Legal confinement

     It sounds so pretty in the mouth when it is said but we all know that it is a mere utopian dream. In reality, you can’t just walk away, fly away, or drive away from your current life. If you’re a parent, you have children to feed; if you’re married, you have a vow to fulfill; if you’re a student, you have your parents to please. Whatever your excuse is, you just can’t walk away because some of the decisions we made, do affect us for a life time. However, it is indeed possible to just walk out of your current life. But it takes an awful lot of gut and courage to do that and society will definitely block your way, making sure to crush that dream of yours into pieces. We live in a circle of functions that makes up a structure. And this structure is this thing we call as society. This is how it works; society notices its various tendencies, the ups and downs, and the effects of certain aspects that happen within its circle. Then it forms judgment, concludes which is good and bad, creates rules, and enforces them.  

As a result, we live in a tiny crammed box, in which everyone is brainwashed from the morals and virtues society forces us to adopt. Though the world is vast, we are not aware of the fact that we are imprison.  

You must conform. And if you don’t, you’re out. No more equal treatments for you.  

Society creates the idea of what is right and wrong, of good and bad, of what is normal and abnormal. The thing is, we are all different in many ways and what appears to be “good” to society,  can’t always be perceived the same way to the rest of the people. And by “the rest” I mean the minority, those few individuals, who society might perceive as “different” and therefore “bad”. Each of us is wired intricately by our Creator; we possess a variety of traits and personalities, our minds work at various level of pace, we have different ways of coping, and also different ways of communicating. So being different really is a stupid excuse to label someone negatively.

Go to college, get a degree, get a job, kiss your way up to the top of the corporate ladder, get married, have kids. People see those things as a must. Those are what expected from you. If you lack something from the above statement you’ll be viewed as a failure. There are many other stuffs society demands from us. And we keep on feeding it exactly what it wants by living the kind of life it sees as “proper”. Of course, it’s not a problem for those who are on the same page with society. This is for the people who feel like there is more to life than just living by the standard society sets. 

I remember sitting in a sociology class one morning and the professor threw out a rhetorical question, “are human beings really free?” Unfortunately, he did not answer his own question and proceeded to move on to the next section of the PowerPoint slide. Today, fortunately, a bit of light was shed. It’s from a song called Geboren um frei zu sein by the well-known german rapper, Sido. It’s not really an answer, but it’s a view from his very own perspective, which I think is quite interesting. The title itself is pretty self explanatory; it is translated as ‘born to be free’. 

Wir sind geboren um frei zu sein aber das geht nicht, sagen sie, und dann schließen sie meinen Käfig. Denn dieser Vogel darf nicht fliegen, weil er kein Adler ist. Auch machen was er will und denken was er will darf er nicht.

Roughly translated, the song goes on how, us, being unable to embrace freedom, although it is supposed to be our innate right from the day we were born. It continues with an analogy of a bird being locked up in a cage by society. This particular bird is not allowed to fly, since it is not an eagle, but just a regular one. Thus, it doesn’t contain the sublime power/beauty to be worth enough to fly for freedom.

                                Wenn du wie wir zwei deine Freiheit willst, dann sag es laut! Geh auf die Straße raus. Schreibs auf Plakate rauf. Lass deine Hoffnung nicht zusammen fallen wie ein Kartenhaus. Geh und sag es jedem, wir wollen Spaß am Leben. Wir wollen es jetzt; wir wollen nicht warten bis zum Garten Eden.  Die Welt ist unser, kommt, wir mischen sie auf, denn wir müssen hier raus!

                             This is the part where it gets ironic. It basically says that, if you want to have your own freedom, then say it out loud. Go out to the street, write it on posters, don’t let your hope falls apart like a house of cards. Go and tell everyone that we want to have fun in life. We want it now, we don’t want to have to wait until heaven arrives(until the end of the world). The world is ours and we have to get out of here.

What a fun thing to do, right? If only we can let loose like that without having to receive mean looks, or getting ourselves talked behind our backs. Sure, the song is written figuratively, but it is still a perfect description of how difficult it is for somebody to be himself in a world full of judgment and tacit rules. There are just places where you can do nothing but conform. Hell, in some places, being different can even sometimes get you killed.

                                The truth is, human beings aren’t free. We are bound, subconsciously, by the social forces society create for us. And it takes one hell of a person to have the gut and courage to release himself from such confinement.

True Freedom

 I turned 19 just a few days ago. It’s my last year of being a teenager, which means I’m just a step closer to death. Anyway, the thought of being 20 next year is like a slap in the face. To be honest, I don’t feel any difference from when I was 15. Generally, kids can’t wait to grow up and when I was a kid, the prospect of being an adult was so attractive. Children want to be adults because of the freedom grown-ups get to make choices. Kids don’t want to always be told what to do, and who would seriously want such a thing anyway? 

Yeah, adults make their own life decisions but does freedom really belong to them? What can be defined as true freedom?  Here’s the thing. Grown-ups seem to be making their own life choices, but actually they don’t. Most of them have to face a situation where they just don’t have any other options. And that’s the harsh reality about life. Some people get to have more chances because of them growing up in a wealthy house hold, or because they live in first-world nations. Meanwhile, those who grow up in poverty and those who live in developing countries have to struggle more.  

