Category: Lifestyle

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Make Peace with Yourself Like Prince Bojji

He was born deprived of strength, deaf, and unable to speak, but he has a dream to become the “Rank 1”. That is the description of the character “Bojji” from the anime series “The Ranking of Kings”.

“The Ranking of Kings” anime itself tells the adventures of a deaf and mute prince named Bojji who dreams of becoming the 1st rank, with his best friend “Kage”, as his name in Japanese means shadow, they go on adventures, practicing together to make Bojji rank 1.

Born with such conditions, Bojji grew up as a strong and great person. He grew up with pressure from almost everyone in his kingdom, his stepmother often compared him to his brother who had advantages over him, and he has to put up with citizens of the kingdom that often laughed at him. Assuming that he could not hear, many people freely laughed at him, even though he listened to everything they had to say and wept silently.

Apart from suffering from a disability, he also lacked strength, being unable to even lift a sword. All he could rely on was his extraordinary agility and dodging ability. Of course, that alone is not enough to make him rank 1.

What is experienced by Bojji’s character seems to show that someone with their shortcomings often receives inappropriate treatment from other people, even from their own family. Being considered trivial and incompetent certainly makes someone want to give up. However, that is not the case with Bojji.

In any condition, Bojji tries to keep smiling and caring for others. He always tries everything he can to achieve his dreams. After meeting Kage, he begins to discover someone he can call a friend.

Together with Kage, he begins his adventure to become stronger. Despite being rejected by his stepmother, who forbade him to go on an adventure because she was worried about his safety, he still insisted on going on an adventure to achieve his dream.

Like Bojji, not all our decisions and choices will receive support from those around us. More often than not, we receive ridicule instead of support and encouragement. Especially with conditions that have deficiencies, the abilities of a person will be covered by those shortcomings. However, with self-confidence and strong determination, a person can overcome their shortcomings and have the strength to improve. In addition, support from friends or someone who is close and understand us will be a useful support system. Bojji has Kage who always helps, encourages, and protects him. As someone who understands Bojji’s strengths and weaknesses, Kage always supports him and gives Bojji the impetus to move forward. Bojji himself was never hostile to his shortcomings, he always thought positively and did everything he could.

Bojji is indeed a fictional character, but what Bojji experiences is relevant for most people in the real world. Bojji’s weaknesses can be a reflection for us. Have we done what we can? Do things with all our might and with all our heart? Make peace with our shortcomings and make it our strength? Everyone has weaknesses and strengths, a beautiful balance that God must have planned for our lives. For that, live with all your heart, love yourself, and accept what we have right now.

Author: Vincensius Radhitya

Editor: Baby Lois Augustine Nabasa, Fransiskus Nino Boby Laksono (QC)

Illustrator: Ajeng Suci Hati

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Features Lifestyle

The Mystery of Struggle in Responding to Compliments

Regardless of the existence of a simple “thank you,” most of us still struggle to find the right response when we are given compliments. For example, when someone says, “Hey, you look great today!” We might answer that with: 

“Nah, you’re exaggerating. I look awful. I didn’t get enough sleep last night.” 

“Yeah, my sister did the makeup for me.”

“Oh, come on. You look even prettier than me.”

In other words, we either neglect the praise, downgrade it, shift its focus to something else (e.g., the makeup), or return the compliments to whom we speak with.

It is easy to understand why we feel uncomfortable when someone insults us since it directly degrades our self-quality and we feel threatened by it. However, why is it so puzzling to reply to a compliment, even though it indicates positive impressions from others? Apparently, the phenomenon occurs not only because we lack self-esteem, but also because of other factors related to our psychological state and the inconsistency of our social conform. 

The first cause of this phenomenon is our unconscious fear of pleasure. Couple therapist, Harville Hendrix, in his book “Getting the Love You Want” (2001, p. 136-137) mentions that we unconsciously develop the fear of pleasure due to our childhood experiences. When we were little, we found that being fully alive is deeply pleasurable that we nearly had no boundary of energy to play and enjoy the moment. However, some of those pleasures were limited by our caregivers so that we could be safe. They would say: 

“No running in the hall!” 

“Come down from that table!” 

“You’re being too noisy!” 

As children, we didn’t blame our parents for ruining our mood. Instead, we believed that we were not worthy of the pleasure. Slowly, we began to make an unlikely association between pleasure and pain. A certain kind of pleasure may unconsciously trigger our fear of being punished as we grow up. Consequently, we restrain ourselves from the excitement and pride of being praised.

