Accomplishing my second and third degree in a row ...

There was a sudden driving force inside my heart to continue my study in English Education right after I graduated in 2022. The battle in that year and the following year is totally clear in my mind. The time that I spent searching for a university and a scholarship to continue my study. The time to think about what is a better thing to choose and do. The time to work at a school to earn my own money. Then, there was an announcement sent from my parents of a scholarship to pursue teacher professional education; the scholarship was funded by Kemendikbud. I did not think twice about registering my name and followed all of the requirements needed, including writing a lot of essays about my life, my work, and my experience in education. It was a really great memory to remember actually, not mentioning the hard work of opening my laptop all night in a week after a day of working to keep writing an essay :D. Besides, in the same month, I registered myself as a master student at UNILA as well. At that time, I only thought that this life was just like water; let it bring you everywhere, and all you had to do was try and make an effort.

Administration things, tests, and interviews passed by, and firstly, I was accepted as a masters student and began my study in August 2022. Then suddenly, I was in a mid-term era, busy with the paper load, thinking about what kind of journals I had to publish and what topic of research I had to conduct. This was my veryyyy freshman year, and now I realize that master's degree went very fast, clear and concise. My advice, make sure you are willing to continue your study, know your priorities, and know how to manage time because you will deal with a lot of paper, presentation, and discussion. Not long after my midterm was finished, the final selection of a professional education scholarship was announced. Then, Subhanallah, I got accepted to continue my professional education at UNILA as well, and the class began right away in October. I thought I was going to furlough my master degree for a year and focus on my professional degree first, but Allah showed me that I was capable in doing both at the same time and at the same place. It happened for a year—a year of thinking and working a lot until I did not have time for yourself. However, I am so grateful for the experience that I have, and truly, Allah knows what is best for His servant.

There were many golden memories and meaningful experiences that changed myself, my routine, my hobby, my focus in life, and my value. The experience i never thought that i could done it. The experience helped me develop myself. I met precious people who gave me another perspective of life. I talked with wonderful lecturers about the reality of Indonesian Education. I discussed with my smart yet sooo weird friends about our future, life, food, and how we are going to deal with it :D. I worked with a very dedicated and responsible person in life. I thanked Allah for the people that I met in my study. My lecturers are soooo good. They are smart, sincere, humble, and modest. I learn from their modesty in life. How can smart and rich people, because of their brains, maintain a low profile in life? It's because of their mindset that what they have is temporary. Another thing is that I developed a healthy way of living in my life. I started to exercise more and consume healthy food. 

Believing that with every difficulty, there is ease. I enjoyed every moment; my work, my study, my teacher training, my class, my day from 6 am to 6 pm and then working in my laptop from 7 pm to 10/11 pm. It could be worse actually, like 12 pm or 1 am. That is life, life is always about studying and trying. After you have learned something, you will get something. There is no effort that was wasted. I finished my professional education at the end of 2023 and became certified professionally as a teacher in December. Welcoming the new year of 2024, I followed up on my thesis exam and was able to conduct it at the end of January, while at the same time, I managed to work on my project at school and teach, but it was not a thing that made me surrender. The project was quite big and took a long time to run, so I decided to focus on that first. Thinking about myself and my health, I determined to resign from my work so I can focus on finishing my study in March and graduate as soon as possible before moving on. 

It was such a productive yet hectic day at that time, working and pursuing my double degree at the same time. I could not believe that I had passed the days of struggle, but it was an extraordinary experience that changed myself a lot in life. Facing exams has become a habitual thing in my life. Be aware and try your best is the answer, because overthinking and overreacting are not solutions. The bonus from my hard work while pursuing my studies is that I was accepted as a civil servant in Palembang. New journey unlocked <3. I can not wait to move forward, adventure awaits... 

 

//May Allah grant us blessings and guidance in every journey of life that we undertake and strive for// 

the happiest woman,

Faras Seruni, M.Pd., Gr.

former college student of UNILA