Choices

“Learning what to choose, and how to choose, may be the most important education you will ever receive.” -Dr. Shad Helmstetter, Choices. 

Our life is filled with choices. Every step that we take will require a decision making. I can guarantee that every single day, we will face at least one choice. To decide to get out of bed in the morning is a choice. To choose to shower that day is also a choice. However, not all decisions are easy to make. We may face challenges that require wisdom before we decide. Dr. Shad Helmstetter also said, “Whatever you choose, you might as well enjoy it. It is your choice.”

One example that I am about to point out is quite sensitive. I ask that you please bear with me. The toughest choice that some teenagers have to face is in the subject of abortion. Premarital sex causes problems when one becomes pregnant unexpectedly. Panic and confusion will occur in these situations. The couple would not have the right mind to think this through. All they think about is how to solve the problem now to save their reputations. However, does this choice really give the solution to the problem? Doesn't it cause more problems, such as guilt, remorse, and shame? These kinds of situations call for wisdom to choose.

I was just hearing a song called "Lucy" by a band named Skillet. At first, I thought this song was a typical "missing you/rest in peace" song. I didn't pay much attention to it in my iPod. While I was browsing Skillet in Wikipedia, I found out that "Lucy" was one of their singles in their newest album. There was an additional note in the body page which tells of what the song actually means. The lead singer, John Cooper, said this:

"It is based on a true story. And that story is this: it's about a young couple who find out that they're pregnant. They are in high school, they are not married, and they are absolutely scared to death of the implications — what happens when people find out, and then how to take care of this baby. They don't know what to do. Very frightened. And basically the only option that they think that they have just to get rid of this problem was to terminate the pregnancy. And so they did that. They had the procedure done. And, of course, being young and naive, they thought that all their problems were over, everything was going to be better now, nobody had to find out.

But then over the next few months, something happened to them that happens to a lot of people, which is the fact that they began to feel this immense pain and guilt and sorrow and loneliness over what had happened with the baby. Couldn't get over it. So they finally decided to go see a counsellor. And this counsellor basically suggested for them to stop thinking of it like a medical procedure, and to begin to think of this like a death in the family in order to get over it.

And so this couple goes home, and they decide to do three things. Number one, they decide to hold a small funeral service for the child. Number two, they bought a little headstone as a reminder. It said, "In memory of" — you know, the baby and whatnot. And number three, they decided to name the baby in order to get some closure. And they decided to call her Lucy.

So it's a sad song, but it's also about second chances. It's about talking about an issue that is effecting literally thousands of people all across the world. More of these stories are coming out of people saying, "Had I know that grief that would ensue after having this procedure done, I might have thought twice about it." And so it's meant to bring hope to people. Meant to bring a peace to people. And basically the love of God. All these things are hard, and they effect you, and they're real, but there's a God who loves you and is there for you."

You can check out the lyrics of "Lucy" here. It's very touching and sad. The choice the young couple made had utterly left a huge scar in their lives. They regretted being impatient with sex and even more regretful when deciding on abortion. But they have to live on anyway. However, how happier can their life be if only they had made the right choice...


We cannot change what we had chosen in the past. That is why we have to choose carefully in life. Our decisions will determine the kind of future we have. I just pray that we all could gain the wisdom to decide life's choices when facing difficult situations. Please, dear readers... I beg you... Make the right choices. The world depends on you. Choose to live wisely.




My prayers be with you,
Justin

The Seasons

"The life of man is like the seasons of the year: each with its peculiar beauty. . . " -Hobart Huson, The Pythagoron

 Life has four phases, just like a year has four seasons. This might be different if you're living in a tropical country, but please do help cooperate with me =)  The four seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn/fall, and winter) are representations of life's various events.

In "spring", we begin our year with great joy. The plants are growing in colorful patterns and everything seems to begin growing. We make our resolutions and eagerly focus on pursuing it. We get very hyped in this new beginning.

In "summer", life begins to get better and better. The sun is up and it's time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Holidays arrive and we relax ourselves as though we are in the peak of our lives. No worries about work or problems. Just enjoying the moment while it lasts...

