18 Years Old

Exactly at the end of January I always have to admit that I'm one year older than before. A question always pops out from my friends:

"Where will you celebrate it?"

Frankly, I feel sorry for them, it's a clear sign that they still don't get it. Why do we have to celebrate our birthday? I mean, if you're getting older, isn't that mean you'll be one step closer to your death? Isn't it too obvious? God, If I could I wished that I will never aging, just like Peterpan...

Just from the label you know that I'm 18 years old now. I was born in a small town near (not so near, actually) the southern shore named Pelaihari. I wasn't born in a hospital, just inside a small, fragile, old house which belong to my granny. My parent still don't have their own house at that moment. I was born premature, 8 months and 2 weeks with my weight about 2.3 kilograms. The day was Thursday, I took my first breath at 6 PM. Do you think my birth time is cool, huh?! Thursday at 6 PM, at the beginning of Friday knight. I am proud with this fact.

I grew up a little different from another kids. I spent most of my time lying on the bed, because I was very prone of getting sick. If I recall, I always meet with dr. Suryadi Anang every month, at least 2 times in order to find the right medicine to cure my tonsillitis. The worst of all happen when I was 2 years old. After a blood test in the laboratory, a doctor (I forget his name) told my parent that I was suffering from leuchemia. Couldn't agree with the doctor, they brought me to another laboratory, hopefully the result would be different, and fortunately it was. The doctor said I wasn't suffering from leuchemia. It's just a complication of various disease.

My granny told me, someday my parent took me at 3 AM to Banjarmasin because my body temperature rose greatly. My father, because he was so sleepy, forced to eat coffee powder because there were no hot water at that time, and even at one point, he had to stolen some herbal leaves from other people's house. I was amazed with that story. Even my father in his daily live is so strict to me, the story proves his unbearable love for his son.

I was raised mostly by my great grandmother and my great grandfather (the parent of my grandmother) because my parent was too busy with their shop. They are still alive until now with their age almost 100 years old. I am honest, they are my inspiration why I want to become a doctor. I wish someday I'll be able to cure them with my own hand, to show my appreciation for their endless love to me.
We slept in my great grandmother's house too. Every year because the house is located near a river, the house was trapped in a flood tide. I was very happy when the flood came. It's time to have a free, all day round swimming time, isn't it? Every little kid must feel this way too, right?

I used to have two brothers, but one of them died when he was born. Like me, my brother is a premature too, but my brother couldn't make it. I was 2 years old, so I don't remember a lot about my deceased brother. All I remembered until now is his funeral, where little me asking everyone why did my brother slept inside a small box, which turn out to be my brother's coffin. It was sad, actually. If he had alive maybe now he's a student in a senior high school, and we could spent a lot of time together...

I am a prodigy amongst other kid around me, I already able to read when I was 2.5 years old. When I was 3 years old, my auntie taught me how to write beautifully, and mostly about mathematic. I've sign into a kindergarten when I was 3, the youngest attendant at that moment. I am very interested in English, and I've started to speak English since I was 4 years old. I learned mostly from the movie, imitating how the actress speak.

An accident occured when I was 4 years old. When my grandpa took me to the school by motorcycle, suddenly a man crashed our motorcycle from behind. I was fell aside, my head strucked directly to the hard asphalt. Firstly, I felt nothing at all. But suddenly the pain came to me like a thousand needles piercing your head at once. I cried loudly, and after that accident for some reasons I was forbid using a pillow for a month. I still believe until now, the accident had reduced my intelligence, if it wasn't happen I'll be smarter than Einstein, huh...

As an elementary school student, many kids bullied me, just because I'm small and especially since I'm a Chinese. I really hate it when they call me "cina, cina...". If they dare to call me like that again, I am really gonna' slice their throat with my scapel. It was very hard for me to have a friend at that moment. Luckily, I still have a few good friends. There were seven of them, and we still become a good friend until now, although now we have to separate from each other.
I also had a very close friend, a girl named Dede. Our parent is a good friend too, so it's not hard for their child to become close enough. In fact, while I'm still 5 years old, still on the first grade, we kiss each other on the middle of the class. Hohoho... That was really fun, to see how shocked were our friends.

When I was on the third grade, I've started to observe everything around me, either my environment or people around me. Then I saw my father. He always smoking. I felt curious with this, and finally I want to try how to smoke like my father. I stole a box of cigarette from my parent's shop, and started to smoke when I'm still 7 years old. Really, I was smoking at that time!! My curiousity didn't stop just like that. I stole every kind of cigarette, and taste them one by one. Bentoel, Gudang Garam, Marlboro, Sampoerna, Dji Sam Soe, Crystal, Wismilak, just name them. I only stop because one day my mother finally knew about this mischievous act by me, and I have to stop my smoking habit since that day.

I graduated from my elementary school as the best student in the history of my school (remember, I'm a prodigy, hehehe...). Because my mother always worried about me, she forbid me when I said I want to go to Banjarmasin. So I was trapped once again in Pelaihari, as a student of SLTPN 1 Pelaihari. Sigh...

I am a good boy, a really good boy when I'm a freshman at the junior high school. I don't know how to say bad words, or any other nasty thing like porn video. But thanks to my new friends in the high school, I've tainted by them, brainwashed by them. And the result is the ME that you know now. But it's okay, I feel grateful for them. I don't want to become a NERD. Thanks guys, for making me better.

In the junior high school I couldn't be the best in my school, because there was a handicap. My eyes were injured by my bad habit. I spent too much time in front of TV because I'm a game freak. This situation is getting worse with my secondary-bad habit. I love to read comic while I'm lying on the bed. I couldn't see normally, thus I couldn't see the lesson on the blackboard, and VOILA, I spent three years without any explanation from my teacher just because this eye problem. But why didn't I tell my parent? I want to, but I don't have the nerve to tell them. What will happen to my playstation if I told them? They will forbid me to play again, and that's surely gonna' kill me, man... Gaming is a primary needs for me.

Graduated from the junior high school, I, again, trapped in this small town, in SMANPEL. I became the member of class XA, the wildest, most rebellion class in the history of my school. This is the worst moment in my life, the nastiest one too. Once again I tried how to smoke with my friends, and spent most of our times by hang around beside the street, doing nothing except for smoking or playing music as a band.
An incident happen again this time, but it was completely my fault, here goes the story:
It was a Sunday night. I supposed to go to the church, but instead of doing so, I lied to my mom, and I went with my friends, spin around the town, and stopped on the dark spot for smoking, and whatever nasty thing like that. I still remember, the cigarette we smoked was WISMILAK (sounds like wish me luck, right?), but this is very ironic, considering what happen to me next. One of my friend asked us to race each other, and we agreed. Suddenly while my motorcycle ran so fast (it's about 90 kph), I lost my grip because there was a dump of sand on the road, my motorcycle is sliding, and I hit the road-divider. My body was launched because the crash, and I smashed to the hard asphalt, shoulder first. Because I am strong (hmm...), I stood up instantly, only to found my face already covered in blood. There were horrible cuts on my face, and the blood keep on streaming. My fingers were hurt badly, too. My friends took me to the hospital right after I stood up. The nurses sewed my finger because the cut was too deep and it couldn't stop bleeding. Both of my parent, my grandma, my auntie, everyone else were yelling at me because this accident. My right shoulder was nearly broken, at that moment my right shoulder shape was different with the left one. I couldn't move my shoulder for one week. All of my activities were helped by my grandma.

To be continued...