A new phase

It has not dawned to me until the past couple of days that my sister is about to enter a new phase of life.

I’m not talking about her getting married. She is married. This is another phase of life I’m talking about: My sister is joining the workforce.

Yup. Yesterday she received a second call for interview from a law firm where she had sent her application. Based on the information my sister collected from her friends, she found out that getting a second call would mean that she got the job. And indeed, as she found out from the owner of the law firm himself, today, she did get the job.

To me and to my family, especially my parents, this is a big deal. We – my parents, mostly – have worried so much about the future of my sister. Of the two of us, my sister has become the child who raises much of my parents’ concern for almost all of her life. It’s not that she easily gets sick or anything. It’s just that we feel she’s so easy going about life, we fear that she would not take things in her life seriously. If you see my sister and me from my parents’ point of view, it will look like this: I’m the good person and she’s the bad one; I’m the one with the bright future, my sister’s future is hazy.

Of course, that’s an explanation too ferocious. The fact is, my sister turned out okay. She had gone to SMP and SMU Negeri (state junior and senior high school) which are considered favorite in my area, while we – her family – had worried that she would not be able to do so. In fact, she managed to be in the top three while she was in her second or third year during her senior high school years. That absolutely came as a surprise to us all; A nice surprise.

When it was time for her to enter the university, again the whole family was anxious. Through the period of studying for the SPMB (university entrance exam), my sister hadn’t managed to convince us that she was ready for it. Alhamdulillah, she passed the exam and got received at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Indonesia. That became another relief to us.

Through the course of time, I learn that my sister’s strength is in her perseverance to go through the ordeal. She may have made other people unconvinced with her nonchalant effort, but she consistently did all the practice or hard work needed and voìlá, she nailed the challenge. But of course, I believe that my parents’ prayer has played a big role too, to my sister’s success. There’s no way to deny it.

And today, as my sister got her first real job, one huge burden has been lifted off my parents’ shoulders, for sure. Let praise be to Allah.