Shinta Aprilia

Writing and design portfolio.

Designs

Several pieces I have worked on both in formal, informal, and recreational settings.

Henry James' profile poster.

BLURadio's article posters.

BLURadio's weekly playlist covers.

Personal commission set.

Personal commission pair.

Personal commission pair.

Personal commission pair.

Personal commission pair.

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Writings

Several writings from extensive genres I have written both in formal, informal, and recreational settings, individually and collaboratively.

Possession of Shinta Aprilia. © All rights reserved 2022.

In Defense of Compressed Narration in the Movie “Gone Girl”

Much like any movie project that baits the mainstream media with their preexisting textual works — more specifically novels, Gone Girl (2014) was greeted with downright infectious enthusiasm amongst the public. The name-dropping method seemed to work in luring people in, enticing them with the reputable director, David Fincher, who has brought unequaled, eccentric masterpieces of the ’90s like Fight Club (1999) and Seven (1995). Not only was this movie entrusted to a well-grounded director, but Gone Girl was also believed to be in good hands as the book writer, Gillian Flynn, secured the screenwriter’s seat herself. What other possible combination that might outdo this already perfect pair, one might ask. The answer would probably be nothing. The performance of the Oscar nominee slash winner Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck amongst other amazing supporting characters just bound the project together as a whole. The movie indeed lived up to its spectacle as it serves the audience as one of the best, if not the best of insanely deranged psychological thrillers.Works like a charm, the insufferable persona Affleck delivers as Nick Dunne succeeds in walking us through the disappearance — possibly homicide case — of America’s sweetheart, the Amazing Amy, Amy Elliot Dunne, which gives us the insinuation of “it’s always the husband” narrative by letting us experience bits by bits as the case unraveled. It is almost too natural for us as the audience to side with the local police authorities or whoever turns their backs on him. Nick’s nonchalant upbringing is portrayed in a rather neat manner both in the book and the movie, except the former has more descriptive freedom for Nick to redeem himself to the readers. The latter, however, is giving a little to no chance for the audience to empathize with the almost murder convict husband by the cynicism of the people surrounding the case. The book version of Detective Rhonda Boney, the leading officer for the case, subtly gives Nick an immediate judgment on how he is handling the whole situation by labeling him as ‘the baby of the family’, referring to how he seems to be always under someone’s charge and otherwise seems oblivious. The movie, on the other hand, is blunter in giving Nick prejudice. At one point, Nick is brought to the police station for some further examinations in which involve Detective Boney asking him some questions regarding Amy’s personal life. Upon answering questions where he mostly answered with uncertainty — marked by a number of I-don’t-know’s, Nick comes across as something beyond oblivious. Boney even finds herself in agape knowing Nick doesn’t even know whether Amy has friends or not in Missouri, where they reside for years.As the plot progresses in both works, the audience is not exposed enough to Amy’s side of the story. Sure, Amy interchangeably walks us through the memory lane with her diary entries concerning their relationship pre-tragedy, but the audience is left to wonder about her whereabouts and present-day Amy in its entirety, not until exactly half of the movie — the Boy Meets Girl part in the book. She drives us along in her Craigslist car, opening her narrative with the utterance “I am so much happier now that I’m dead.” Clearly, figuratively dead. Albeit the audience knows so little about the present-day Amy’s stance with all the information given so far, Amy herself succeeds in engaging us through her side of the story. The movie Amy muses a monologue that clarifies the incriminating clues we have seen through Nick Dunne and his shenanigans. The narrative exchange between Nick and Amy’s diary entries turns out to be a sole clever misdirect that leaves us fearing for the worst in the first half of the story. The gone girl herself takes us back to the days when she planned out an elaborate escape plan in an attempt to frame her husband for killing her, or ‘follow your beloved river, up up up!’ as she puts it. She made it clear as daylight that her intention is to put Nick behind the bars.Her side of the story begins way back from the night where she was exposed to the fact that Nick is cheating with a barely-legal college student, his student. She gives a clear picture of how Nick has wronged her in so many ways.Nick Dunne took my pride, my dignity, and my hope and my money. He took and took from me until I no longer existed. That’s murder. Let the punishment fit the crime. (Witherspoon et al., 2014, 1:06:33)The narration above is taken from the movie and is actually a compression from the first chapter of the second part of the book. Both versions deliver the overall intention and sentiments Amy Dunne has for her husband. However, each version actually has an underlying note. The key aspect that separates these works from each other is the movie omitted Nick Dunne’s misogynistic tendencies throughout the marriage — which prompted by his father. The movie does not even shed any light on the character of Mr. Dunne apart from where Nick found his father in a police station all caused by his dementia. The book, on the other hand, gives clear hints of how awfully misogynistic he is. During the time in New York when Nick lost his job, his father remarked something that implies a man without a job, is not a true man. Mr. Dunne stands corrected by his belief. This idea is instilled in Nick’s perception of marriage.We borrowed from Amy to do this, eighty thousand dollars, which was once nothing to Amy but by then was everything. I swore I would pay her back, with interest. I would not be a man who borrowed from his wife — I could feel my dad twisting his lips at the very idea. Well, there are all kinds of men, his most damning phrase, the second half left unsaid, and you are the wrong kind. (Flynn, 2012:17)From the narration above, it is clear that Nick himself has his fair share of misogyny, marked by how he says he, as ‘a man’, would not borrow from his wife. It implies that he believes reliance on a wife is something that cannot define a man. His perception is followed by him recounting what his father says regarding ‘a man’, which gives a sense of clarity to his inferiority as well. It offers more intimacy to Nick’s feelings and leaves the audience to judge for themselves whether to spare Nick or not.Whilst in the movie, the misogyny is only portrayed through Amy’s monologue about ‘cool girl’. She defines — or best suited to be called a rant — the concept of cool girl as a woman who is willing to go to a certain length to please men. She even notes that every establishing story shared in the first half of the movie is specifically made to emphasize that Amy was actually the cool girl. She admits that she submitted herself to Nick’s control. Every diary entry she shared strikes a chord of the definition of a cool girl, according to herself.That night at the Brooklyn party, I was playing the girl who was in style, the girl a man like Nick wants: the Cool Girl. Men always say that as the defining compliment, don’t they? She’s a cool girl. Being the Cool Girl means I am a hot, brilliant, funny woman who adores football, poker, dirty jokes, and burping, who plays video games, drinks cheap beer, loves threesomes and anal sex, and jams hot dogs and hamburgers into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary gang bang while somehow maintaining a size 2, because Cool Girls are above all hot. Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl. (Flynn, 2012:266)The snippet above is taken from the book, but the movie Amy delivers roughly the same sentiments added with popular culture references here and there. She touches on a fundamental problem with the way men perceive women. The perception pushes women into pretending to be someone they are not for the sake of the men’s satisfaction. They have to sustain the persona to keep the men from ‘screwing around and finding a newer, younger, bouncier cool girl’. This compression does work to portray the preexisting problem not only within Amy and Nick’s marriage but in the wider scope. Without mentioning Nick’s misogynistic tendencies, Amy still manages to assert herself in the realm of the men-women relationship. The audience is given the liberty of pointing fingers as to where does Nick comes across as misogynist. Fincher does not eliminate the domestic violence that Nick has committed before. What is interesting is the fact that both Flynn and Fincher provide us the imagery of a misogyny victim in a villainous light, as opposed to how women are actually perceived: loving, nurturing, and soft.All things considered, the compressions made by Flynn to adapt in the theatrical form which combined with Fincher’s touch on the directing aspects can be considered as a success. They are cramming a four-hundred pages book into a two-hour and a half movie without having to delve into each and every defining aspect of the book to convey the entirety of the story. Their adaptation relies on the practicality of a screenplay, in which Flynn has done an impeccable job. Gone Girl is a calculated, cynical, bleak satire of a housewife facing infidelity, dishonesty, disrespect, abuse, and so many more wrongdoings thrown upon her.

"Friends” Characters Study: An Ensemble of People with Different Natures Creates a Great Friendship Dynamic

Friends is exactly a decade-long American sitcom series produced under Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions as well as Warner Bros. Television and was aired on the national television, NBC, from September 22, 1994, to May 8, 2004. The series lasted for ten seasons with 236 episodes in total. The story itself induces laughter as it centers on the lives of six friends in their mid-twenties. All six of them settle in Manhattan, New York City, encountering adulthood problems. The ensemble of friends includes Jennifer Anniston starring as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Courtney Cox as Monica Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, and Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani. Three out of these bunch — Monica who lives alone and Chandler and Joey who are roommates — live on the same apartment building, better yet, their apartments are just across the hall from each other. Given the said fact, the five of them often spend time either in Monica’s apartment or the coffee house situated in the same apartment block as those three named Central Perk. The premise of the series starts when Rachel barges into Central Perk all dressed like a bride — which she was supposed to be — after fleeing from her wedding ceremony to find her high school friend, Monica. From there, the story follows not only Rachel, but the other five friends dealing with personal problems to their careers that later affect their growth as individuals over the course of year.The audience of Friends can right away tell that the series prompts them to enter the series through Rachel Green’s proxy from the pilot episode alone. Rachel is simply the character that starts and ends the series as she is taking the journey she chose and facing hurdles along the process. The entirety of the show is framed around all six characters, but Rachel takes the biggest part of the journey. Her entrance in the pilot episode signifies the choice that will define her entire life. With her fleeing her wedding day, Rachel cuts off her secured life and financial support that has been given by her parents to jump into the real world where she can pursue her dream to work in the fashion industry. Her decision follows her moving into Monica’s apartment and finding a job, which later drives her back to Central Perk to work as a waitress there for quite a while. She seeks a life of uncertainty and leaves her comfortable lifestyle in the suburbs as a spoiled princess. She is willing to take risks and encounter new lows which later lead her to become an independent and savvy executive. She grows to be the best version of herself by investing in the messiness of life with her naïve self and the clueless streaks that she often shows, just like how she puts beef in her trifle in “The One Where Ross Got High.” What amazing about Rachel is that she commits to what she wants and pushes herself to reach the life she wants and it eases her in surpassing her ambition.Speaking about Rachel, there should be Ross Geller mentioned. The eldest son of the Gellers — makes him the only son in the family — is a hopeless romantic who always seeks the perfect conception of love. That being said, Ross envisions a perfect marriage only for him to get divorced three times. One given that his partner, Carol, is actually a lesbian, Emily that he exchanges a vow and he devastates by saying Rachel’s name instead of Emily at the altar, and lastly his marriage with Rachel in Los Vegas out of a drunken mistake. He has trust issues in which prompts him to have the need to seal the deal in marriage in almost every serious relationship he’s in. Emily is a great example to prove the said accusation. He only has just dated Emily for six weeks before he actually develops the need to ask her hand in marriage. His protective instinct for his significant other appears to be somewhat lunatic. The tendency is driven by his insecurity and also the lack of masculine security he has. He really struggles to be comfortable with himself. He has the emotional baggage of a nerd figure that he used to be when he was in school and college and he feels the need to validate himself in society. His crush on the popular girl next door, Rachel, is how Ross has subconsciously asked for validation. Taking an example from the Rachel and Mark’s ordeal, it is evident that his insecurity has driven him to be a crazy protective boyfriend for Rachel to the extent he has to intervene in Rachel’s work. But in spite of all this, the audience can definitely see that Ross is a very earnest person who never gives up on love. What is more to like about him, he eventually learns that things don’t always go on his way. He has to let go of his façade of stability and give in to the hapless circumstances that would prompt him to wallow in his emotions and reflect. At the almost very end of the series, the growth of Ross can be deemed as successful. It can be seen that he eventually feels okay not living in his ideal measure shown by how he does well in co-parenting his first son, Ben, with Carol and Susan and also his daughter, Emma, with Rachel. It is most definitely not how he envisioned fatherhood, but he manages to give the best of himself for his children.Over the course of the entire series, things seem to fall into place with Rachel, but it is not the case with Monica. Given that she is a motivated person to begin with, she really strives to reach the life she yearns to be. She is very much aware that the world doesn’t always go on her way and she thrives from the thought itself. Notwithstanding the said fact, Monica has a clear vision of how she wants to live her life: the job she wants, a happy marriage, and a child. Sadly enough, all of the components that would construct a perfect life for Monica don’t go well. Her career as a chef only seems to be going downward at some points, but she always manages to come back up because she knows it is the job that she wants and she knows her value. Monica may appear to be an overambitious person, but she is in fact only wants the best for herself and everyone around her. Her ambition to be the best in everything is rooted in the constant criticism she receives from her nagging mother. She always has things to point out about Monica and it seems like she will never be enough. Later in the episode “The One Where Nana Dies Twice”, it is shown that her mother received the same treatment from her grandmother. Given the said facts, what is to adore from Monica is that she always keeps her eyes on the prize. Her relationship with Richard is the perfect depiction of it. She loves Richard so much but then she lets him go because she still holds onto her dream of having a baby when Richard doesn’t really have the same vision. As if it is not enough for her, when she actually has the perfect relationship with Chandler and they both develop the same outlook in their marriage, they just have to accept the twisting fate that they can’t conceive. Her resilience about the bitter truth is impressive in every sense of the word. Monica and Chandler eventually agree on adopting, because they see eye to eye about having a child. It almost looks like the world doesn’t favor Monica but eventually, she earns the life she longs to be, even it comes in different forms. It is all because she is adaptable and patient about everything. She earned everything she has.If the audience were to choose which character has the most evident emotional transformation, it has to be Chandler. Chandler’s childhood memory plays a pivotal role in his adulting process. His sardonic persona is a shield he builds up starting in childhood to avoid his unresolved issues of his family. Given that his father decided to become a trans woman and leave the family and his mother who is oblivious of his needs as a child has shaped him to be the person he is. He resorted to humor to conceal his damaged self. Even so, it is apparent that his past still overrules him. Not only that, he has tendencies to avoid problems a lot: his family, career, unresolved romance, and self-esteem. He develops a commitment issue as he always bails on almost every relationship he’s been in. Both Chandler and Monica risk their friendship when they start developing a more intimate relationship with each other. Being with Monica has taught him how it is like being in an adult relationship and he also learns that bailing on his significant other when the relationship encounters turbulence is not the way to resolve things with each other. Chandler then learns to deal with relationship setbacks and becomes a well-adjusted person. Monica brings out the best and the bravest version of himself. He fonds of the love and intimacy gave to him. This is the reason why Chandler is the most developed character in the sense of emotional transformation. He undergoes so much but he manages to leave the best impression to the audience at the end of the series by becoming everything he thought he would never be.The dynamic of the friends would never be the same without the presence of Phoebe in the equation. Albeit the major plots don’t revolve around her, she is the one who always spices things up. What is more to admire is that Phoebe possesses strong principles about certain things and she holds onto that despite every reason she may not. One of her principles is that she values the platonic relationship between the group because she knows how it’s like to lose someone she loves. She experienced the bitterness of life from her early age by having to see her mother who she later learned that she was not her biological mother kills herself. With the unfortunate past from her childhood, Phoebe has grown into a tough individual. She has world experience, perspective, and insight beyond her age. It prompts her to see the big picture more clearly than the other friends do and it makes her a whole lot of steps ahead of everyone. Her word-wisdom gives substance to the group. She’s a do-gooder because she got to taste the bitterness of life and she is far less privileged than any other friends in the group. Compared to Chandler, she handles her past well and she made a conscious decision to be open, kind, and optimistic instead of dwelling on her sorrow and making it an excuse to be spiteful. The vibrant and so full-of-life version of Phoebe that is shown is defined by her choice not to harden herself by giving in to bitterness and spite and she doesn’t let it overrule her. Her love for her friends is pure and genuine because she knows how to lose people, hence she knows how to value friendships.There would be no Friends without the friend at heart, Joey. He holds the role wise fool archetype because he naturally has a child nature and has a simple way of seeing things. His simplicity and innocence are the traits that balanced the already complex dynamic of the friendship. Given that he is the loving spirit of the group, he always knows what heartfelt gesture to give. He is all about platonic devotion towards his dear friends. With that being said, Joey is not tied by responsibilities that may be encountered in adulthood. This applies to in terms of relationship. He seems to be more attentive about his friends finding love than finding a genuine one for himself and maybe he doesn’t have the need to be in one. He is more into the idea of being in love rather than the things that entail it. He’s fulfilled by the love of his friends for him to start a serious relationship with someone else. He never changes from the very beginning up until the end and it is fully onhis own accord. He thinks he already is in a happy state of his life and he doesn’t have the need to be anything else. Even his friends understand that very much, taking example by how Joey has a hard time processing that Chandler and Monica decided to move to another city to raise their twin babies in “The One Where Chandler Gets Caught”.All the things considered from the series, it is safe to say that all the six individuals portrayed in Friends are what construct a great friendship. Each characteristic possessed by the characters seems to fill in the holes in each other lives. As for Rachel, being accepted in the group as she just started making a life-changing decision has helped her grow. For Ross, being with his friends always drag him to the right senses when everything gets crazier in his life. In Monica’s case, she most definitely enjoys her mother hen role, especially for Joey, because she needs to release her motherly instinct after all. As for Chandler, the friendship has taught him the value of treasuring the platonic relationship and it has subconsciously given Chandler to be committed to his friends even commitment is the thing he always has a problem dealing with. As for Phoebe, she tolerates the friends’ normalcy because it has been missing in most of her life. Lastly, Joey, being with his friends is what makes him feel fulfilled in life.

