Life's a Struggle

Yesterday someone said to me,

"I would've never guessed you've been through what you have,
you carry yourself so well."

and that's when I realized, it's not what happens to you, it's how you handle it.

Ada Apa #18 | Apa Kabar?

Apa kabar?

Adalah pertanyaan yang selalu aku nantikan. Ini bukan tentang aku baik-baik saja, hariku selalu menyenangkan, atau balasan bagaimana denganmu. Namun, lebih dari itu.

Apa kabar?

Menurutku, dari satu pertanyaan saja, bisa menjadi pintu untuk rangkaian kisah yang menunggu untuk ditutur, rindu yang ditahan sejak entah kapan, atau sesederhana memang ingin bercengkerama walau sebentar.

Apa kabar?

Adakah yang sedang kau tunggu? Atau terlalu banyak hal yang terpendam? Erat dalam pikiran, tetapi sulit untuk diungkapkan? Mungkin banyak sungkan sehingga jujur dan mengaku menjelma susah.

Apa kabar?

Siapa tak suka diingat? Ini bukan cuma perasaan. Ingatan adalah anugerah yang indah. Dengan mengingat, kita tahu bahwa kita pernah melewati sesuatu, berproses, dan menjadi yang sekarang.

Apa kabar?

Pertanyaan memang tidak selalu berbuah jawaban. Ada yang sibuk mengalir, ada pula yang melawan arus, atau memilih untuk diam, kemudian lenyap. Yang kutahu pasti, kita tidak sendirian, tidak pernah sendirian.

Apa kabar?

Life's a Water with Colors

Have I told you that I used to paint with watercolor when I was a kid?

The lovely Farhah

Thank God for Farhah, a very lovely companion of mine from college, we met on August 31st for a watercolor session. She's always been sweet, the type of friend who will give you endless support, no matter if there'll be a tornado hitting you, she'll be there beside you. We started with lunch at my favorite restaurant, Bumbu Pekalongan (their Megono Pincuk and Cumi Item are to die for!), then we headed to the newly opened Starbucks near our campus.

Candid by Farhah

I got frantic at first! I even forgot how to use a paintbrush properly, oh, I actually broke mine (oops). Well, again, Farhah saved me with her paintbrush set. We looked for inspirations on the internet because our surroundings were not supported much (still got a lot of mess everywhere, really a brand new building). Farhah committed to paint a landscape with lake, while I wanted to paint a floral pattern (like always).

But first, selfie!

I felt so good to play with colors, choosing the right one to match with each other, creating shapes, contemplating what we paint, it was therapeutic. Oh, pro tip, wet on wet is an ideal way to paint for a sloppy person like me! I love how easy it is, but it will turn out beautiful! I feel like a pro already when I do it, I'm sure you'll too.

Me and my artwork

Farhah have reminded me to always use watercolor paper to paint with watercolor (like, duh?), but in case you don't know it, right? Unless you want the result to be crumbly, then go on, just use regular paper. There are lots of tutorials on the internet (Thanks to YouTube!) for a watercolor beginner, it will help you a lot when you wanna start to paint. Just like what Ditut and Pinot always said, it's not about the tools and everything fancy, but the willingness to learn, that's what.

Flowers here and there

So, have you painted your life?