Why I Envy the Kids from Junior Masterchef (Yet Inspired by Them!)

Young, talented, and... visionary! How I love kids of Junior Masterchef!

Even though I'm not quite following the Junior Masterchef show, I did watch a few episodes. Watching those kids cook something that I hadn't even heard about gave me tickle! The contestants were all uber-cute, super talented, and... one thing that I'm jealous of the most: they already know what they want at the very young age. And their parents certainly supported them. They know what they will become. They know what field they're going to be involved in.

It's not that I don't have it all—of course I do! My parents are very supportive of my interests. I was quite hi-tech when I was a kid so my dad bought and introduced me to computer and other related stuff very early, and I fell with it. I love music so my dad bought me a lot of CDs, even a guitar and a keyboard after I said I was interested to learn music instruments. I love movies so my dad bought me a lot of DVDs and introduced me to any kind of genres. My parents have sacrificed too much I must say. And I'm so thankful. Really thankful.

And why do I envy those Junior Masterchef kids if I already have everything they have? Well, one thing I'd love to blame is: system & environment. As much as I love Indonesia (particularly my hometown Jogjakarta), I don't think I can live in this environment anymore. I think it's debilitating—it's not the kind of environment for anyone who wants to develop mentally and freely. It's so limited I have to channel my interest to the unlimited world, the internet. Seriously I can't imagine living without internet in this environment. I will die fast of curiosity.

Those kids are so lucky because their country provides an adequate (or even higher) facility to develop their field of interest. Being a chef is AWESOME, it's not a common skill that everyone else has. Indonesians who love cooking are 'forced' to go abroad to pursue their dreams, simply because they can't find a qualified cooking school or course here. I'm sure there's a lot of local cooking school, but it's not supported and subsidized by the government thus it collapses or undeveloped.

Actually, Indonesia has SMK (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan), a high-school level study with specialized course, such as cooking, fashion, crafting, or even technical materials for boys; mechanic, computer, etc. This is such a great step for those who already put interest in particular field and want to develop it. Unfortunately, it's the environment to blame—most people here overlooked SMK as something lower than the normal high school. They think the students won't have future as bright as those who enroll in normal high school. They are academic-centered but they actually don't do any good in it. This shallow perspective is the main 'virus' of why SMK doesn't develop very well.

But changing someone's perspective is like changing himself entirely—it's not easy. And this is actually the functionality of education, to shape someone's mind. Unfortunately that is the core problem that we are facing right now, we're not adequately educated thus our mind isn't shaped perfectly. It's still limited, not able to understand and tolerate alternatives. What's more unfortunate is that 'some' people in our government are suffered in this 'disease'. Poor, poor us.

Conclusion is, this doesn't stop me from pursuing my dream. I won't waste my gift and the amazing facilities and supports given my parents. I'm praying so those people will finally realize the importance of education—the real education, not just registering your kids to the coolest school in town and then not finding out what's their real interest and skill. A good institution of education is the one supporting its students' skill, to develop it rather to lock it down (like many schools do).

I love my country and I know someday (still... uncertainty) it will recover from this idiocy.

xoxo