The more significant factor is the contradictory social norm we have to follow (Lambert, 2018). On one hand, people expect us to agree on the positive statement they are trying to offer, like when our friends invite us to a party, or when we discuss a certain movie theory. On the other hand, they also demand us to not engage in self-praise since it can lead to arrogance. When someone gives a compliment, agreeing to what they say means that we have to engage in self-praise, and not engaging in self-praise means that we state disagreement to the person we talk to. In short, we cannot follow both norms at the same time and that troubles us in picking the proper response toward compliments.

All in all, feeling confused about how to respond to a compliment is normal. We are haunted by our fear of past experiences and stuck in the middle of two competing social expectations. 

When someone compliments you, try to start saying “thank you.” It indicates that you accept their opinion and you appreciate them for letting you know. If you are afraid that it will make you seem arrogant, ask about what is good, and what can be improved from your performance to gain a deeper perspective from the person you are talking with. With this simple strategy, we may embrace a better way of communicating with others.

 

References:

Hendrix, Harville. (2019). Getting the love you want: a guide for couples (fully revised and updated version). St. Martin’s Press. 

Lambert, Bruce L. (2018, August 2). How to accept compliments and why it’s so hard. How Communication Works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kow-Cyr1U9s 

Pawelski, Suzie Pileggi and James Pawelski. (2018, December 4). Why is it so hard to accept a compliment? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happy-together/201812/why-is-it-so-hard-accept-compliment

 

 

Journalist: Agnes Seraphine

Editor : Vivi Julianti, Cherry Larissa Hendranata (QC)

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Features Lifestyle

The Increase of Indonesia’s Smoking Habit

The smoking habit of Indonesians has increased from year to year. In fact, the level has reached an alarming level. This increase occurred because there were still many people who did not understand the health risks of consuming tobacco (smoking). This is a fact that must be seriously realized and brought upon at all levels of society in order for the masses to understand, realize, and have the desire to be able to stop smoking.

According to data from the Ministry of Health, the prevalence of smokers increased by 9.3%, from 27% in 1995 to 36.3% in 2013. That means that 20 years ago one in three Indonesians were smokers, but now, there are 2 smokers in 3 Indonesians. This situation is even more worrying, because the proportion of female smokers also increased from 4.2% in 1995 to 6.7% in 2013. What is even more worrying is that the smoking habit is also increasing among the younger generation. The data show that the prevalence of smoking among adolescents aged 16-19 years has increased from 7.1% in 1995 to 20.5% in 2013. From the data above, it is clear that smoking has a very negative impact on health. Because, smoking is one of the factors that have a big impact on health. Smokers have two to four times the risk of developing heart disease, and a higher risk of developing lung cancer and other diseases.

There are many factors that cause the increase in the number of smokers in Indonesia. dr HM Subuh, General Director of Disease Prevention and Control, Ministry of Health, said there are 3 main reasons why the number of smokers in Indonesia are increasing. The first is a lot of cigarette advertisements, the second is the easiness of buying cigarettes, and the last is the cheap price of cigarettes. Advertisements issued by cigarette companies can be seen everywhere, from television to posters and billboards on the highway. In addition, many tobacco companies are often the main sponsors for music and sporting events. The number of advertisements has made Indonesian’s adolescents want to try cigarettes. Easy access to cigarettes is also the reason for the increasing number of smokers in Indonesia. Since cigarettes are sold so widely, children and teenagers can easily buy them. This is exacerbated by the cheap price of cigarettes which makes it easy for Indonesian teenagers to buy cigarettes.

Based on the various reasons above, it is very clear that the increase in the number of smokers in Indonesia is very dangerous for the future of the nation. This is because smoking has a detrimental effect on health, which has an impact on reducing the quality of children and the new born generation. The quality reduction of this generation has resulted in continuous duping and poverty from generation to generation throughout history, which will get even worse if it is not quickly and seriously addressed.

Author: Atanasius Davin Evan Yesa Pratama

References:

  1. Sulaiman, Muhammad Reza. (2016, May 31). 3 Penyebab Utama Makin Banyak Perokok di Indonesia: Iklan, Mudah dan Murah. Detik Health. https://health.detik.com/berita-detikhealth/d-3222227/3-penyebab-utama-makin-banyak-perokok-di-indonesia-iklan-mudah-dan-murah
  2. Rokom. (2016, May 31). HTTS 2016: Suarakan Kebenaran, Jangan Bunuh Dirimu Dengan Candu Rokok. Sehat Negeriku Sehatlah Bangsaku. https://www.kemkes.go.id/article/print/16060300002/htts-2016-suarakan-kebenaran-jangan-bunuh-dirimu-dengan-candu-rokok.html#:~:text=Inilah%20Faktanya%2C%20Jumlah%20Perokok%20di%20Indonesia%20Memprihatinkan&text=Data%20Kemenkes%20menunjukkan%20bahwa%20prevalensi,merokok%20semakin%20muda%20(dini).
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WHO ARE YOU, AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL?

