The Old Man and His Stories

                It stuck in my head every single gesture that Dr. Lopez had while he was presenting in class this afternoon. His hair had mostly turned white; the wrinkles in his body showed how much he had been through in life. And a white beard that covered most all of his chin and cheeks, he shared some stories of his life. I was so impressed on the details he put into his story, starting from when he was thirteen years old and had many planes in his room. He continued his story reminiscing on how his professor talked to him, saying that he would regret it for the rest of his life if he did not take the Calculus II class in his college. Then the leap of faith that he took, changing his major from engineering to humanities. He also came up with a question that still stuck in my head: With whom will we choose to share our lives?

I could not describe his eyes with words, when he reminisced through the past, especially the sadness, when he shared about the Tsunami’s victims in Sumatra. The Tsunami that happened a night after Christmas in 2004, took almost 170,000 lives, and literally swept away everything in the north part of Sumatra Island. I was lucky for living on other islands in Indonesia; also I felt that he could feel the victims’ pain more than I could even though it happened in my country. While he was telling his stories and his inspirations, his words brought me to the places and events he had been through. Was it just me or were all of my colleagues in the class feeling the same way?

                Then I realized that I never had a grandfather figure in my life. My grandfather from my dad was passed away long time ago, and I rarely meet my grandfather from my mom. The kid soul in me was hypnotized when I listened to Dr. Lopez’s story, it is magical to me that after all this time he remembered all of the details. Dr. Lopez reminded me of my mentor. He is a nearly 70 year old British man who lives a good life in Bali, the island of paradise. His career as an educator brought him to Indonesia, from a teacher in England, a headmaster in Bermuda, a school director in Rome, and then Thailand and Indonesia. I met my mentor about four years ago when he was presenting in my school. He loves to share stories about his life, and every time he told me a story of his younger life, when he was travelled around the world from Bermuda to Thailand, he had the same emotional sparks in his eyes; the exact same spark that Dr. Lopez had. Would I have the same spark when I tell stories to my grandchildren?

                I came up to a conclusion that Dr. Lopez and my mentor had one similarity. Both of them are living their lives based on what drive them the most. Dr. Lopez loves writing, my mentor loves everything about education; both of them had devoted their lives for their passion. They are very inspiring old men with their stories. Indonesian idiom would express that they “telah makan asam dan garam dunia” which is translated as “has eaten the acid and salt of lives”. I believe that at one point, they had to take the leap of faith to reach what they are right now. In this point of my life I am questioning myself that one day in the future would I be able to take the leap of faith when I have to?

-There are many talented people who haven't fulfilled their dreams because they over thought it, or they were too cautious, and were unwilling to make the leap of faith- "James Cameron"