congratulations”.

[25-05-2019] Got some work today. I have finally caught up in Maths so I have so much less to do 😅. I got my mock UCAT results. I didn’t do as well as I had hoped, at all. If Abstract Reasoning was my best section, I think there was something wrong. At least I know what to work on. Considering I’m in year 11 and not 12, I’ve got some time.

Beberapa hari yang lalu, ketika mengajar, mendapati hal yang menarik. Kala itu, adik ajar izin permisi untuk jajan siomay.

“Gak ikut jajan?” tanya saya kepada adik ajar yang tidak ikut jajan. “Gak ah, mahal.” kata adik ajar itu. “Memangnya, bawa uang berapa?” “Dua ribu, A.” “Memangnya gak cukup ya dua ribu beli siomay?” “Cukup, tapi cuman dapat setengah…”

Di sinilah saya kaget. Jaman SD dulu, beli siomay dua ribu dapat lima. Eh sekarang hanya dapat setengah. Bukan setengah porsi, tapi setengah siomay!

Beginilah kenyataannya. Hampir setiap tahun harga kebutuhan pokok naik—mengakibatkan harga jajanan ikut naik. Lantas, bisa tidak ya sekali-kali harga kebutuhan pokok itu tidak naik—atau bahkan mengalami penurunan?

Namun sayangnya, selagi uang yang dipakai adalah uang fiat (dolar, rupiah, euro, real, dll), maka akan sangat kecil kemungkinannya.  

Mengapa demikian?

Dalam rezim uang fiat dunia pasca Nixon Shock 1971, harga barang-barang kebutuhan pokok di tingkat dunia hampir selalu dalam situasi naik.

Ketika ekonomi dunia sedang membaik, terjadi peningkatan kebutuhan yang tidak selalu bisa diikuti oleh peningkatan supply secara proporsional. Hal ini mengakibatkan harga-harga menjadi naik.

Sebaliknya, ketika ekonomi sedang memburuk, pemerintah-pemerintah dunia cenderung mencetak uang secara berlebihan untuk mencegah ekonomi terpuruk lebih lanjut. Maka terjadilah inflasi—nilai uang jadi kurang berarti.

Maka, bagaimana solusinya?

Goat & Gold Investment—Kambing dan emas atau Dinar yang sangat erat dengan syariah Islam. Di sinilah lagi-lagi saya dibuat kagum oleh Islam. 

Kambing dan Dinar seringkali digunakan dalam pelaksanaan hukum syariah. Misalnya ketika pergi haji. Bila suami dengan istri melakukan hubungan sebelum tahallul, maka dikenakan denda menyembelih 7 ekor kambing atau 1 ekor unta. Adapun dinar menjadi standar nisab zakat, nisab pencuri, uang darah, dsb.

Hebatnya, harga kambing standar qurban bertahan di sekitar 1 Dinar selama lebih dari 1400 tahun. Karena kambing dan Dinar merupakan bagian tidak terpisahkan dari syariat agama, maka pasti keberadaannya dijamin oleh yang membuat syariat itu sendiri sampai akhir zaman.

Selain itu, Dinar tidak pernah kehilangan nilai atau daya beli; appresiasi nilainya mampu mengalahkan inflasi hampir 3 kali angka inflasi. Dinar menjadi proteksi asset yang sangat efektif untuk melindungi daya beli.

Walau demikian, Dinar tidak menjadi growing asset yang sesungguhnya. Satu Dinar tetap satu Dinar bila disimpan berapa lama pun. Ia tidak beranak dan daya belinya tetap setara dengan satu ekor kambing.

Di sisi lain, kambing setiap tahun beranak. Sekali beranak bahkan tidak hanya satu, kadang dua bahkan ada yang sampai empat. Inilah growing asset! 

Di sinilah kita menemui fakta bahwa memelihara kambing seperti yang dilakukan oleh para nabi ternyata tetap relevan sampai zaman modern sekarang. Dengan kambing kita lawan inflasi.

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Dan akhirnya, ditutup dengan penawaran kembali :)

alhamdulillah, saat ini @agriquran tengah mendapat amanah mengelola 91 ekor saudaranya kambing—alias domba, he he. Di antara plan ke depan adalah membuka program investasi. Bila berkenan, memohon doanya untuk kelancaran dan keberkahan.

Untuk saat ini, kami menawarkan program kerjasama. Bila ada yang tertarik untuk develop unit usaha berbasis produk turunan domba, boleh sekali berkabar. Silahkan hubungi kami di [email protected]. Barangkali ada kolaborasi yang bisa kita kerjakan bersama.

Hi all! So as a few of you may know, I’ve recently finished my first year of uni :) I am currently doing a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, but I have provisional entry into my university’s MD program, which means that as soon as my bachelors is over, I’ll be engorged in the med life :) But that’s a long way away for now...

