A Feature on Syafana Lower Secondary Student, Nadia Camilla Darmawan
Passion and Retreat in Pursuing the Goals of Life
By: Elza Oktora, S.Sos
In life we have the life-cycle to go through, starting from an infant, a child, young teens, adult and elderly. Those phases of life seems very short to make our life meaningful. Thus we are in the stage of having a self-fulfilment in life in order to make us motivated and enthusiastic on life we are living in. We cannot waste our time and loose opportunities that Allah SWT has provided to use and take them in making us better in our ibadah, akhlaq and deeds. Those important aspects in Islam are fundamental to be internalised in our Future Leaders’ heart and mind. Because from the way do and say, we can value ourselves as adult that we have been fully supporting and guiding them to the right path.
We are so a blessed to have so many talented young people in our School and that they have virtues in their life to carry on and pursue their goals without leaving Islamic values behind. Moreover, Nadia is one of hafidzah of 30 juz Programme. She has participated in the programme since Primary Levels. Here we have one student in Lower Secondary who has been collecting medals in many competitions, with whom we have had special time to chat – none other than Nadia Camilla Darmawan.
- What do you think about personal goals, Nadia?
I think that personal goals are something that’s very important for every one of us to have, because they are what keeps us going, for me, at least. By having personal goals, we will be motivated to fight and work hard in order to achieve our goals. On the other hand, without having personal goals, we would lose strength in doing almost anything really, due to the absence of a finish line that we want to accomplish.
- How do you excel yourself in achieving your personal goals?
I’m a firm believer that the best way to learn something is by doing it. This applies to almost everything that I do. When I have the goal of getting good grades in math, I exercise math questions. When I have the goal of winning a speech contest, I practice my skills in delivering the speech, and so on. So when I want to get good in something, I try my best to increase the intensity of what I do in that area. But of course, that is as far as what I, a human, can do, which is ikhtiar. The only being that can make me achieve my goals is not myself, but Allah SWT. So I try to put my tawakkal before my ikhtiar and count on Allah SWT more than I count on myself, even though doing that is still difficult for me.
- What are your big challenges in reaching your goals?
I’m going to be really blunt here, but honestly people out there are so talented. So many people are so good in so many different aspects, so one out of the many challenges that I’ve faced lately is how tough the competition around me is. But a bigger challenge is honestly, myself. A lot of the things that I do just end up holding me back from achieving what I want, and those include: my laziness, insecurities, lack of motivation, and the urge to just lay in bed and do nothing all day. Sometimes, I am my own enemy, and I have to fight with a part of me who desires something different from the other part.
- How do you determine interest in your talent?
Over the past years, I’ve always liked trying new things, so I’m not the type to stick to one. After I explore my capabilities, I get to know which areas peek my interest most and which ones I’m good at. And I think that exploring different skills rather than just one, will open more doors of opportunities for me.
- What makes you are interested in speech? What motivates you?
Ever since I was a child, I’ve always liked speaking in general. My family even says I talk way too much, haha. So I thought, it would be better for me to utilise my love of speaking instead of putting it to waste by doing nothing about it. That is when I started developing my passion in public speaking. I also want to make my parents proud of me through my achievements, which is a really big motivation for me to keep going. Through my speeches, I want to be able to move others and inspire them, just like how Prophet Muhammad SAW managed to move the hearts of millions of people using his words. I believe that as young generations, our voices matter and it must be heard, which is why I want to keep pursuing this area.
- Do you get support from the people around you such as family, teachers, and school?
I’m very lucky to have received endless support from the people around me. My family fully supports me for what I do, and I’ve gotten way too much appreciation from the school, and my teachers. I also want to give a shout out to my Native English teacher who has helped me evaluate my speeches countless of times, so I feel very blessed to have a fully supportive environment.
- Do you have any advice to your friends that you would like to share to inspire them in terms of pursuing personal goals?
The message that I’d like to give you is actually a message that I should be giving myself, and that is to do everything for Allah SWT. Remember that everything in this world is temporary. Don’t try to achieve your goals only to obtain money, wealth or any worldly materials in general, because eventually they will all be gone once you’re dead. The only thing that is permanent and is not temporary is akhirah. So you have to achieve your goals with the intentions of obtaining Allah SWTS blessings, becoming birrul walidayn for your parents, obtaining wealth so you can perform sodaqah, etc. Because I’m sure that we would feel more inspired when we have Jannah as our main, ultimate destination.
That’s our personal interview to get closer with Nadia. From all the achievements and winning in competitions, she is still a young girl who still loves eating instant noodle and enjoying her spare time. Nadia has shown us how we can utilise and maximise our potential and fullfill our purpose in life. Hope the sparks of motivation can ignite other hidden talents to blossom at the next turn. Aamiin…
Nadia’s Profile
| Full name : Nadia Camilla Darmawan
Special interest : Public speaking Fave food : Instant noodle Fave colour : Grey Which things are you scared of : hardly to think (wink wink) Which subject you really like : Math Which subject you really find challenging : Math |
Nadia’s Achievement
- 1st place MBF English Speech Contest 2020
- 2nd place National Erlangga English Speech Contest
- 2nd place Syafana International Edufair English Essay Writing Contest
- Public Relations division Student Council 2020/2021
- Moderator Syafana Got Stories Podcast
- Silver medal Olimpiade Sains Indonesia by POSI
- Gold Medal Kanigara English Grammar Olympiad
- Gold Medal Language Olympiad by Instinct.ed
- Silver Medal Indonesian Olympiad of Science by POSI
- Silver Medal Pre-Ascienco 2 by Olimpiade Kita
- Al-Cyber Cup English Speech Contest 2021
- SMIIC English Speech Contest 2020
- Sekolah Bogor Raya ALC English Speech Contest 2021
- Asia International Mathematical Olympiad 2020
- American Mathematical Olympiad 2021
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