curhatnya • 6 ways to ace ujian nasional

Ujian Nasional. That mofo? Been there, aced that.

It was mostly luck, of course. Most students find the low-grade paper the answer sheet was printed on an epic awful disadvantage. Me being the cheap shit I am, actually gained an upper hand. It was easier doing the black dots in that cheap paper rather than on the sleek expensive one. Sorry not sorry to be one of those kids that doodles on recycled paper!

And I am also that lucky bastard that only study partially for a test, all in my underprepared glory, and only the chapters I read (or mostly remember, because I don't really do studying) came up.

So this tips & tricks are proli super dubious and all, but hey, I did not get the highest UN score in my school only by pure luck. Maybe. But maybe there's someone out there that's as lucky as I am, so here goes nothing!

1. Pay attention. Lots of it. 

I know that teachers are extremely boring in class. I get that. They drone on and on and on about a certain subject that you want to puke because of information overload. Especially on that mandatory extra classes after school where they crammed three years worth of studying into a session. Like, what the fuck. But it will actually do you good if you pay attention. 

I seem to recall a scientist theory about remembering something perfectly after you read it seven times (more or less? idk). So, if they repeat the chapter long enough, there's a good chance that the information will cling to your brain. If not read it, at least do hear it. I seem to recall that it's easier to learn by listening.

2. Those mock tests and exercise books? Do it. 

There's the UN try outs. There's this book called 'Bank Soal Ujian Nasional' or something similar. And there's your teacher handing a lot of exercises. Do answer them, it'll do a lot of good. Yes, it is boring. Yes, the questions are damn repetitive. But the repetitiveness of it will get you on the subject easier. Like Math, if you do it enough, you'll soon do the equations with ease. 

And the question roll in UN is pretty similar to the years before that. There will be certain chapters that always came up on the test. If your teacher is like super veteran in teaching, they will know EVERYTHING that will came up, so they will exercise those more. 

I recommend the book 'Detik-Detik Ujian Nasional' by Intan Pariwara, by the way. I never actually have one, but it was very popular among my peers last year. Plus, for the Social kids, do buy the book 'Menguasai IPS Sistem Kebut Semalam' by Muhammad Doddy AB & Sriyanto. SUPER. RAD. It has everything. The cover is super doubtful but it comes in pocket size and it's like having three years of studying in a book. Really.

3. Study group is actually useful. 

Well, only if you do study instead of fooling around, of course. Because you and your peers have different fortes. In my year, UN actually kinda strengthen the bonds between friends, because we help each other out. I don't get Math, I got help. Friends don't get Accounting, I helped. Everyone is happy. Everyone passed the test. 

We often rehearse stuffs in the morning of the test, quizzing each other and all that jazz. It jogs memories, and we will often recall things we talk about. So, yay? 

And if you already aced every subject and refuse to help other people, you won't need this guidance anyway, so go suck balls. Selfish arsehole.

4. Study hard. Pray harder. 

The part of studying hard? Me not so much. The part of praying hard? Um, not so much too. I've never been an avidly religious person and I do my interaction with God in much more familial way instead of reverently (yes I'm such an insolent ungrateful child) but I do pray about UN once or thrice. More like a desperate cries for help and guidance, but, yeah. My parents (and maybe brother & other family members) do most of the praying. 

But, do pray. Have faith. Just because we are bunch of selfish ungrateful human beings does not mean God will refuse our plea for help. He is very generous, from what I've experienced.

5. Double-check your shits.  

One of the mistakes students often do is not double-checking their answers. They just want it all to end quickly that they breeze through it. You have to be sure that you answer the test correctly (except when you really don't know the answer, then you have to be sure that the answer you choose is most likely the correct one; do the logic and all that shizbams). 

To err is human. We might unintentionally blacken the wrong answer, or the wrong number on the answer sheet. And it is really sucky to have the right answer on the wrong number. Also, in distress, we might interpret the question wrong, or do some misstep in the calculation. So double-check! You don't want to fail the test because of mundane mistakes like that.

6. The most important thing of all things that matter: SLEEP. 

Yes, sleep. No jokes. It's VERY important. I slept at least 7 hours/night around UN d-days. Forget all those late nights trying to stuff more shits into your brain, it may unable to digest it. If you do your strategy right, everything you have to know about UN, it'll be there. That's why try outs and those exercises are pretty important. You need to be well-rested for UN. It'll lessen the anxiety of actually doing the UN. 

It sucks being anxious while you're sleepy. You'll get real grumpy, and all those negative thoughts during UN is very dangerous. That's what drove people into suicide. Be happy! And sleep makes people happy, right?

In my own experience, UN is not that anxiety-inspiring. I think my school do too much try outs that UN just feels like another mock tests I got to endure. Too much exercise ripped the band-aid, maybe. They took the scare away. And it was very helpful to have the weathered teachers, because they are experienced, they know what they're doing, and they do it good.

So, yeah, that's my 6 Ways to Ace Ujian Nasional, WITHOUT CHEATING! :D

It is really unhelpful, isn't it? Sometimes something just works for certain people. Or maybe I just got lucky. Kbai! x

curhatnya • populorum progressio

Hullo, guys.

 

Today I'm gonna share to you a little habit of mine: I always ate something to the very last bit of it.

Siriusly.

You might see this as an odd thing, but really—seeing leftovers in restaurants, or bits of food abandoned and thrown away in the streets—they broke my heart a little bit. You might say that I'm a greedy person or a cheapskate for eating and savoring it to the very last drop, but for me, it’s odd to left your food when it’s not done eaten.

But, Dhik, I’m full, what should I do?

Well, my parents taught me to measure how much I can eat first, before blindingly taking everything to my heart’s desire. That mindset is ingrained in my head since I was a kid. Coming from the in-betweens—the not really wealthy but not poor too?—my family always told me to take it ‘secukupnya’ (English: fairly—a fair amount) so it fits my stomach’s need. Back in the day, they said something that intrigued me:

“The rice will cry if we do not eat them.”

It sounds kinda odd, isn’t it? Rice have no feelings, let alone tear glands.

Many kids in Indonesia are probably taught the same way—at least in my generation, some of we did. Because I generally hate making someone sad, I always tried to eat until my plate is really clean, without any trace of rice—I ate it until the last grain! My friends sometimes laugh at my almost OCD way of eating.

Growing up, I watch the telly, and then see the truths for myself with my very own eyes—I saw the less fortunate people struggling for shred of better life, I saw how steadfast they take it—and then I realized that what I’ve been taught as a kid is true, in it’s quirky way.

Tears dropped, about foods.

According to United Nations Environment Programme’s website, one in every seven people go to bed hungry, and more than 20.000 people die of hunger everyday, worldwide.

THAT’S A LOT OF PEOPLE.

I have 28 classmates at school—imagine them as a crude sample, then, every night four of them go to bed hungry. There are a lot of people all around the world—like, A LOT. Many of them is left hungry, waiting to succumb to malnutrition or something else because they lack of food. Because some irresponsible people wasted tonnes of food that probably can feed 900 million hungry people in the world.

It’s not the rice, or the other form of food, that cry, it’s the people that longing for them that dropped tears.

And did you know that wasted food contributes their own share in global warming? People condone industrial wastes for destroying the environment, but leftovers that rotting in landfills emits methane—one of the most dangerous GHG the Earth faces.

Eat smartly might take baby steps to do—with people’s habit and different lifestyles we lived, but every scrap of food we waste, someone in the other side of the world might be dying to have that. So count your blessings and share them.

Eat. Wisely.

Toodles!

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Title's translation: The Development of People; an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI.