The reason why there are 26 alphabets that we know is that so we can have 1 main plan and 25 other backup plans in our life.
A: I wanted to be an architect or an interior designer when I was a kid because I love playing the Sims.
B: Okay, the plan changed. I could not even draw a straight line even using a ruler, so how could I become an architect and draw buildings? Probably worked in the health field because I was pretty good with biology, but not with math and physics. I was thinking, in pharmacy? Or food technology? But what I knew for sure was I wanted to go to Universitas Gadjah Mada.
C: The plan changed again! I applied to Nutriion program, Universitas Airlangga eventually, did not make it to Gadjah Mada.
D: I wanted to become a clinical nutritionist in a private hospital.
E: No, no. I wanted to study abroad, I wanted to continue my study abroad and learn more about Nutrition and Genetics. Or microbiology? Because I wrote an impressive review about the microbiome.
F: Oops, who the hell thought I would become a sports nutritionist in 2020?
G: Okay, a sports nutritionist and a nutrition writer, about anything but I needed to be consistent.
H: Okay then, skip the nutrition and genetics part. I’d become a sports nutrition and microbiome researcher in the future! Applied to Yonsei University, South Korea.
I: Oops, Yonsei was a bad idea. I did not make it. Hmm, what else should I go for? Oh right, nutrition educator and health promotion officer! Applied to Australia Awards Scholarship, focusing on nutrition education in the University of Queensland.
J: Okay, another turned down. Can I go back to my plan B where I have always wanted to study in Gadjah Mada? Applied to Master of Public Health in Universitas Gadjah Mada with WHO TDR Scholarship.
K: Just when I thought I had figured things out. But no, I still had those disoriented moments when I questioned what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to write about my experiences in health, research projects, or any disparities that I found during the projects but where could I contribute? I wanted to be a lecturer but where could I start to learn to teach?
L: So I found a place to teach something basic but something I’m good at. I found joy but also some madness. Is this something that I wanted to do, actually? It was like I was ripping my mind off when doing it. Is this what my teachers and lecturers feel when they teach their students?
M: I want to work as a researcher in public health. I like doing it, reading journals, coming up with ideas and trying to formulate them systematically, putting them in a research proposal, having discussions, and almost forgetting to write the ideas down.
See? There are 13 plans already and I still have 13 more alphabets for my backup plans. Hey, backup is good, right?
Backup plans are good, trying to figure things out is good, and not knowing exactly what you actually want to do in your 25 is also good. What’s not good is, when you’re not doing anything to figure things out, or you’re just counting your age and stating that I gotta be so smart, so rich, or I have to be like ‘this perfect’ when I reach 30.
