Hello, guys! Do you believe that our childhood moments can shape who we become today?
I do, actually.
Among all the things that influence us like our parents' upbringing, our environment, life experiences, and the journeys we go through, I believe our childhood memories can have a surprisingly strong impact on the person we eventually become.
So tonight, I'd like to share three things from my childhood that I still remember and that, somehow, helped shape the person I am today.
This is purely for sharing purposes, okay? I have no other intentions. I just hope that maybe someone can relate to it because I believe everyone has unforgettable childhood experiences that quietly become part of who they are.
Okay, let's go!
1. Living a Minimalist Life
First, I'm grateful to God for being born into a family that allowed me to experience farming from a very young age.
Because of my parents, I learned about things like choosing good-quality seeds for rice, corn, and vegetables. I also got to see how plants were planted, fertilized, irrigated, and eventually harvested.
When I was in primary school, I often followed my parents to the farm. Sometimes I helped water the plants, and sometimes I simply walked around and enjoyed being there.
Actually, I still do it until now.
I don't know why, but I always feel calm when I'm surrounded by plantations. Maybe it's because everything is green, and green is such a peaceful, natural color. 😅
But it didn't stop there.
I also used to accompany my mother at night after Isha prayer to prepare and organize vegetables that would be sold at the market the next morning. We would work together while talking about all kinds of things.
Okay, maybe "gossiping" isn't the right word. 😂
It was more like telling her about whatever happened at school that day; what I learned, what happened with my friends, or whatever was on my mind.
And honestly, I still do this sometimes.
Looking back, I think those simple moments taught me that happiness, contentment, and a sense of security don't always come from having a lot. Sometimes, they come from living simply and having warm conversations with the people we love.
There was no pressure to be perfect. Our conversations were simply real. We talked about what we felt, what we thought, what happened that day, and whatever was going on in our lives.
I didn't just help my parents organize vegetables, either.
When they planted peanuts, for example, I sometimes helped remove the peanut shells. Sometimes my hands would get slightly hurt from doing it, but somehow I was still very happy.
Is that weird?
I don't think so.
Those experiences taught me something important: if you want to get something, you usually have to go through a process. Things don't magically appear instantly. There is effort, patience, and sometimes even a little discomfort involved.
But when the result finally comes, it feels truly blessed.
Maybe that's why, as an adult, I don't feel embarrassed about doing small productive things, especially when they involve helping my parents.
Even though I now have my own responsibilities and work, I still try to help my parents whenever I can.
It gives me this feeling of, "Alhamdulillah, I can still be useful as a human being, not just exist as someone who occupies space on this earth." 😅
2. Studying at Night
Since primary school, my older sister, who was in high school at the time, used to make me study.
Don't ask me how many times I cried because she yelled at me while I was trying to memorize multiplication and division. 😂
And don't even get me started on the time she caught me writing song lyrics instead of studying. 🤫
It was basically World War III in our house. 😂
Ironically, being forced to study eventually made me develop a habit of studying at night.
I usually studied for at least one hour after Maghrib until around Isha.
When I was in junior high and high school, I once asked my sister, "Why don't you tell me to study anymore like you did when I was in primary school?"
She simply answered, "You're grown up now. Whether you study or not is your responsibility."
That answer stayed with me.
Interestingly, I eventually started enjoying learning not only because discovering something new gives me a little dopamine boost, but also because I would think about my parents.
They had already spent the entire day working in the fields. If it was hot, they worked under the heat. If it rained, they worked in the rain.
So I would think, "My only responsibility as a student is to study for at least one hour. Why would I refuse to do even that?"
It just didn't feel right.
And yes, when I said one hour, I really meant one hour. 😂
If I studied for 30 minutes and then got hungry, I'd stop to eat. If eating took five minutes, I'd make up those five minutes afterward.
I was apparently very serious about my one-hour study contract with myself. 😂
That habit has stayed with me until now.
I'm 29, approaching 30, and I still enjoy hunting for free online courses.
There's something incredibly satisfying about finding an interesting topic, studying it, understanding it, and suddenly thinking, “Ohhh, so that's how it works!"
And the fact that I can learn it for free, using only the internet, makes it even better.
Honestly, the dopamine is unbeatable.
I actually started looking for free online courses after graduating from vocational high school. During school, I didn't have an Android phone yet, so maybe I was making up for lost time. 😂
I didn't immediately go to university after graduating because financially, I wasn't sure whether it was the right decision. I was also afraid of becoming a burden to my parents.
Thankfully, during my three-year gap period, my parents supported me in pursuing a bachelor's degree, and I eventually graduated.
I'm really proud of them. 🤍
Okay back to the first story...
My first free online course was an English program. I completed it and received two certificates. After that, it felt like someone had opened a door to an entire world of free learning.
It wasn't just English anymore. There were so many subjects!
And because I had already improved my English through that first course, I could understand many other courses that used English as their main language.
I hope that even if I eventually have a family, become a mother, or even a grandmother someday, hopefully I live that long, I will never lose my curiosity. 🤍
I don't want my entire life to revolve only around family responsibilities. I want my brain to keep asking questions.
For examples...
Why do lions and tigers bite their cubs differently from how they bite their prey?
How does a nuclear reaction work?
These things might have absolutely nothing to do with my job.
But they make me happy.
And who knows? Maybe staying curious, learning continuously, and finding joy in small discoveries can help us stay mentally healthy, happy, and excited about life. 🤍
3. Understanding My Parents' Struggles
The third one is somewhat connected to the first.
I think one of the greatest blessings of my childhood was being able to see how hard my parents worked and how much they prioritized their children.
Honestly, when I was growing up, I rarely asked for things that weren't functional.
Being able to go to school, and eventually being supported to attend university, already felt like such a huge blessing.
I often thought, "MashaAllah, they have already given me so much. Why would I ask for more?" 🥺
Maybe that's why I became someone who thinks a thousand times before buying something.
I'm honestly not a big believer in the idea of "self-reward" through buying things simply because something looks cute or because I want a dopamine hit.
Whenever money leaves my wallet, I want to know that what I'm getting has a meaningful benefit.
Perhaps that's also why I don't really connect with the idea of brands being more important than function.
For me, a product doesn't automatically become better just because the brand is bigger or more expensive.
But of course, I don't judge people who enjoy buying luxury products or choosing brands for other reasons.
It's simply a matter of personal preference.
So, those are three childhood experiences that I believe helped shape the person I am today.
Everyone has a different childhood. Some experiences are joyful, some are difficult, and some may seem completely ordinary at the time like mine.
But sometimes, the ordinary things are the ones that stay with us the longest.
Maybe we don't realize it when we're children, but the little things we experience, the habits we develop, the conversations we have, and the people we grow up around can quietly become part of our character.
And perhaps that's the beautiful thing about growing up.
We carry pieces of our childhood with us, but we get to decide what those pieces become.
I believe every one of us is valuable, as long as we keep learning, growing, and becoming a better version of ourselves. 🤍