Reflecting Women’s Insurgence Against Patriarchal Culture through Marlina

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017) is a contemporary film that is directed and written by Mouly Surya, an aspiring Indonesian film director. The film is about Marlina, a widowed woman who is surviving her life in a rural area, Sumba, Indonesia, in which patriarchy is still deeply upheld. Marlina has to undergo multiple mistreatments from a gang of bandits who happen to have a vicious scheme planned for her. During the unjust treatment that the bandits do in her house, Marlina is ought to murder each one of them. She poisons four of the men and decapitates one of the bandit’s head while he tries to assault her. The incident has made Marlina feels so wretched and it prompts her to spurn her fate and take vengeance for every wrongdoing that she has received. Her act of insurgence is unveiled through four dividing acts: the robbery, the journey, the confession, and the birth. The film is blatantly projecting a movement that is done by a woman to seek justice. It thereupon can be perceived from the film, the character Marlina is giving an insight; women do not live for the sole purpose of being men’s possessions.The hint of patriarchy can already be seen in the forepart of the film. The preliminary to the nature of patriarchic behavior is started with Markus, the alpha of the bandits, barges into Marlina’s house. He has a clear intention: to rob her. Hence he comes to her house alone and later followed by his subordinates. During his intrusion, he continuously says outright remarks about the inferiority of women, especially Marlina, who is now widowed. His utterances towards her are rather degrading her worth as a person. It can be discerned from his demeanor, his value towards women is low, let alone a widowed woman like Marlina. The following sequences in the first act also give evidence that proves that both genders, particularly men, are accustomed to the patriarchic culture and they discern the culture as a prevalent condition. That being said, Marlina herself has fear within her as to why she has not done anything to go against the said condition even she is eager to revolt against it.The idea of women being a mere sexual object for men is shown with clarity in the first act of Marlina’s insurgence. Markus’ demeanor, once again indicates his firm judgment towards women and his superiority as a man. The paradigm that is formed within himself is derived none other from the patriarchic culture that stands altogether with the culture in Sumba. This indicates the patriarchal culture that is upheld by the people in Sumba is indeed unjust. His impudent behavior goes on to the extent he states with such ease that he is intending to sleep with the woman and has the gut to ask how many men has she been sleeping with as if she is equal to a prostitute. He asserts that Marlina would be the most fortunate woman because seven men desire to sleep with her. Marlina happens to oppose the idea and exclaims the opposite. It only elicits Markus to respond: widowers like her should not be petulant and act victimized by whatever men are trying to do to them. Later in the night, Markus makes an attempt to have sexual intercourse with Marlina. She, on the other hand, is rather defenseless at first, but the turn of events happens when Marlina succeeds in decapitating Marcus’ head with his own parang pinggang. She also has succeeded in poisoning the rest of the bandits beforehand. Her sense of insurgence emerged as she feels aggrieved with everything the bandits have done to her.The journey, which performs the second act of Marlina’s insurgence, is highlighting to how Marlina musters up her courage and attempts to make a big move in her life. The beautiful desert of Sumba is the witness of Marlina’s struggle in tracking her way to seek justice, in this case, is filing a report to the police. It can be assumed from her actions, she has set her heart to break free from the oppression of patriarchy she has been under for the longest time. During the journey, she encounters Novi, a young woman who is currently expecting a baby and she is one of the passengers in the truck that Marlina has hijacked. Throughout their time on the roads, Marlina is portrayed as a more blatant person than she is in the first act. The character of Novi perceives Marlina’s façade as an empowering act for herself, as a woman who has been undergoing the same treatment from men, especially after she acknowledges what those bandits have done to Marlina.The third act, the confession, is giving an insight into patriarchy in a wider range. Marlina and Novi have to part ways over an occurrence that happens on the road. They, nevertheless, possess more strength to fight for their rights within themselves after meeting each other. Marlina is still determined to file the report. During the process, she once again is faced with the inequity addressed to women. The police are failing to help her and there is no a tad sign of sympathy from the police after Marlina reports the crime that has been committed by the bandits. As for Novi, she is at last able to meet her husband, only finds herself disappointed because her husband thinks her pregnancy is nothing but a burden to him and he refuses to help her. Her husband has no hesitation to harm Novi after the argument they have. The comprehensible value that can be taken from this act is women are always degraded by men, regardless of their state of being.
The last act of Marlina’s insurgence is centered on the strength that has arisen inside Novi from the tough journey and she also feels encouraged by seeing Marlina’s determination. It is shown from Novi’s capability to deliver her baby safely later in the film without the help of her irresponsible husband. She finds the heart to do justice for Marlina by decapitating the surviving bandit named Frank, because he attempts to assault Marlina. It conveys the character development of Novi through Marlina’s quality; women are able to domineering men.All the things considered from the film, it is safe to say that Marlina is an embodiment of insurgence against the patriarchal culture where women are unceasingly receiving unjust treatment from the opposite gender. The film conducts the acts of superiority that are possessed by men. The essence of sexual assault present in the film is one of many shreds of evidence of oppression that women, particularly in Sumba, receive throughout their lives. Furthermore, Marlina’s act of insurgence empowers the other woman to fight for justice as it is portrayed by Novi.

