Best Graduate Turns Into ... Nothing.

When I was in the elementary school, I dominated the top three rank in my classes, since the first grade until the sixth grade. I was a nerd, a geek, you name it. I studied seriously, learned some extra lessons after school, preparing for exams all the best that I can prepare, and routine field games with friends at class breaks. I was also good at drawing lessons.

It was gradually changing when I was entering junior high school. My life was not just about studying and extra lessons, but a lot of video games in between, addictive LAN game: Counter Strike. I was enjoying some guitar learning from my cousin, and enjoyed being able to play it too. At this phase also I fell in love with football, not only playing it but watching big clubs playing also. At the end I managed to get into a well-known senior high school back then without having to pay an entrance fee.

For the first time I've gone to school with more classes in my year. There are five classes in my senior high school year, not only two just like my previous ones. So I was trying to adapt, blend in, but seems like I failed. I was not a social person back then. I was seriously studying again, even participated into an accounting competition held by big universities, still with a game coming in between: Winning Eleven. And I enjoyed playing in a band as a vocalist-guitarist back then.

My transformation starts in the uni, chasing for bachelor degree. I lost some weights, thanks to joining in a football team in the campus. I joined the training every week, and luckily joined a futsal team full of talented players in my year, and the result: winning the annual internal championship. After that I joined one of campus organization, found best friend groups and my community until I graduated. I learned essential event-organizing skills, had a chance on leading the job fair project for the campus. And managed to gain my Marketing Management degree well there.

My academic journey is not stopping there. After a few years working, I decided to pursue a Master degree at one of well-known uni in Jakarta. I worked hard there, not individually but in a group of five, different personnel until the last group to make the final paper. We worked until midnight, some until dawn in the campus. Some dramas in between because they're all intelligent and mostly in the managerial level, so it is a huge challenge to make them work together in tight deadlines. I was so grateful to finally get a Business Management degree just in time and surprisingly also got the "Best Graduate"award in my class. I was so grateful and proud.

With that kind of academical journey, do you think I should get an easy career? Apparently not. I was struggling to get a job that I wanted. To get a job in big companies. After I got my bachelor degree I worked in a few sales jobs. And here I am now, a 31-year-old married man, a best graduate, still can't get a job or build a business that I want. Apparently a best graduate turns into nothing.