Did you know that genes influence every inch of ourselves, including our sleeping habits?

One of the most crucial things to do for the sake of human health is sleep. Good quality sleep affects not only our health but also our quality of life. However, not every person in this world has the same time of sleeping. Our body has its own biological clock known as a chronotype. Chronotype schedules our sleep and wake times at a particular time which also influences our circadian rhythm or sleep-wake. Related to this, some people could be either an “early bird” or a “night owl” depending on their chronotype. If a person tends to wake up early in the morning and sleep early in the evening then the person is an early bird. A night owl, on the other hand, means someone who goes to bed late at night and wakes up late in the afternoon or even in the evening. So, we can say that early birds and night owls have very distinguishable differences.

In the first place, we will talk about an early bird person. The first difference, as mentioned before, is wake and sleep time. Early birds tend to sleep and wake up earlier, which is very different from night owls that tend to sleep and wake up late (grammar, para. 3). Because early birds start the day very early in the morning, they are likely to be more active during the day and more productive as well and this is the second difference. Early birds can complete more things than night owls because early birds start a day earlier, thus they have more time to do things and finish the job. There was a proverb that was written in a book entitled A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs by John Ray released in 1670 or 1678, it said, “The early bird catcheth the worm.” (Ray, 1670 or 1678). That is why many people said that early birds are more likely to be more successful. Another difference between early birds and night owls is health issues. As early birds go to the bed and wake up earlier, they are naturally to be more mentally healthy and this is supported by the study from the Aachen University in Germany. The study concluded that early birds have more white matter in the brain than night owls, hence this makes early birds far from schizophrenia and depression (Yovita, 2019, para. 7 and 9). Research published in Nature Communications in 2019 also promotes this thought (MasterClass Staff, 2021).

The second one is a night owl. A night owl has a different bedtime from an early bird and this is the very first difference between a night owl and an early bird. Unlike early birds who like to go to the bed early, night owls prefer to go to the bed late at night and wake up later. Therefore, they are more active at night and this serves as the second difference (grammar, para. 2). The third one, People may say that ‘the early bird gets the worm’, but night owls, in fact, are smarter and more creative than early birds. This thought is supported by research done by psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa. The result showed that night owl have a higher level of intelligence than early birds (Chu, 2017, para. 3 – 5). Besides being smarter, owls are also more creative since the night makes the brain able to think more creatively idea,s and this is proven by professor Marina Giampietro, a researcher at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Miami (Chu, 2017, para. 11 and 12). Next is related to health issues. Opposite of early birds, night owls have less white matter in their bran, thus they are more prone to depression, schizophrenia, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and addictive habits. Those are the effects of social jet lag, the phenomenon when a night owl must labor against their body clock to adjust to conventional working hours (MasterClass staff, 2021).

If your family is a night owl or an early bird, then you might as well be one of them depending on what your family is.

To sum up, sleeping is very important in our life, but not everyone has the same sleeping hours. Someone’s sleeping habits depend on their chronotype and this is genetic. A person can be either an early bird or a night owl depending on the DNA that runs in the family. An early bird and a night owl person have several significant differences, such as bedtime, productivity, intelligence, creativity, and health issue. Something to remember, being an early bird does not always mean that you will be more successful than a night owl, and vice versa, being a night owl does not mean you are a failure and cannot be successful. Everyone has an equal opportunity to become a successful person regardless of whether they are early birds or night owls.

Author: Liethasia 

References:

  1. Chu, M. (2017, May 19). Good News from Science: Night Owls are Smarter and More Creative. Retrieved from Good News From Science: Night Owls Are Smarter and More Creative (entrepreneur.com)
  2. Grammarist. Night Owl or Early Bird. Retrieved from https://grammarist.com/usage/night-owl-or-early-bird/#:~:text=The%20plural%20form%20of%20night,too%20early%20at%20an%20event 
  3. Know Your Phrase. The Early Bird Gets the Worm. Retrieved from https://knowyourphrase.com/the-early-bird-gets-the-worm 
  4. MasterClass Staff. (2021, May 5). Night Owl vs. Early Bird: Explore the Different Chronotypes. Retrieved from https://www.masterclass.com/articles/night-owls-vs-early-birds#what-is-a-night-owl 
  5. Santora, T. (2021, April 18). Can A Night Owl Turn into An Early Bird? Retrieved from Can a night owl turn into an early bird? | Live Science 
  6. Yovita, N.V. (2018, March 8). Pengaruh Gaya Hidup Early Bird dan Night Owl pada Kesehatan Mental. Retrieved from https://www.klikdokter.com/info-sehat/read/3624230/pengaruh-gaya-hidup-early-bird-dan-night-owl-pada-kesehatan-mental#:~:text=Kelompok%20pertama%20adalah%20night%20owl,dan%20tidur%20malam%20lebih%20awal
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Features Lifestyle

Indonesia’s Herb, Spices, and Healthy Lifestyle

Indonesia has a lot of healthy herbs and spices that are now being used by many peole and even more especially because of the pandemic.