The World at Our Fingertips

The existence of technology in modern life has become abundant assistance for people in a multitude of aspects of life. The internet is one of the tangible pieces of evidence of how technology has helped the viability of mankind. In this day and age, the internet has been a prominent tool for communication whereas people rely upon it — for the young generation, particularly. The influence of the internet on the young generation is another case altogether. The young generation has become the main highlight of the impacts of the internet because they are the generation that is most exposed to a large extent. The internet is giving the young generation conveniences within their lives and they have grown accustomed to it. The internet has eased the young generation in engaging themselves with people from all around the globe with mutual interests and it induces their knowledge about the world itself with wider perspectives.The assistance of the internet for communicating in the daily lives of the young generation has induced them to grow with the convenience it serves. With the internet, adolescents can have the access to communicate with people virtually from many parts of the world in an instant. Furthermore, there are numerous types and forms of social media platforms that can be found on the internet. The contribution of messenger applications, social networking sites, and E-mail such as Twitter, Reddit, LINE, Gmail, et cetera have simplified the communication by just a click away. These platforms not only ease the users in searching information but also the process of engagement from a person to another without having to worry about their distance and time zone barrier. In spite of the provision that the internet gives to its users to communicate, the prominence of the information that is provided continually by the internet is still attainable. Instead of having these two different privileges be utilized separately, the existing social platforms can merge both all at once. With this convenience, the adolescents who are exposed to this service can communicate with their fellows whom they meet only through these online platforms and they get to attain information from secondary sources — their online peers. They can connect with people who have mutual interests as they are. Even better, they can gain information and get exposure to how people in other parts of the world are.Online engagement may have started with a mere exchange of interests, but there can be many prominent things entail with it. One can get an insight to a whole new culture and lifestyle that are not familiar to them as easy as talking to their online fellows without having the need to go for the conventional way which takes up a lot of time. By befriending people from different countries also can lead to the exchanges of ideas and outlook of a matter or the current occurrences in the society. The backgrounds that both participants have played a major role in this exchange. The principles that were taught by their respective family and the society they grew up with ought to be different, hence it induces them to digest a possible contrasting belief, idea, or outlook of something. This can also happen on a larger scale whereas the ideas are exchanged within a community or forum that is formed in the social networking sites.According to the Pew Research Center’s and American Life Teen-Parent survey conducted in 2013, one in four teens who actively use social networking sites in America uses Twitter. The number of teens who use Twitter has increased significantly from the previous years and in 2018, the number grew to 45%. Twitter users age from 18 to 24 are more likely to use Twitter as their choice of social platform. The considerable number of teen users on Twitter elicits communities of various interests to be established within the platform. The communities present on Twitter are examples of how a community can be formed on a social platform. A community that is formed within users whose interests are the same may have formed not only by people who came from the same region but from various parts of the world. This indicates the exchange of interests is oftentimes prompting into something more notable than a trivial interaction. This process induces the participants to be more enhanced with ideas and outlooks they have never thought of before as they are communicating with people from different parts of the world with different paradigms. The discussion is possible to arise within the forum and that is when the exchanges of ideas may occur.A survey has been conducted — targeting the Korean pop fans on Twitter as the subject of the survey — regarding the effect of engaging with people with mutual interest to their personal knowledge and paradigm. The Korean pop fans — or ‘K-pop stan culture’, as they addressed themselves — can be considered an evident example of how a mere fellowship can lead to serious discourse. At the initial stage, they are gathered together on Twitter talking about their favorite artist and engaging themselves with one another, but once something triggers a matter to be outspoken within the community, the participants start to discuss the matter and render their opinion regarding the very matter. Taking an example from a 19-year-old Indonesian girl who is actively communicating with her online peer from France on Twitter. Their fellowship was a mere sharing about their mutual interest in a Korean boy group at the beginning. As time went by, their topic of conversation elevates into more serious topics. Their discourse started with comparing the education system in the respective country, the environmental issue such as climate change, human trafficking, LGBTQ+ community, and it goes on to an extent. From the discussion, she gains more knowledge about the issues and she gets to know how people from France — in a representation of her friend — perceive each one of the issues. For instance, she learns that people in France are more open with the LGBTQ+ community as the said community is seen as liberal rights and she compares the information with Indonesia. From the discussion, she perceives that sexual orientation should not be determined by how society takes regard to it. She admits that every chatter between her and her friend has subconsciously habituated her mindset not only about the said issues but about everything in general. She has grown to be a more open-minded person with a wider outlook.The internet has become a fundamental aspect in the lives of the young generation, especially in the sense of communicating and widening their knowledge. It can be concluded from the points and an example mentioned above that the internet has eased the young generation to be exposed to different cultures, beliefs, and ideas from their fellowship with people online. It is safe to say that the young generation in this modern life is the most affected generation, hence the outcome of it is very evident for them. Notwithstanding the fact that the internet brings both positive and negative impact, this young generation is more open with new knowledge for how much they are exposed to it and they are growing to be a sharp-witted generation with open-minded