Karina Nasywa Bakri

Hello! My name’s Karina Nasywa Bakri. People call me Karin, Rin, Nasywa, but never Bakri for some reason.  I was born on November 8th 1998 in the city that is known as the Paris of Java, which is.. Bandung. Afew days after I was born, I moved to Jakarta. I went to preschool and I lived in a simple house with my parents. My father was an architect and a very talented jokester. He used to study in Europe, that’s why he’s the reason why I’m really interested to study abroad. My mother was a gentle lady, she’s very busy but she always managed to be with her children.

When I was at kindergarten, I was introduced to the world of music. Luckily my aunt was a piano teacher and I loved to play the piano at her house. My parents saw me playing and they signed me up for piano classes. And I still take them, until now.

I was a very boyish girl back in kindergarten, I love to play soccer at the park and wrestle with the boys. I had really short hair and I love to wear my AC Milan jersey everywhere. Once, there was this performance from my school and all the girls did ballet and I did a Betawi dance with the boys and it was very funny haha.

After kindergarten, I moved back to Bandung for elementary school. When I was little,  I was obsessed with horses and I can’t go to Bandung without riding one. So when I moved there, I joined an equestrian club and I joined several competitions when I was 7 years old. But I stopped when I was 10 years old. Elementary school was also the time where I listened to bands like Peterpan, Radja, Project pop, etc. And I listened to them over and over again and that’s where I learned about pop music. And I was also interested in art at that time, I kept saying I want to be an artist and I draw everyday and took courses once in a while. The only sports I did at that time was swimming. Ever since I stopped riding, I swim with my friends, my family, and I joined competitions as well. I was a very competitive person back in elementary school believe me haha. I finished elementary school with pleasant grades and I got  a laptop from my father. My very first personal laptop, yay!

I chose one of the best junior high school in Bandung, SMP Taruna Bakti. At first I wanted to go to public school but then I didn’t got in. And when I took the test to my junior high school, I got accepted. My first friend in junior high was Lita, because she was as crazy as I am and we were in the same group on the orientation day. And I was placed in class 7A. I was very lazy in seventh grade but one thing cheered me up, music class. It was very fun and we get to sing together and make songs it was very great and I enjoyed it. I started my first band too, it was called Spotlight. And we performed at the art event and that’s the first time I enjoyed performing.  Unfortunately me and my friends didn’t continue with the band.

The great downfall of my life would be this one. It was at the beginning of the 2nd semester and my father has been staying in the hospital for around 6 months. And I didn’t expect this at all, but my father passed away  on January 2010. I was very sad and I was very close to my father. Then it was diagnosed that my father’s death is because of a lung cancer. Before he died, I think he knew what was going to happen. So he asked me a question. If my father is all healthy again, what do I want?. I said that I wanted to go to Europe, and visit Paris. He promised.

Funny how things work, a month after my father passed away, I was offered an international program to Germany. I got to stay at a host family for a month and guess where I’m going for my side-trip? That’s right, Paris.

I enjoyed my time in Germany, and I met my father’s friends. They were very friendly and they accompanied me to see the spots where my father used to hang out, the university he went to, and they even took me to go to his old apartment. It was very great and I get to see the places where my father used to go. Now, I understand why he loved Germany so much, and I might go back there.

After the trip, I continued with my school and I became really interested in Japanese culture. I joined a band that plays mainly japanese songs. And that improved my piano skills and I also did cosplay and I went to events with my team.

Finally, I went through the final exam and I graduated junior high yeay. Because my mom found a job in Jakarta, so we moved. At first I really don’t want to move. In my head, I can imagine Jakarta as a city with hot temperature and traffic everywhere. But that image changed quickly as I started to live in this big city.

I applied to SMA Labschool Kebayoran because my first option was too far from my house. And I remembered that there was a Labschool too back in Bandung so that’s why I applied. At first I was very shocked that it’s kind of like a strict school, where you have to eat fast and all but then I managed to just go with it. I was placed in the social class and I met awesome friends as well.  I am a part of Tridasa Adhikari Atmamatra or you can call it the class of 2016. High school was very fun but exhausting. Suddenly, the curricullum changed and it blew my mind. And I also joined a percussion community at school called Lamuru. I never thought that I’m lucky to play the percussion because all my life I was playing the piano and the guitar. But it was a great escape from all the things going on with school. I really enjoyed performing with them and I feel that it’s a privilege to be a part of something so special. Then, I went through the qualifications to be one of the student council members and I succeeded. I became a part of the Publikasi & Dokumentasi.

Up to this day, I am very happy with my life even though it’s ridiculously exhausting but that’s how the real world is like. All I do is just face the problems one by one and take it easy. There’s nothing to rush (well except for tests and assignments and stuff). I hope I can go to the university I want. And go abroad to study, to work, to travel, and it’s my life, so yeah.