Mar 06 2008
A winner is …
“A winner is usually an intelligent person.”
I agree with that statement. In my opinion, intelligent is not analogous to having a high education, let’s say a college graduate. A high school diploma recipient can be as intelligent as a university diploma bearer. Just like what Andrea Hirata wrote in his most powerful novel LASKAR PELANGI, a natural intelligent person can be born everywhere, including in a very remote and very poor village.
Several weeks ago, my youngest sister told me her experience meeting an old friend of mine. I remember him as someone who didn’t treat education seriously. He is around my age and when I graduated from senior high school, he just graduated from junior high school. It can be said that he was three years later behind me in pursuing education. Not only that. After he was accepted at one state vocational school after graduating from junior high school, he didn’t finish his vocational school when his girlfriend broke their relationship.
From the meeting with that old friend of mine, my sister showed me a short article in the local newspaper announcing the winner of a chess competition. Surprisingly, his name was on the list: NUMBER ONE. He has won some chess competitions held in the local scale—Semarang—as well as provincial scale.
I am of opinion that chess—I am wondering how this can be categorized into SPORT, LOL—is a sport for brain. Someone needs a high intellectual as well as concentration to win a chess game, moreover a competition. This made me question whether without my knowing he continued his study until finishing university. (Poor my terrible and shallow stereotyping before this, LOL, that someone needs to graduate from university, at least, to be smart. LOL.)
After meeting him for several times and having a talk—for old time’s sake—I found out that he is somewhat like Lintang—one character in LASKAR PELANGI. He is naturally born smart. He can easily understand my a bit complicated way of thinking. (Please forgive my being intellectual snob. LOL. LOL.) His intelligence—that does not necessarily mean well-educated—has made him a winner.
LL 16.51 060308