selves. The existence of technology in modern life has become abundant assistance for people in a multitude of aspects of life. The internet is one of the tangible pieces of evidence of how technology has helped the viability of mankind. In this day and age, the internet has been a prominent tool for communication whereas people rely upon it — for the young generation, particularly. The influence of the internet on the young generation is another case altogether. The young generation has become the main highlight of the impacts of the internet because they are the generation that is most exposed to a large extent. The internet is giving the young generation conveniences within their lives and they have grown accustomed to it. The internet has eased the young generation in engaging themselves with people from all around the globe with mutual interests and it induces their knowledge about the world itself with wider perspectives.The assistance of the internet for communicating in the daily lives of the young generation has induced them to grow with the convenience it serves. With the internet, adolescents can have the access to communicate with people virtually from many parts of the world in an instant. Furthermore, there are numerous types and forms of social media platforms that can be found on the internet. The contribution of messenger applications, social networking sites, and E-mail such as Twitter, Reddit, LINE, Gmail, et cetera have simplified the communication by just a click away. These platforms not only ease the users in searching information but also the process of engagement from a person to another without having to worry about their distance and time zone barrier. In spite of the provision that the internet gives to its users to communicate, the prominence of the information that is provided continually by the internet is still attainable. Instead of having these two different privileges be utilized separately, the existing social platforms can merge both all at once. With this convenience, the adolescents who are exposed to this service can communicate with their fellows whom they meet only through these online platforms and they get to attain information from secondary sources — their online peers. They can connect with people who have mutual interests as they are. Even better, they can gain information and get exposure to how people in other parts of the world are.Online engagement may have started with a mere exchange of interests, but there can be many prominent things entail with it. One can get an insight to a whole new culture and lifestyle that are not familiar to them as easy as talking to their online fellows without having the need to go for the conventional way which takes up a lot of time. By befriending people from different countries also can lead to the exchanges of ideas and outlook of a matter or the current occurrences in the society. The backgrounds that both participants have played a major role in this exchange. The principles that were taught by their respective family and the society they grew up with ought to be different, hence it induces them to digest a possible contrasting belief, idea, or outlook of something. This can also happen on a larger scale whereas the ideas are exchanged within a community or forum that is formed in the social networking sites.
According to the Pew Research Center’s and American Life Teen-Parent survey conducted in 2013, one in four teens who actively use social networking sites in America uses Twitter. The number of teens who use Twitter has increased significantly from the previous years and in 2018, the number grew to 45%. Twitter users age from 18 to 24 are more likely to use Twitter as their choice of social platform. The considerable number of teen users on Twitter elicits communities of various interests to be established within the platform. The communities present on Twitter are examples of how a community can be formed on a social platform. A community that is formed within users whose interests are the same may have formed not only by people who came from the same region but from various parts of the world. This indicates the exchange of interests is oftentimes prompting into something more notable than a trivial interaction. This process induces the participants to be more enhanced with ideas and outlooks they have never thought of before as they are communicating with people from different parts of the world with different paradigms. The discussion is possible to arise within the forum and that is when the exchanges of ideas may occur.
A survey has been conducted — targeting the Korean pop fans on Twitter as the subject of the survey — regarding the effect of engaging with people with mutual interest to their personal knowledge and paradigm. The Korean pop fans — or ‘K-pop stan culture’, as they addressed themselves as — can be considered an evident example of how a mere fellowship can lead to serious discourse. At the initial stage, they are gathered together on Twitter talking about their favorite artist and engaging themselves with one another, but once something triggers a matter to be outspoken within the community, the participants start to discuss the matter and render their opinion regarding the very matter. Taking an example from a 19-year-old Indonesian girl who is actively communicating with her online peer from France on Twitter. Their fellowship was a mere sharing about their mutual interest in a Korean boy group at the beginning. As time went by, their topic of conversation elevates into more serious topics. Their discourse started with comparing the education system in the respective country, the environmental issue such as climate change, human trafficking, LGBTQ+ community, and it goes on to an extent. From the discussion, she gains more knowledge about the issues and she gets to know how people from France — in a representation of her friend — perceive each one of the issues. For instance, she learns that people in France are more open with the LGBTQ+ community as the said community is seen as liberal rights and she compares the information with Indonesia. From the discussion, she perceives that sexual orientation should not be determined by how society takes regard to it. She admits that every chatter between her and her friend has subconsciously habituated her mindset not only about the said issues but about everything in general. She has grown to be a more open-minded person with a wider outlook.The internet has become a fundamental aspect in the lives of the young generation, especially in the sense of communicating and widening their knowledge. It can be concluded from the points and an example mentioned above that the internet has eased the young generation to be exposed to different cultures, beliefs, and ideas from their fellowship with people online. It is safe to say that the young generation in this modern life is the most affected generation, hence the outcome of it is very evident for them. Notwithstanding the fact that the internet brings both positive and negative impact, this young generation is more open with new knowledge for how much they are exposed to it and they are growing to be a sharp-witted generation with open-minded selves.

