Memories in the Pittsburgh Incline

One night, after shalatul maghrib, my eyes look on the file of the American program I followed last year. I remember the days when I visited Pittsburgh, city of bridges.

While on the Pittsburgh incline, I saw the city from above as a whole; a spectacular panorama. Sturdy skyscrapers, bridges and the rivers. According to USA Today Weekend Magazine, the incline is one of the "10 most beautiful views in America."

At the time, over there I made the video "man jadda wajada", which means whoever is serious then surely he can. I remember, I used to hate English, but when I got rid of feeling lazy, ashamed, and hated, I finally got a "new world" that was previously unimaginable.

The experiences is like a "whole new world" lyrics of Aladdin 2019 movie:

A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew

I was sitting alone in the Wyndham University of Pittsburgh room. Outside the glass, I see a tall building. A field unfolds before the eyes. Over there the building is the Cathedral of Learning, a tall building like the Harry Potter campus.

At the time, i ask to my soul, "how did I get to America?" When I lived on the edge of the Tobelo seaside, I never imagined I could go to America, except I only knew the names of some of the great figures like General McArthur, who was a hero in the Second World War.

In Pittsburgh I also remembered the late Professor Achmad Fedyani Saifuddin, my late supervisor at UI who was very humble and gave me his book- sent from Jakarta to Ternate. I was also given the opportunity to be a speaker at UI to speech a critical study for Professor Nils Bubandt's book from Denmark. I hope that at least there can be a good trail from him.

When I opened the Pittsburgh file I realized an important thing: "opportunities are always there for those who try." So, the biggest problem in life is not lack of opportunity, but lack of effort.

You must to remind that great opportunities don't come everyday. You must to recognize and seize them as best as you can.

You must try and try. If you don't try, you forfeit the opportunity.

If you try hard, then opportunities will slowly come near to you. But if you're lazy, opportunities also just stay in place.

In Pittsburgh I came to understand. That the secret of life lies in effort and hard work. So, keep your spirits up and work hard.

YANUARDI SYUKUR, President of Rumah Produktif Indonesia, Assistant Professor at Department of Anthropology Universitas Khairun, Ternate and PhD candidate at Department of Antropologi UI.

Photo: @Pittsburgh, 2019