Since a long time ago, many countries have come to Indonesia to buy herbs and spices because Indonesia’s herbs and spices are known for their richness. Indonesia has such rich and high-quality herbs and spices such as cloves, nutmeg, peppers, cinnamon, ginger, etc. That is why foods in Indonesia are flavourful. The high-quality of the spices means there is also a price, herbs and spices were very expensive back then. The European traders were obsessed, thus it became many food’s ingredients around the world. Indonesia’s richness can be proven by Maluku as the biggest producer of cloves and nutmeg specifically from Banda Island as the best nutmeg producer in the world. Indonesia and India are two countries with the most extensive paper plantations in the world, Indonesia has around 116,000 hectares of pepper plantation. Besides, herbs and spices are used for many things. Spices are commonly used for cooking, cure sickness, to warm our bodies. Human health with herbs and spices is a perfect combination, there are plenty of benefits of herbs for the body. For example, consuming one garlic clove per day lower the risk of cholesterol, heart disease. Chilli peppers keep the blood vessels healthy, ginger helps the digestive system also warm the body and has calming effect. Cinnamon lowers blood sugar levels and lessens the possibility of getting diabetes. Barus, North Sumatra has 300 herbs that can heal around 116,000 hectares of pepper plantation. Besides, herbs and spices can be used for many things. Spices are commonly used for cooking, cure sickness, and, warm the body. For example, consuming one garlic clove per day can lower the risk of cholesterol and heart disease. Chilli peppers keep the blood vessels healthy, ginger helps the digestive system and can warm the body and has a calm effect. Cinnamon lowers blood sugar levels and lessens the possibility of getting diabetes. Barus, North Sumatra has 300 herbs that can heal around 118 types of physical illnesses. The history of Indonesia’s herbs and spices led Indonesia to become the world’s herbs and spices commodity. Europeans wanted herbs and spices directly from the source. Therefore, in 1512, the Portuguese went to Nusantara, specifically to Ternate Island. At that time, Ternate and Tidore were in a bad place thus the Portuguese supported Ternate and expected them to give back their herbs and spices. In 1512, Spain came and supported Tidore against the Portuguese. That is how Spain got the spices. Eventually, there was a war between the Portuguese and Spain, the Portuguese with Ternate, resulting Portuguese’s loss and then they left Nusantara. The Dutch and VOC came to Nusantara, Batavia (now Jakarta) and made Banda Island the trading centre of VOC for nutmeg spices. The power of herbs and spices shows when the British came to Nusantara, wanting to take the spices but the Netherlands did not let that happen, causing the British and the Dutch to fight each other. The Netherlands even destroyed all the nutmeg trees so that the British could not have it. The war ended in 1667 by signing The Treaty of Breda. The British smuggled out the nutmeg seeds from Banda Island and then planted it on their other colonies in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Singapore, and Grenada. This ended the Dutch monopoly of nutmeg. There is also a route called the spice route, traders from around the world use this route to trade herbs and spices. Not only herbs and spices, a lot of cultural exchange also happened in spice routes such as religion, food, and language. This is how herbs and spices in Nusantara became the world’s herbs and spices commodity. People are already aware of Indonesia’s herbs and spices richness and their benefits for human health, which made Nusantara a superior commodity in the past, later become popular these days because of the pandemic. They are usually for cooking ingredients for the daily life, but most people now believed in the impact of herbs and spices for our health.