Bullet Journal: A Way to Ease Your Daily Life

Bullet Journal is the new personalized system of equal parts day planner, diary, and written meditation. Devised by Ryder Carrol, a designer based in New York, Bullet Journal turns the hassle of coordinating life into a streamlined system that helps the user be more productive and reach their personal and professional goals. With sections to log daily to-do’s, monthly calendar, notes, long-term wants and more, each Bullet Journal is customized to the life of its user. The entries are tagged with bullet points, dashes, and other graphics so the categorized entries can be spotted easily. This is a planner system that allows its user to plan for the future, track the past, and keep the chores in the present, as it is said by Ryder Carrol himself.By updating the Bullet Journal daily, “the user learns how to get rid of things that are distracting them and add things they care about,” Carroll says. But it’s really built with the user in mind: “The only thing that the bullet journal needs to be is effective, and how it can best serve its author is entirely up to them.” Customizing Bullet Journal by selecting symbols that are easy for its user to understand and creating sections (called “collections”) that align with long and short-term goals such as a habit tracker, fitness log, diary, and more.As for people who are unsure about their sub-par art skills, is advised by Carroll: “Bullet journaling is always about function over form, right? And to be very clear about that, form can mean sloppy or beautiful. It doesn’t matter what your bullet journal looks like. It’s about how it makes you feel, and how effective it is in moving you towards the things that matter to you.” That’s where the mindfulness connection comes in. Unlike traditional organizers and planners, this method encourages authors to examine how their goals, tasks, and responsibilities make them feel. Instead of a standard checklist, bullet journaling requires daily, monthly, and yearly reflections along with bullet points and asterisks galore.
Starting Bullet Journal is as simple as setting the mindset into it. By laying out the motivations for using the Bullet Journal and how would the user customize it, the user would know in which part they need Bullet Journal to help them to be. Most of the people who Bullet Journal tend to do it because it’s a flexible system that lets them work the way that they work. It’s prominent to think about what the user wants a system to do for them before they dive in. That said, the user will figure out their needs more as time goes on, so it is advised to get started after the user has put more thought into it.While official bullet journals exist, any sturdy journal or notebook will do, says Carroll. Similar to Marie Kondo’s KonMari method, it’s about the process and not the final look. But if the user wants to merge function and fashion, there are plenty of selections of suiting notebook for bullet journaling. Writer’s personal pick for the notebook type is the A5 dotted notebook which ranges from 70 to 80 gsm paper weight. Not only the type of notebook, writer also has preferred pick for the brand: Scribble That Matters and Leuchtturm 1917. The notebook costs about twenty-seven dollars to forty dollars, depends on the size and the materials of the cover. As for the regular black pen, writer highly advises the beginners to use Muji Gel Ink Pen in the size 0.5 and 0.38 for the basic usage, Sakura Pigma Micron Drawing Pen in the size 0.45 and 0.30 for drawing lines and doodling, and Tombow Fudenosuke with the hard tip for writing the headers and hand-lettering. Each pen only costs no higher than two dollars and they can be found in the local bookstore. If the user wishes to elevate their Bullet Journal by either drawing and/or decorating them, there are several types of equipment that might give the best result. For the coloring brush, there is Tombow Dual Brush Pen that usually comes in a pack of 12 pens or more and the price starts from twenty dollars. There is also Zebra Mildliner Dual-Sided Highlighter for more vibrant color selections with prices ranging from six dollars to fifteen dollars. If the users wish to have a more complex display, there is Washi Tape as an alternative. Not only it can accentuate the page, but it also can be used to cover the errors while making an entry.Once the user starts to get a grip of the whole conception of Bullet Journal, they can start personalizing the entries with their taste to match their aesthetic. As a reference, they also can join the community based on Instagram and Tumblr to see what variance of entries have people made and what can be applied in their personal Bullet Journal. If the user wishes to find references and inspirations about their theme, either as a general theme or monthly theme, they can refer to Amanda Rach Lee on YouTube. She is an avid Bullet Journal maker who started doing her personalized journal from the beginning of 2018 up until now. Her content varies from her monthly layout time-lapse to her wide selections of stationery she uses in her bullet journal. The Bullet Journal community automatically gravitated towards her content because of how engaging she is to the audience.All the things considered in starting a Bullet Journal, it is safe to say it only takes one mind to start. Begin put your mind into what you need in a journal and start eliminating what you don’t really need. Bullet Journal is an extensive system and it does not hinder its user to match to a certain measure or fixed system.

