Emily Sakina Azra

              My parents waited for a daughter in a long time. It took 3 sons for a daughter. Then, in 1998 their wish was granted. My mom felt the contraction at dawn, my family then took her straight to Lestari Hospital, a hospital near my home. They waited for hours, but I wasn’t born yet until noon. The doctor was doing the Friday Pray when my mom felt the final contractions. So the one who helped my birth was a midwife, even though my parents paid for the doctor.
             I was named after my dad's college teacher's daughter. He told me that Emily means fulfilled, which means my parents' wish for a daughter was granted or fulfilled. Then, my dad added Sakina Azra in my name. Sakina means peaceful and Azra is an acronym of my grandparents' name. 
             I have three older big brothers. The age distance between us is pretty far, but that doesn't make us distant. I talked about a lot of things with my brothers, such as music, games, books, and sometimes we talked about history and politics. We also like to share things like console games, computer, and novels. My brothers have been teaching me a lot of  things.

              I entered kindergarten at three years old. I spent three years in Ketilang Kindergarten because I wasn’t old enough to entered elementary school. I entered Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Pembangunan in 2004. I don’t really remember the time when I was in elementary school. I just remember that my dad told me, “knowledge is more precious than money”. My parents also told me to  respect other believers. Because of that, I always try to tolerate differences. I don't like intolerant people who think that they are always right.

           My big brother attended Labschool Kebayoran High School when I was in 6th grade, and because of that, I wanted to enter the Labschool Kebayoran Junior High School. I did the entrance test a couple months before National Exam. Unfortunately, I didn’t pass. I was really desperate at the time. I only did one entrance test besides Labschool, which was Madrasah Tsanawiyah Pembangunan. I didn’t really want to go there because I wanted to get more experiences in another surroundings. My last hope was to go to the public school. Then, the national exam came up. I did my best and the results announced one month after that. The results was delighting. Fortunately, with my score, I can go to 19 Junior High School, one of the best school in Jakarta. My brother also graduated from there.

              I learned a lot of things in 19 Junior High School. And for the second time in my life, I wanted to enter the Labschool Kebayoran Senior High again. I tried my best to study. I did the entrance test once again and this time, I passed. I feel satisfied that my effort was paid.

              I don’t regret  that I didn’t enter Labschool Kebayoran Junior High. Because somehow, I entered Labschool Kebayoran in another way. From that experience, I learned that the quote “There was a lot of path to Rome” is right.
             I feel grateful that I am a part of Tridasa Adhikari Atmamatra. Labschool had taught me a lot of things from the school programs like MOS, PILAR, LAMPION, TO, and BINTAMA. My favorite one is BINTAMA because I got a lot of new experiences there.