Writing is to express who we are, what we are, and how we perceive the things around us. In a sense, writing is communicative by nature. It is through written utterances that our ideas get expressed and understood. The power of writing lies in the continuous shaping and reshaping of our thought patterns, which later enhance the cognitive maturity as seen in logically written products. It is through ceaseless practices - as behavioral psychologists call “habit formation,” that we eventually habituate ourselves to the communicative mode of writing. The behavioral component of practice plays a major role, not only to produce grammatically acceptable sentences, but to allow cognitive and metacognitive engagement to take place. The habit of thinking through written utterances leads to an expanding breadth and a increasing depth of our understanding related to the topic of interest.
In addition to leading to a more mature cognition, especially when writing is used as a tool for self-enhancement, it will also accelerate our self-development. It is noteworthy, however, that the term ‘self-development’ is not narrowly defined as merely instrumental, or for the purpose of obtaining financial gains. In a phenomenological sense, writing becomes a way of life in order to more fully grasp the reality. In this way, we learn to scrutinize our own thoughts, sensitize ourselves to others’ viewpoints, and restraint ourselves from being too judgmental. When writing becomes a way of life, the main goal to write is not merely to find faults on the part of certain villains, or to critique the harsh realities out there, and to end up finding scapegoats for many societal ills. Writing as a way of life means putting us as responsible authors into active players in the construction of realities.
Many seem to quickly agree that the ways our country is run by our bureaucrats are wrong. We are currently witnessing the facts that many behaviors of politicians are corrupt. The top leaders seem to be happy enough to engage in “image-seeking” actions. The recent case involving a courageous mother who reported an alleged cheating endorsed by the school authority during the final exam in East Java - who was later reported to be invited by President SBY - is seen by many to validate such an image-seeking syndrome. Whether President’s action can be categorized into such a syndrome remains debatable. Many cases, especially those related to public figures, are under spotlights. Blog-writing becomes increasingly popular to vent the feelings and voices of those having access to such a technology.
On the one hand, my writing experience in the most read blogging site Kompasiana in the past two years suggest that I should be wary of various claims from different groups. I become more conscious of a number of ideologies behind the writings. On the other hand, my own writing experience, coupled with my readings and reflections so far, lead me to view that the world realities are too complex to be categorized into a simple “either-or” dichotomy. Understanding the complexity does not necessarily make me overwhelmed. It even helps me to frame where I stand. Thus, instead of expressing my anger toward many problems, I become more focused on my inward-self - looking my own potentialities and limitations in order to assess what I can do to make this world more habitable.
I wouldn’t dare to change the world. My focus is to make myself better as a human being. My goal is to make a little difference on the people I meet. The world is too huge; its problems are too complex; and I am just a guy who happens to receive a privilege to study abroad. So, my contribution to my country will be in the form of a transformed self - somebody ready to work with for the greater goodness of others. I fully understand that people have different opinions on sensitive issues; and it is legitimate to embrace differences. I hope I become more comfortable with uncertainties as well, since nobody knows what our future looks like. And I’ll keep writing down my thoughts.
