- Aug 5, 2024
- 2 min read
That spring tasted a bit bitter for me. Back then I was in Kyoto, and in April I was trying to enter a University. I was just starting to live in this old historic town.
When I visited my university during my first week to study there, I met a certain girl on campus. She was a person who had been a girl friend of my childhood friend. Before I moved to Kyoto, I had met that childhood friend in my hometown. Then I was told by him, “you would be able to meet my girlfriend in Kyoto.” That meant she entered the same university as me. I didn’t think about it deeply at the time.
I had been sentimental in Kyoto because this town was my first town where I left my home. That was my first experience living alone. My room was very small and I didn’t make friends yet. In such a situation, I met my childhood friend’s girlfriend. And when I met her for the first time, I thought:
“She is lovely.”
It could be that she was pure, but It might be that it was just my imagination. I don’t know if she was really pure or not. Because I was young, I must have not been sure what kind of person she was. But I thought she was pure.
Kyoto is called “students’ town.” There are many universities in Kyoto. That’s why many students are living in this town and you can see many young people walking there. That means there are many young couples and you always see them everywhere. Because I was young, I admired such figures.
I could not have a nice conversation with her, who had been my childhood’s friend. Let’s call her “Yuka” here. Yuka was a girl who had been loved deeply and raised by her parents. So I think she was sometimes selfish or childish. And also I was sometimes childish because I was the same as her.
Honestly, at the time, I fell in love with her. I’m not sure how she was thinking about me. There is a word “in love with love.” I was in such a situation those days, because I had read many romantic novels. And I could not communicate with her well, so I wrote to her. However, my letter could not express my feelings well. I mean, my letter became selfish too.
She got angry when she read my letter. Maybe, I could not understand her feelings and I could not understand what kind of creature woman is. Although, I wrote my letter to her with my selfish feelings. That was wrong.
As a result, before a month passed since our first meeting, our relationship was broken. It was quick. I had a broken heart. After that, she tried to contact me, but I didn’t respond. I’m not sure the reason why. It might be that my heart left her already at the time. This is my memory of youth.
- Jul 28, 2024
- 1 min read
Because of my penpals’ associates, I have my panel exhibition now here in Japan. This exhibition is held in the building of the railway station in Gifu, Japan. For this project, I made 11 panels with pictures and writings from my overseas penpals. I appreciate it. They provided me with their pictures and letters a lot. Now, many visitors are coming to the venue, so they are very interested in my friends’ countries. Thank you, my overseas penpals. This is evidence from our friendships.
- Jun 28, 2024
- 1 min read
Rekah
By Dwianto
Wrapped tightly in shackles.
Crawling on the ground, full of limitations.
The world feels dark, colorless.
The soul is confined, full of doubts.
Yet within, lies potential.
A hidden power, waiting to be unleashed.
Like a flower bud, ready to blossom.
The butterfly awaits, the time to change.
The process of transformation, full of struggle.
Breaking free from the shackles.
Breaking through obstacles, full of pain.
Towards the light, reaching for hidden dreams.
Until the time comes, beautiful wings unfold.
Learn from the butterfly.
that we are capable of transformation.
Discard doubts, face fears.
Step forward, achieve your dreams.
Like a caterpillar that transforms into a butterfly.
Let go of the shackles of the past, welcome the future.
Fly high, reach your dreams with confidence.
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My Indonesian friend sent me this poetry this week. Yes, I understand his feelings that he discribed in this sentences. Everybody is struggling with something when they are younger like this way. However everybody has possibility to be a butterfly like this in the future. So you should not give up becoming your own butterfly. Because life can be beautiful for everyone.