if you want to go far go together

    At that time, through LINE, one of my friends, whom I get to know her because we were working together in the same event in the university, participated in a competition together, contacted me. She said, there was an event that would discuss the literature review topic and she believed that I could contribute to it. I answered yes, as long as there were no obstacles or unexpected things happening on the day of the event.

    Back in the past 4 years, in 2016, I once wrote in the list of opportunities that I dreamed of, being a speaker was one of the opportunities that I dreamed of. This time is the second time I have had the opportunity to speak in public, as a speaker. First, I was invited as a speaker at the Outstanding Student's School held by LSO in the scientific field at FKG UB. Secondly, I was invited by the Indonesian Dentistry Student Senate Association (PSMKGI) to contribute in a Scientific Webinar event "Literature Review Hacks" on July 11, 2020. 

The event took place on time, attended by 92 participants from across Indonesia through the Google Meet platform. In my opinion, it's not something big (92 participants are nothing for several people) but it's a big step for me.

    Questions from the participants were quite a lot until the time provided by the committee was not enough. The participants who asked were clever. Seemed like they have done the research first. Some of them asked about systematic reviews, and real cases they are experiencing now (most are struggling on a literature review mini-thesis). After the webinar finished, there were 2-3 participants who continued to have discussions with me via LINE and Instagram direct messages.

     All of this is just unexpected. I enjoy the process and try to enjoy the process. Trying to striving for excellence at every time. To know whether I already put my maximum effort or not, I try one step. If I can't add one more step anymore, that means it's the maximum for me.

One step at a time. This sentence reminds me to keep going. Even though there are a lot of things to do, a lot of pressure, doubt, fear, and uncertainty, let's break it down one by one. One step at a time. Take a break and breath, then keep going. If it does not work, learn something from that. If it works, then keep going and add an improvement.

    Public speaking was a nightmare for me, until now. This is a thing that I'm not good at, I also don't get a lot of opportunities to speak in public, I'm not in an environment where they are all experts in public speaking, I'm just a consumer of public speaking. Love listening to TEDTalk, listening to webinars, and listening to people talk in public. I am grateful as an observer. Every person that I met I always observe them how they talk, how they act, and how people react to them. I am grateful to friends and colleagues who give me support to speak in public. My adrenaline increased, I felt discomfort before speaking in public. I accept those uncomfortable consequences because all will be paid off. That's normal.

    I would like to thank profusely for the participation and enthusiasm of the participants of that webinar. You guys made me learn a lot about the literature review. Thanks to my friend, Jilan, the Commission A PSMKGI 2018-2020 who gave this opportunity to me. Thank you for helping Nabilah Kusuma fulfill one of her dream lists.

    It turns out that introverts can talk. That's the stigma of the majority that says introverts can't talk. Fighting the majority needs an extra effort. The most important thing is to just be yourself guys, but stay open with other suggestions and criticisms. If you know that's good, that's challenging, that makes you grow, then why not?

Congratulations on keep fighting for what you all must fight for!

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.-African Proverb

May the future belongs to us!

Regards,

Nabilah Kusuma Wardhani

P.S. I'm still faraway from everything, but i'm not going that fast.