I live in Australia, and for most of my life, I had always thought that I would have a really chill high school and university life...but all that changed when I thought about applying for medicine. As someone who has wanted to study medicine ever since grade 9, I knew that I was going to do whatever it took to get into a medicine course, and that I had to maximise my opportunity by applying to literally every Australian university which offered medicine (both as an undergraduate and postgraduate degree). I worked hard throughout my final year of high school, and honestly, it was a really tough period in my life, trying to balance my academics with UMAT preparation and my social life.

What I want to say is, if you are planning on applying for medicine, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons, and make sure you are really passionate about it. Medicine is one of those degrees which requires so much from their applicants and trying to achieve all those grades can really take a toll on students. About 1/5 of my cohort at school applied for medicine last year, but from what I know, only about 10 of us made it in (many of whom were accepted by universities out-of-state). Remember that your final year of high school is vital for university applications, but also keep in mind that it is your final year at a place that has looked after you for the past 6 years. You’ll most likely be moving away, or going down a different path to your friends, and so it is important not to get too wrapped up in your academics, and make the most of the time you have remaining with your friends.

A lot of my friends from NSW have completed their HSC exams now, and I’ve been hearing a lot of great achievements from this year’s cohort. For all those applying for medicine, interview season will be approaching soon. Try not to get too nervous, and whilst some sort of preparation is always recommended, don’t go into your interviews with pre-prepared answers. Have fun, answer the questions truthfully, and their interviewers will be able to see your passion shine through naturally. Again, I reiterate the fact that if you are really passionate about medicine, and moving inter-state is a viable option for you, I strongly recommend you apply to every university that offers med (both under and post-grad). It will maximise your opportunity to get an interview offer, and hopefully, be accepted into a medical program. Also, different uni’s have different requirements for students, so if you haven’t achieved as high as you hoped for your UMAT/ATAR, don’t give up! Also, I recommend everyone to accept Bonded positions. Bonded places are given to students who have almost met the requirements of the medical program’s admission, but have missed out on just a couple of marks. Admission is given to these students in return for their service in a place of workplace shortage (usually rural or remote areas around Australia). Return of service is usually 12 months, and honestly, it’s just another mode of gaining experience. Working in rural/remote clinics is an amazing experience for junior doctors as those institutions usually only have a couple of specialists/senior doctors on hand, and so as junior doctors, you will be required to step in and practice your medical and clinical skills more often than if you were working at a larger, busier metropolitan hospital. It’s a great experience, and it increases the chances of you getting accepted, so you guys should definitely make the most of this amazing deal! For those who are accepted, CONGRATS! Honestly, medicine is a long path, and the next 5-7 years are going to be hard, but as long as you stay optimistic and focused, you’ll go a long way. For those who aren’t accepted, don’t be too upset. Some of my friends took a GAP year this year, and re-sat the UMAT. Some went into a Biomedical/Medical Sciences Bachelor’s program and are planning on either transferring their credits to medicine, or are going to sit the GAMSAT and apply through a post-graduate pathway. Either way, just because you aren’t accepted into medicine immediately after graduation, there are so many different pathways into medicine. Yes, it may take a bit longer, but a couple of extra years is equivalent to nothing compared to your lifespan, and those years are worth it if you are really interested in medicine :) But anyways, guys I wish you all the best in your medical journey, and remember, life gives us so many opportunities, so if things don’t work out now, just work hard, try again, and you’ll be rewarded.

Aku punya banyak daftar mimpi. Ratusan bahkan. Jadi ini itu, ikut lomba ini itu, harus dapat ini itu. Yes, I was a high-achiever. Dulu.

Sampai kemudian aku berada di satu titik, mengapa semua mimpi itu rasanya hanya untuk diriku sendirian saja?

Sampai akhirnya aku menyadari, bermimpi itu bukan hanya tentang diri sendiri, tapi juga melibatkan banyak orang.

Iya, apa hebatnya prestasiku jika hanya untuk diriku seorang saja? Apa menyenangkannya aku berkeliling dunia tapi hanya tertawa sendirian saja? Dimana kerennya saat aku membesar dan menghebat sendirian tapi orang-orang di sekitarku menangis tanpa aku tau?

Aku juga mulai bertanya-tanya, apakah aku akan benar-benar bahagia jika telah mencapai semua mimpi itu?

Aku mulai mendefinisikan bahagiaku sendiri, bukan definisi bahagia menurut orang lain. Bahagiaku, saat mampu mengembalikan senyum ia yang sedang berduka. Bahagiaku, sesederhana menjadi tempat orang lain untuk pulang, yang kehadirannya menyenangkan, yang keceriaannya membahagiakan.

Iya, bermimpi nampaknya akan jauh lebih menyenangkan jika melibatkan banyak orang untuk bahagia bersamaku. Sehingga mimpi terbesarku kupersembahkan untuk kebahagiaan orang banyak. Sehingga banyak orang yang ikut berbahagia saat mimpi itu terwujud. Mimpi-mimpi yang akan membuat dunia menjadi jauh lebih baik.