In "fall", the leaves start to fall off. New challenges and situations come our way. Our responsibility becomes a burden, our friends may desert us, mishaps may occur... It seems like things are falling apart!

Winter... Everything is dead. All buried in whiteness. What is there left for us... Life has no meaning. Everything is lost. Life is nothing but cold hell. This marks the lowest point in living. But is this really the end?

NO! Always remember that there is always another season waiting for us! Spring is just around the corner. It's a new hope! Another chance to start afresh and begin with great joy again!

Life seems like a never-ending cycle of ups and downs. This may seem boring to people, but that's just the way life works. However, life is not about the number of times we rise and fall. It is about how far can we reach when rising up again. Does it supersede the previous rise? "The higher we rise, the harder we fall," as some people say. How far can we bounce back after that? If we only focus on the quantity of success and failure, then life WILL be boring. But if we see the quality of those two, then we will keep growing in life without any chance of boredom.

I know that my life in this earth has not been extensive. Nevertheless, I have experienced quite a lot throughout these 17 years as a human. There are times when I am doing very well in my character, but there are also times when I began to divert and look away from those values. The same thing happens over and over again. When i get distracted, I get a lecture from my parents or mentors and I finally revert my focus again. Looking back, I can see how much I have grown from a child, to a preteen, and a teenager. There are some things I regret, of course. But this is a sign of growing up.

Proverbs 9:6 says, "Leave your childish ways and you will live. Walk in the way that leads to understanding." If I keep seeing life as an endless cycle, then I would have just stayed as a child all my life. Therefore, life is not a cycle. It's a road where we will encounter similar problems and face similar issues. We can rise, we can fall, and we can revive. My question is: How will we live the seasons of our lives?

Thank you for reading,
Justin

My Current Fear

I have mentioned in my earlier entry that I have finally graduated high school. That phase of life is now over for me, and I have reached the end of that journey. However, I am now in the transitional period of high school life to university life. It's summer break right now. I have been spending my time with my siblings, parents, close friends, and relatives. I realize that I may not be able to do these things again in university life. This is but one of my fears of the future.

I have been told by many university students how high school life doesn't even compare to university. Some say they have less time to play due to the tight schedules and difficult projects, but others say they have more freedom in college than in high school. Honestly, my time schedule is a wreck. It's so hard for me to keep track of time, let alone follow the schedule I have made. I usually use the excuse that "I'm more of a spontaneous type of guy". I realize now how much time planning would matter in university, especially when I'm planning to take a side job. I'm just afraid of being stressed out of having no time to do things...

Leaving my family in Indonesia to study overseas is quite hard to accept. I realize how much my parents and sisters had helped me through my senior year. Without them, I would have never passed the semester Cum Laude (with honors). They lectured me when I do wrong. Sometimes, I would look the other way and wouldn't accept it. However, they're still patient with me and kept on pushing until I finally had to humble myself and repent. I had my family to help me overcome my problems as a teenager. I had my family to talk to when I needed help. Other than my brother, where can I go (in Canada) when I need sage advice concerning my situation?

Finally, I couldn't bear the fact that I will be separating with my fellow graduates. I remembered the first time we had a class together. It was Tuesday during Accounting and Economics class. With all the rowdiness and jokes, I became uncomfortable sitting in class (please note that my class in the previous year was not even close to being noisy like my senior class). As time passes by, I grew accustomed to the class and even enthusiastically participated in their various shenanigans. It was through these hyper acts that we performed that memories are formed. I remember all the fun memories we had. Roselyn the pagan, Rivan and his sleeping (disorder?), Jessica and Dhiandro's matchmaking, David the Lots-o Huggin Bear, OTW Bandung trip, junk food deliveries, senior/graduates devotion, watching the two last episodes of Lord of the Rings using a projector in our classroom, making so much "creative compositions" in Bahasa Indonesia class, and especially the Komodo Island trip. I never had a class like this before. My greatest fear is that my university class would not compare to my amazing senior class. I had the best memories as a high schooler this past school year. What would I do without them...

