My earliest childhood memory was when I was in pre-school. I was a very shy kid. In my pre-school there were different stations that had different things to do at them. When it was station time we were able to go to one of the stations and do whatever was at that particular station, and one of the stations was the painting station. I always wanted to go to the painting station but I was too shy. I would just sit on the carpet and when one of the teachers came over and asked if I wanted to go to the painting station I wouldn’t say yes even though I wanted to. Actually, I wouldn't speak at all. ​

​​When I first joined my new school in Indonesia as a first grader, I was friendless and wanted to be 'popular'. There was this group of girls who had named themselves 'The Bubblegum Gang’, and would number each other. It started from Bubblegum #1, who was the leader of the group, and eventually ended with me, Bubblegum #7. I loved everything that was pink and glittery, and most of all, my precious Barbie doll collection. Yet, The Bubblegum Gang had differing opinions and hated all the girly things I was into. When the leader found out about my Barbie doll collection, she and the rest of the group forced me to cut all of the dolls' heads. I did as I was told because I wanted to fit in with them so that they would like me and keep me in the group. The leader eventually left the school and The Bubblegum Gang broke up almost immediately. We still bonded through Bubblegum #1 long after she left with something we all had in common: our shared hatred for her. We would talk about how rude and mean she was to us, and how stupid we were to do everything she told us to do just because we were to afraid to speak up and didn't want to risk getting kicked out of the gang. No one was happy being forced to do things they didn’t like or pretending to be someone they weren't, even if it meant being part of a big group of 'friends.'

My family has many Christmas traditions. We put up and decorate the Christmas tree with family. We also bake some sweet food such as cake or bread. We eat a lot of food like beef, ham and cheese. We eat it on Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas Day we celebrate by going somewhere such as home country and some other countries for trip.

 
Take your time, don’t be afraid to get in tune with your emotions, and don’t blame yourself if people cut you out. Throughout my childhood, I always strived to find myself. I was always teased for being overemotional. Overtime, I began to blame myself for the way I was; I couldn’t find my comfort zone. That was, until a very good friend of mine got into a drastic situation. She was a very rational person and had a hard time compromising with it. At that time, I was merely acquaintances with her, but I still offered to help her. Within a few months, we resolved the issue together, and became best friends. If I were to be honest, at some points throughout that process, I almost gave up and left her. However, I didn't and not only did it make me realize that empathy is a choice, but not everyone is willing to stick to the end. From then on, I began to accept that I’m in-tune with my emotions and shouldn't be ashamed about it. Some people are a bit skeptical and might cut me out unexpectedly, but we all need that one friend that's an emotional wreck. I mean, who knows? You might learn a thing or two