A Fly on the Wall

I watched a puff of air billowing through my nostrils every time I exhale as I was sauntering into this shabby ground. The untrimmed trees were waving their branches as if they were always there to welcome grief. The dried hedges were lining the walkways as if they were escorting the cortege deeper into the scene. I felt the grip on my left arm tightened when the sight of the neatly dug grave greeted our arrival. I looked over to my side to see my mother holding back her tears. It was probably my cue to let out a small sob seeing the already swollen face of hers, but oddly enough, all I could think about was the excruciating pain pouncing my bare skin and through my skulls as the gust of wind pushing me further into the scenery. It was not like I was unmoved by grief-stricken situations like this, it was just that I had pictured this very moment in my head a hundred times before. I knew exactly how I would conduct myself.There he was. There was his lifeless body being carried out of his coffin. Three men were in charge to lower his body to the grave, one being my uncle. I glanced at him for a split second before I averted my gaze to the only person I was here for. My mother. I released our linked arms and reached her back in hopes of giving her strength. The subsided sob now broke into another burst of tears. This is one of the things I hate to see from her. Showing her vulnerability for this man even when he is dead in his grave.“He-” she choked. “He was just talking to me before it happened, you know?”“Everything was fine,” she faltered as the crowd was reciting tahleel. It was never fine. It hasn’t been for so long. I thought to myself, though it only manifested as a small nod.The body wrapped in a shroud now had been laid six feet under. It would stay like that. The tahleel which was followed by a series of prayers pierced through my ears like it was pressuring me to cry, but I could not. Naturally, funerals would make anyone attending shed at least one glistening tear. I would too if the deceased has significance in my life. Today, in this scenario, the deceased had none of that. He was supposed to, but he was not. I have little to no empathy for him.The funeral ended by sowing flower procession and Al-Fatihah. The mourners were withdrawing one by one. Each and every one of them made sure to let us know how sorry they were for our loss by hugging both me and my mother with snot all over their faces or merely by tapping our shoulders on their way out. More often than not, those mourners also praised how tough I was for not crying.“Honey, you be strong, okay? For your mom. I know you’re a tough one.” one of the mourners whispered to my ear when she hugged me. I truly felt like it was unnecessary. It was not like I braced myself for the sake of my mother or anyone, I was not feeling any grief to begin with. If anything, I was relieved that he is dead. It seemed cold, but dare I say it was organic. I nodded and thanked the mourner nonetheless.As the mourners were walking off, there remained my uncle. He walked around the freshly-buried grave towards us and proceeded to sling one of his arms around my shoulders and the other one on my mother’s as a form of assurance, I assumed. All three of us just stood there staring blankly at the mound of soil in front of us. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. I did not know how to feel about him. Looking at his awfully familiar face alone had made me want to puke my guts out. I was not able to make up my mind about him before he broke the silence.“Your father was a great man. He helped a lot of people all his life. At least he will rest easy knowing he had done a great favor when he was alive,” he muttered. “I just know he’s in a better place.”I could not make a single reaction to his words. In fact, I could not figure out if it was a mere show people pull off when their relatives die — like making up good deeds of the deceased to make them appear as saints — or it was a genuine sentiment and I was the problem for being too on guard to imagine my father doing such deed.---The smell. The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the house where I grew up was the subtle smell of fresh linen and artificial fragrances. On a normal occasion, one must feel overwhelmingly nostalgic about their childhood. Like what the internet says about scents bypassing one of a human’s brain cord which triggers certain memories to surge. For me, it was more nauseating than anything. Being reminded of things that took place under this roof is the last thing I could possibly wish for.He may be gone for good, but the fear and the unsettling feeling of his presence still lingered. I despised how he made me feel frail and small even by the smallest remembrance of him. I hated how just recollecting past memories involving him could give such a detrimental effect on me. I loathed how massive the trauma he had left me with. I hated him with all my might.I saw my mother making her way into her room. I trailed behind her, not knowing what to do. The sense of unfamiliarity worsened everything for me, so I just made myself sure to be by her side. She sat on the unmade bed which again, left a remnant of him. She wiped all the excess tears and snot from her face — probably hoping the grief would wear off too — then faintly waved her hand, ordering me to come closer.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been looking out for you,” she paused.“It’s just that- it’s so hard for me too.” I saw her swallowing back her tears.“No, mom. Don’t worry about me. I’m okay, I promise.” I assured her. “I’ll leave you here, okay? Get some rest. If you need anything, I’m just right next door.” I caressed her back.“The tahlil will start at 7. I’ll wake you up before it starts.” I watched her positioning herself on the bed before turning away from her room.Behind me, she called out. “Please don’t go to the kitchen, I haven’t cleaned up the mess.” To which I replied with a simple okay.I would like to heed her request, but my feet dragged me there. I knew what happened just last night. I wasn’t there, but seeing all those scattered plates and food all over the floor was enough to give me the picture of that very incident. Yesterday, my mother frantically cried on the phone repeating he’s gone, he’s gone. It was followed by her begging me to come home as soon as possible. Within three hours of travel, I managed to gather the information. He died from cardiac arrest. They were in the middle of an argument when it happened.I collected the pieces of the broken plates. Ironic to think that the thing that scarred me for life was also the cause of his death. In retrospect, I was lucky enough to be able to get out of the household before anything too severe happened. I was 12 when I first saw him laying his hands on her. They always told me off and continued to argue. I was 15 when he slammed my whole body against the wall. I did not even remember what had occurred, but how my head rang from the impact and how I tasted blood inside my mouth was still so clear to me. The last thing I knew, I was sent to live with my grandparents ever since. It always perturbed me every time I think of this. She definitely knew how severe he might become, but why did she choose to endure all of this herself?---It was a week after his death when my mother and I decided to clean up his belongings. I was rummaging through his closet when it struck me that a lot of stuff in this closet was used to harm mom. His belts, his ties, what else? I stopped moving his stuff out and turned around to where she was sitting. I was not sure if it was a good idea to bring this up, but I felt like the more I resisted, the more infuriating it got.I hesitantly asked. “How often?”I could see the question caught her off guard. She stopped folding the clothes she was holding midway and responded. “What?”“How often did he hit you?” I did not want to beat around the bush.“What are you talking about?” I could feel her annoyance through her words. Rage, even.“Mom, the least you can do is not covering up his secrets for him. We both know it.” I raised my voice out of frustration.“Quit it! It’s already hard as it is, bringing that up would make it even harder. Can you at least have some sympathy?” She snapped and glared at me with tears welling up in her eyes.I scoffed and stormed off the room. I could not help but feel upset. She always kept me out of things as if I did not have anything to do with it. It shaped me into believing that ignorance is true bliss. Ever since I moved out, I was forced to think that everything was fine whilst the complete opposite was happening right under my nose. I turned a blind eye to my own family that all these years felt like I was getting detached from reality.She always kept things happening behind closed doors, but she was not so good at keeping it private. She always thought she got everything under control when everyone could tell right off the bat that this whole situation would happen if she really had it under control. Had she let me in and not left me stood there being a bystander, I would have realized it sooner than I was complicit for his violent behavior. The thought itself made me so appalled. I was just a mere fly on the wall all along. Guilt washed over me as this stream of thought occupied my mind. Without me realizing, I had tears running down my eyes. I quickly rubbed it with the sleeve of my shirt. I did not deserve to shed a tear. I had left my mother to suffer on her own. I wiped the remaining tears and walked back into the room. I glanced at her wiping her own too.“Mom,” I mumbled softly as I approached her.“I’m really sorry. But he’s no longer here, you don’t have to endure it anymore,” I paused.“You are your own person now. Let’s just put this behind us and move on, okay?” In every time I stopped talking, I could see her shoulders trembled and hear the muffled cry.I continued, “we’re in this together, are we not? Let’s start from somewhere. Live as normal as we could possibly be.”“I don’t even know what’s normal anymore,” She faintly said. Her voice sounded weary. “I’m too used to this way of life.”It broke me hearing how much she held herself back. I enveloped her in a tight embrace, letting out all the regrets and sorrow. I kept muttering my promise of a better life for her. I could feel her nodding in my embrace. It only felt right to make amends this way. She had sacrificed so much for my well-being. It cost us a lifetime to recoil what was ruined.