Despite all my worries and fears, I know that my life is in His hands. I could not go on living if it is not for God. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper and not harm you; to give you hope and a future." God is in control. If I have a memorable past, then I believe that He has a much greater future for me ahead. Haggai 2:9 quotes: "'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former (past),' says the Lord of hosts, 'and in this place I will give peace...'" I have faith in God that my future will be a much brighter chain of events than the events that had already happened. However, I cannot let God do this if I keep looking to nostalgia. I just have to make the best of the present and prepare myself for the future. I just have to never cease praying for God's protection and guidance for me as I take each step on the way to my next phase of life...



Thank you for your time,
Justin

An Introduction

Hello, everyone! Let me just start off with my name. I'm Justin Tjoandi. Born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia for 17 years. I am the last child of four: two older sisters and one older brother. From kindergarten to the third grade, I was home-schooled by my parents. In the fourth grade, I entered Morning Star Academy in Kuningan, where my mother becomes one of the principals. Presently, I had just graduated high school and applied for York University in Toronto, Ontario.

My passion for music, sports, and writing is quite extensive.....

I started playing the drums by the age of 5; however, I didn't have any proper training. Not long after that, my interest in drums faded. By the time I reached Junior High School (a.k.a PUBERTY), I re-developed a desire to be able to play drums. My mother decided that I should focus on that instrument. She placed me in a drum ECA in school. It was not until the 9th grade that I was allowed to play in morning devotions and sunday school at church. My brother was also a drummer. He plays for the church service, youth services, and also morning devotions. I think I was quite jealous about that back then, which is why I agreed to take drums too.

Being in the music team helped me notice other instruments as well. I decided to take up the bass guitar (initially because I thought it was easy and that a slight mistake can't be heard clearly on stage. Boy, was I wrong...) By the second semester of 10th grade, I obtained my first bass. I was autodidact all the way, learning by experimentations and watching other bass players play. At that time, my main musical interest are Hillsong's songs. My fellow musician friends encouraged me to look more into other genres and bands. The first genre I moved to out of Christian rock is metal. That is where my interest in the guitars developed.

Unlike most bass players, I knew how to play the guitar AFTER I took up the bass. By the first semester of 11th grade, I learned how to play the acoustic and electric guitar simultaneously. I discovered my dad's 20 year old acoustic guitar and began dusting it off and re-stringing. I practiced the electric guitar by borrowing one of my friend's guitar. My grandfather must have felt sorry for me, so he bought me a nice electric guitar in the beginning of the first semester of my senior year. My mom saw the passion I have in guitar and encouraged me to pursue it by putting me in a private guitar lesson with one of the church's guitarists. Throughout the rest of the year, I attended both guitar and drum lessons.

For sports, my supposedly main goal was basketball. However, an incident happened when I was 12 that made me change my mind. I was in one of the competitions and one of the opponents tackled me down and I had a sprained arm for a week or two. Because of that, my parents didn't let me continue. So I decided to take something with less body contact. That is why I ended up playing badminton. I have taken classes for 3 years and had been in a number of competitions (both for the school and for the club).
I had also taken an interest in soccer/futsal recently. The South Africa World Cup fever and the AFF Cup hype got me, and I've been playing futsal ever since.

Finally, I love to write. In elementary, we used to have journals and writing assignments describing a particular random subject. I have grown to love those assignments, and I brought it to high school. However, the journal assignments changed to be more specific and rhetorical. Don't get me wrong, I still do love writing those "hard" assignments more than I like doing calculations and formulas, but I just love writing about random things. This is the reason why I created a blog...

When Facebook had a new feature called "Notes", I took advantage of it to post my personal experiences there. I wrote about my first experience in a badminton competition in Sekolah Pelita Harapan Cup (SPH Cup) to the slightest detail. I had many compliments about my writing. Then, I used Facebook "Notes" to just express my thoughts. I entitled it "In My Mind...(number)"

My main goals in writing these blog entries is simply to express my opinions openly, record my memories of experiences, and glorify the One and Only God in the process. May God help me find the right words to say as I begin my blog. Thank you for taking your time in reading this...


God bless you always and forever,
Justin Tjoandi