Name: Pritania Astari
Social Media Handle/Username: twitter: @anonblobfish
Introduce Yourself/Tell About Yourself: Hi! I’m Tania, from Indonesia. I’m 26 years old and currently working on several public-health-related projects as a researcher and/or a volunteer.
What Inspires You Every day? : I used to work on a project where we built a community-based health center targeting mothers and children from the homeless populations. Getting more and more involved with them, I came to realize that these people have inspired me so much in lots of ways. By knowing them, I learned that all the stigmas and prejudices that privileged people put upon them are completely wrong. They are not lazy. It’s not that they don’t care about their health or their children’s health; it is just that they don’t have access. And through the experience, I learned that providing access to underprivileged people is one of the keys for us to create a better society.
So that experience eventually becomes my daily inspiration and motivation to keep contributing to the betterment of society however small. Maybe through a simple idea or a tweet or an essay and I definitely have not gone far. But I hope in the future, I can make progress and do more. Though I am not rushing, but at the very least, I believe I am already on the right track.
What is some words of wisdom you live by?: Life goes on.
I always live by this word because I am used to making controversial decisions that I thought I am going to regret at the beginning. However, throughout my journey thus far, life has always taught me that there really is nothing to regret about. Yes, of course, the road will not be smooth forever, but you’ll always find your way to get through it. So, whenever I feel insecure about the decisions that I made, I always think that life goes on and I can always get through it.
What is your ultimate goal in life? : To be fulfilled and at peace.
How have you been during the pandemic and how has it affected you? : The pandemic is hitting everyone hard and I can’t deny that I have more or less been affected as well. I used to be quite active on my social media but at one point, it started to drain me. So I decided to take a small break. In the meantime, I tried to focus more on myself and my well-being. Now that I’ve come back, I hope I come back stronger.
What is a message you would like to give others? : I took a social break some moments ago to give my state of mind a good rest. As the COVID-19 situation gets worse, has reached my closer circle, and with the ambulance passing through the street near my house every 5 minutes, I decided that it was time to stop throwing opinions on social media and focus on my well-being for a while.
If there is one thing that I learned from this whole hiatus, it is that apart from implementing the health protocol, the best we can do right now is to take care of ourselves. Be aware of our limitations and don’t take up all the moral burden on our shoulders. By staying healthy both physically and mentally, we’ve done our parts enough.
It’s been a tough time for everyone so be a lot more compassionate to yourself. Don’t hit yourself up too hard if you feel like you’re not being productive enough. Don’t listen to what people have to say, you should put yourself first, especially in times like this.
You are not alone. Thank you for surviving
What else would you like to tell others about you or your life?: Nothing else. Thank you for having me!
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