Anyway, this is perhaps part of the diversity God wants us to live in; fate. We all come from different backgrounds, have physical attributes of different color, and have a variety of personality. Regardless of how diverse we are, we are equal. However, society decides to regard a particular kind of diversity to be superior to the others. And that makes all the difference. We’re no longer equal. We live in a world where books are judged solely by their covers, where appearance matters more than the quality within. We live in a world where people strive to be what the media portrays as “perfect”.  And those who are wealthy have a better chance at achieving this vague “perfection”. 

Where one lives matters too. People who live in first world nations have a better chance at improving themselves. Meanwhile, it takes more than magic for people (especially the poor) in developing countries to even maintain a decent life-style, let alone altering it completely. I was given the blessing of living in a first world nation for a few years. There, I observed that it does not matter whether you’re poor or wealthy. Everyone is given equal basic rights. Everyone enjoys a fair healthcare, each kid receives proper education, and everyone can apply for college without having any fear of not being able to pay tuition. Such basic rights are crucial for a person who wants to develop for the better. People there have a wide selection of choices. If you have a talent for art, then go for it. There will be media provided for you to express yourself and appreciation will come to you as you deserve. Is art widely appreciated in developing countries? Not really, it is under-appreciated. 

Anyway, my point is those who live in developing countries have to struggle much more.  Does a child get to say where it wants to be brought up? I don’t think so. No child wants to grow up poor, no child chooses to work on the street when his/her friends are going to school, nobody wants to face war growing up, and no child asks to be brought up in a broken family. These people simply don’t have the options. All they can do now is to give their best to survive and hope for the best. It’s downright unfair. Blaming the government will get you nowhere and yelling to God for an answer will just give you none, unless you’re granted an epiphany to comprehend this matter from the Man above. 

However, despite all the difference fate brings, all of us human want the same thing out of this life. We all want happiness. Regardless where you’re from, what major you study, or what your profession is, you’re on the pursuit of discovering happiness, just like everyone else. You think you want to lose those 10 extra pounds of fat to get healthy, you think you want that latest pair of Air-Jordan to look cool, you think you want to be a doctor to help people in need. Now, when you achieve all those things, what do they bring you in the end? Getting healthy, looking better, and helping people, are all capable of bringing happiness to your life. Each thing leads you to the same destination, just with different paths. And each path has its own challenge. Here’s another harsh truth about life, even after you finally achieve your goal, you’ll find yourself wanting for more because things just never get enough. You’ll be aiming for something bigger and shinier. You’ll fish for more money, more superficial love, and more appreciation that will feed your ego into believing that you’re actually …happy. But of course, if you are wise such thing hopefully won’t happen. 

There is no such thing as true freedom in a fast-paced world. True freedom belongs to monks, nuns, and those who dedicate their life to nothing but God, their Creator. They leave behind all the superficial aspects of the world and decide to live in absolute simplicity by being in pure harmony with the universe, getting along peacefully with nature, and respecting their fellow humans regardless of who they are. Nothing really beats a powerful peace of mind.  

George Bernard Shaw is right when he says that youth are wasted on the young.  Now that I think about it, it makes me sad that children often associate adult with freedom. They just can’t wait to grow up.  In reality, children have way more freedom than grown-ups do. Teenagers also strive to be adults, which is unfortunate.

Children, as well as young people need to be taught that true freedom is found in simplicity. Wealth, appearance, and status will only create temporary satisfaction. They need to know that what matters the most is to be genuinely content and to be at peace with themselves.

Fun ride?

Alright, got this pic from tumblr and I thought, Hey that pic seems somewhat familiar!

I've experienced such exact situations on the subway in Europe. Most of the time, during the end of the working hours, you simply can't get a seat. In that case, you have to undergo awkward social situation where you just hold unto a pole for dear life. It's awfully awkward, especially when you have to do it with 8 other people around you.

But that is nothing, compare to how it happens in Jkt.

Quite similar situation actually; during the end of working hour, the Bus is just cramped with people coming home from work. In such case, the probability of you being able to sit comfortably on a seat is second to none. You just have to stand with the rest of the city's population, grabbing on to whatever is reachable to keep you from falling. However, the fact that you get no pole to hold makes all the difference. You're lucky if there is a pole nearby from where you stand or if there is still some handles left, dangling above you, that you can reach. Occasionally though, you have to face a situation where you're standing far from those metal poles, and there is just no more handles left to hold. You're just cramped, pressed between people and their body odors. You can no longer feel the air conditioner and in your mind, you're starting to gasp like a fish due to the shortage of fresh air.

But even with all those sufferings, you still have to keep your mind in focus. for what? Well, you still have to keep standing despite not having anything to help you keep your balance. No doubt, standing straight up in a moving vehicle is challenging. Since everyone is pressed together, you find yourself starting to depend on the person in front and behind you to keep your balance. The situation is way too hardcore to explain in words. Not to mention the danger the pick pockets and sexual assault that are threatening your way. Those who have been on Transjakarta bus during such hours must know what I'm talking about.

Busses from hell. That's what they are supposed to be named. Furthermore, the plan to build an MRT has been going on for a quite a time now. But come on, would you seriously ride an MRT that is constructed on a city that has a high ass tendency of being attacked by earthquake and flood? That thought just makes me shudder.