Gossip.

An interesting statement found in the movie series Gossip Girl cover, “You’re nobody until you’re talked about.” Well, I have to say, be true at times. Perhaps this tagline is reflecting people today who are desperately seeking for attention from others. Let us be realistic, we are living in a world full of lies, fake promises, et cetera. A world where marketing is the science bullsh*t, and politics is the science of power abuse. I guess it is unnecessary for me to explain about bad gossips.

However, attracting attention from others when you have achieved from your own effort is something that you can be proud about. There are times too, when it would have a better use/purpose when you publish it. A good example of it -from observation- is how a friend of mine, Muhammad Assad, promotes himself through his blog muhammadassad.wordpress.com, and followed by a book that’s pretty booming now: Notes From Qatar.

In Assad’s blog, he wrote many things that would be beneficial for others to know. For example, the story of him getting his scholarship, how he “ended up” in Qatar, etc. Thus, seeking positive attention from people he knows would be motivating and rewarding. This may result in the power of word of mouth spreading the news of his success, both with his book and his life -and maybe female friends around him . He’s somebody because he’s talked about –in a good way.

Mr. President and Mr. Summa Cum Laude

President. Summa Cum Laude. Those are the two-dream title for every tertiary students studying in an American degree, if not everyone. Sadly, however, we have to choose between the two most of the time. It is understood that becoming a president in a student club/organization takes up a lot of time, effort, determination, confidence, and a proper strategy. Too bad though, determination, confidence, studying strategy, and studying time are the things needed for us to earn the title of Summa Cum Laude upon graduation too.

Some says organization/student club is a priority, and not a choice. Being a president of an organization, especially, is obviously something that we are proud of, and definitely useful for our career in future. By contributing in an organization/student club we do not talk about one or two people, but all of the stakeholders of that particular organization/student club. However, the dilemma comes about when the purpose of us studying abroad, or at least during these age is to study, and to satisfy what our parents. Academic excellence does not only act as the “window dresser” for our transcript, but also act as our foundation and basis of our common sense. Then, which one should we prioritize?

I disagree to a certain extent for saying that organization/student club distracts our academic performance. Not sure about other education system, but I truly believe by being involved in organizations/student clubs actually support my academic performance (especially in terms of presentation skills, stress management, and time management), and vice versa. While Interpersonal Communication 101 taught me how to communicate effectively to others, my involvement in organizations gave me the opportunity to practice and to implement the skills I have learned in class –and that is only one of the examples.

I have proved it; during the times when I was involved in two organizations with 2 mega-projects, my Grade Point Average was perfect 4.00. However, once my term in the organization was over, my presentation grades started to decline bit by bit. Ultimately, I got my first B in Business Communication, with my worst presentation grades I have ever received in my life.

I completely agree with the saying of “practice makes perfect”. In addition, people often talk about time-management and work-life balance, but it means nothing when we haven’t actually implement it ourselves. Therefore, from my own perspective, involvement in organizations has positive impacts on my academic performance. What if it does have a negative impact? Then it is the time for me to reflect and find a solution on how to improve in my time-management skills.

Order v. Chaos

Some argued that people are born barbaric. They are no different from animals, with logic to think logically, and heart to feel and be sensitive towards others. The other few who are naturally born with master morality, or the ubermensch as explained by Nietzsche, were the ones who set the rules and systems to control the behavior of the others.

As time goes by, these rules have set orders to human’s life – an evolution to civilized human beings. Humans have subconsciously implement the unwritten rules that their ancestors have established. More crimes have been done, resulting in more detailed and rigorous laws and regulations enacted to control people’s behavior.

This, however, has drawbacks. One of the biggest gift from God to human being is the ability to think creatively, critically, and the ability to change and improve. These established laws set by our ancestors -because it’s now overdone- somehow have negative effects on our creativity and the willingness to think outside-the-box.

A real-life example would be the creation of written textbooks, guidebooks, and law enforcements. One can find answers to any question in documents -somebody must have answered the same question before; especially with the rapid development of internet and online database. Those presence of “answering guidebooks” and “answering machines”, in a way, discouraged us to think on the solution to our problems/questions.

Thus, how are we going to overcome this? as we live in an increasingly complex world full of laws and regulations, we have to keep the spirit of creativity and continuous improvement. Creativity doesn’t mean that we have to be back to the pre-civilization period. Creativity can be sharpened through many applications available with the presence of internet nowadays, while still following the norms around us. As a saying goes, “There are 1000 ways to Rome.”