image source: greepx.com

Some months ago, a close friend of mine, Iis Setiani, promoted SK II Facial Treatment Essence (FTE) to me. Actually, she had done it many times but only this time did she succeed (talking about persistence, SK II Indonesia should hire her as their influencer *wink 😊). When I argued that the low-priced skincare products are enough for me (and deep down assumed that the effect on my skin isn't significantly inferior to the expensive ones), she convincingly said that the reason she loves this essence dearly was no other than it has improved her skin condition greatly. 

“Is, but you know, it is pricey,” me trying to pull myself together to protect my money *yes I wrote the important word in bold letters *insert cries in broke meme

“But, Mbak, pretty and healthy skin is also an investment,” the SK II admirer didn’t even bother to directly address my concern regarding the price. Instead, she said I should consider it as an investment—an investment in myself. 

 

That exact moment, everyone, I know that a magic spell has been spoken :p. While the SK II one costs me eight times compared to my previous essence (how expensive is that!), I realized that I should invest what I got from working day-to-day back to me. It hit me hard how stingy I am to myself when in fact I can afford it. It is completely reasonable to treat myself to something high-priced as long as it is worth every penny of it. So here I am joining the Pitera (the main ingredient of SK II FTE) circle. Hope in the next 10 years I can do the #MyPITERAstory challenge with a face that looks much younger compared to my actual age *praying *aamiin.

 

(In addition, who knows with a pretty skin (let’s just say it this way :p), someone with the quality like Freddie Highmore will look at me *iim, you know the possibility that that possibility becomes possible is 0. Now go search for your missing sanity. LoL.)

 

Fortunately, my sanity is found. It's time to be serious *clear my throat *grab the microphone. The reason I want to write about this topic is that a couple of weeks ago, another close friend consulted with me about her kid’s school choice. She had to choose which school should she send her little one to, with a significant gap in tuition fees between the two. I asked her which one she preferred (by the way she mentioned each school I already knew but I need to confirm it) and she pointed to the expensive one. So I told her to proceed to do it. She’ll find a way to pay for it, I believe.

 

Talking about investments, while I need to think too many times to invest for my skin, there is one kind that I wouldn’t need to think twice to do as long as I can pay for it: education. I remember back then in senior high school, I saved my pocket money to buy books and join courses. Since I wanted to study international relations, I bought a lot of books related to it even though they didn’t fit my budget at that time. I also took an English course to fully equip myself to be a future international relations student. Indeed they made me broke but I would just let myself be broke as long as it is to make me a better person (that’s what an education is for, right?).

 

If someone asks where this mentality of mine began, I have to give the biggest credit to my mom. When I was in junior high school, I was doubtful to ask her to register me for an English course, because living in a small village where people didn’t really pay attention to education, English course was just a luxury I didn’t know whether it could be a priority. Besides, I didn’t want to create an additional burden for my family. However, tried my luck, I told her that I want to study English seriously. What came after really shocked me.

 

“Just register yourself, Nduk (how Javanese people call their daughters). As long as it is for education, we would try our best to support you,” Mom gave me a reassuring smile.

 

My mind instantly went blank. I only anticipated rejection but she said otherwise. The same cases repeated when I stated that I want to study in the best (which happened to be the most expensive one too) senior high school in the region and the Gadjah Mada University’s International Relations program (which was also relatively expensive). My mom nodded and promised she would try everything to let me get the best education.

even though the circumstances made me have to say goodbye to this dream program, I am still thankful.

I told her that having parents who will do their best to support my education is something I would always be extremely thankful for. That’s why I wish she would do the same for her daughter. I also uttered that when I have a child later, I want to be like my mom who constantly said “Don’t worry. We can do it. We will try to cover the cost,” when I mentioned my education plan. It gave me the courage to move forward no matter how fearful I was. That's why, if my future kid wants it, inshaAllah I will try my best even if it would cost me a fortune. Because I believe, investing in oneself through education is the most powerful investment a person could ever make. Because the best investment you can make is in yourself.

 

At the end of our conversation, she nodded with a less worried face. She agreed that she should try her best for her kid. Seeing her reaction, I smiled with tears sitting in the corner of my eyes. The memory of me struggling to turn my education plan into reality, I am just so thankful to the old me. The memory of my parents didn't tell me how hard it was for them to accommodate my request, I am beyond lucky to have them. Alhamdulillah. 

 

Love, 

iim

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후회 없는 삶들. 가난했던 추억 난 행복했다 

(Life with no regret. Memories when being poor, I was happy) - Hopefully Sky, Jung Eunji