Coronavirus came to Indonesia in early March announced by the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. When this happened, a lot of people were panicking because coronavirus affects many aspects on people’s life. One of them being their lifestyle, people drastically shift their lifestyle from their usual into a healthy lifestyle to prevent the virus. Healthy lifestyle needed especially because of the virus. There are plenty of things that became popular in Indonesia because of the pandemic strikes, one of the examples is the increased usage of herbs and spices because herbs and spices are known as immunity boosters. Besides, it can be found anywhere in the market, some sellers sell them at much cheaper prices and that is probably one of the reasons why people consume herbs and spices in this situation since the economy is in decline. You can even plant your herbs and spices at your house, might as well make them your new hobby during the lockdown. Researchers from Professor Nidom Foundation (PNF) in Pasuruan invented a coronavirus preventer using herbal medicine as the basic ingredients (Hartini, 2020). In 2019, export volume in the agricultural sector skyrocketed to 4,18 million tons, not to mention the volume after the new normal phase. Kinds of herbs and spices that are now commonly used for healthy living are ginger, turmeric, curcuma, lemongrass, cinnamon, orange peel, etc. Ginger or red ginger to be more precise has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, meanwhile, coronavirus causes inflammation symptoms in the lungs. This means ginger’s anti-inflammatory effect could work for the virus. As additional information, ginger can also warm your body. In turmeric, there is an antibacterial and anti-virus substance called Lipopolysaccharide. Curcuma can improve our immune system, people usually blend Curcuma, turmeric, and ginger. Other than an immunity booster, lemongrass is also used for detoxification to prevent increasing cholesterol. In the other hand, garlic can be useful to fight viruses such as influenza A, B, HIV, pneunomia, and rhinovirus. Something that can be found easily but is very useful for the body is orange peel, orang peel has 3 times more vitamin C than the actual fruit. Polyphenol antioxidants that are in the orange peel are also important for immune system. Either boil it with water or in a powder form then brew it like a coffee. Another alternative is to drink jamu, jamu is a herbal medicine in a liquid form that is made from various natural ingredients. Few people might not like jamu because some jamu has a bitter taste, despite the bitter taste, jamu has a lot of benefits. Some jamu that contain ginger or turmeric that can help to boost the immune system are Jamu Presiden (contains ginger water, turmeric, lemongrass, palm sugar, curcuma).

The numerous of high-quality herbs and spices in Indonesia supports people’s moves to start a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle does not have to be expensive, ecause Indonesia has the best source of traditional herbs and spices that is way cheaper than modern treatment. It is rare for young people these days to consume traditional herbal medicine, so it would be a good example for other people too if you start to consume traditional herbal medicine. It will also help the economy of herbs and spices farmers around Indonesia if more people consume it. Other than that, there are still a lot of herbs and spices in Indonesia that have not been developed by scientists which may be useful for human health. This pandemic is a moment for our country to think more creatively so that people can be more independent in the future.

 

Author: Ilen Atine Gusti

 

References

  1. Wongso, William W. (2018). Cita Rasa Indonesia: Ekspresi Kuliner William Wongso”. BAB Publishing Indonesia.
  2. Indonesiana Magazine Volume 9. (2020). Pandemic, Indonesian Spice’s Momentous Awakening”.
  3. Drijono, Amaranila. Soebagjo, Wido. (2020). Mengenal Jalur Rempah Nusantara. MataCinta Yayasan Caraka Nusantara.
  4. Partogi, Sebastian. (2017, August 4). Indonesian spice trade, now and then. [Blog post]. Retrieved from
    https://www.thejakartapost.com/adv/2017/08/04/indonesian-spice-trade-now-and-then.html
  5. MS, John Leech. (2017, June 3). 10 Delicious Herbs and Spices With Powerful Health Benefits. [Blog post]. Retrieved from
    https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-healthy-herbs-and-spices
  6. Hartini, Desy. (2020, March 2). Peneliti di Pasuruan Ciptakan Anti-virus Corona dari Rempah-rempah. [Blog post]. Retrieved from
    https://www.kompas.tv/article/69273/luar-biasa-peneliti-di-pasuruan-ciptakan-anti-virus-corona-dari-rempah-rempah
  7. Sayurbox. (2020, January 21). Ini 9 Jenis Jamu Tradisional yang Membantu Menjaga Daya Tahan Tubuh.
    http://blog.sayurbox.com/5-jenis-jamu-tradisional/ 
  8. Wijaksono, Rangga Aji. (2020, October 1). Rempah Meruah, Peluang Masa Pandemi? [Blog spot]. Retrieved from
    https://news.detik.com/kolom/d-5195406/rempah-meruah-peluang-masa-pandemi
  9. Di Tengah Pandemi, Ini 12 Rempah-rempah Penambah Daya Tahan Tubuh. (n.d) [Blog spot]. Retrieved from
    https://www.buddies.co.id/di-tengah-pandemi-ini-12-rempah-rempah-penambah-daya-tahan-tubuh/
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THE ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SHOPPING

Both Online shopping and offline shopping have the same purpose, which is to get items that we want, fulfil our needs and desire to shop, and to relax and relieve stress. However, online shopping has far more advantages than offline shopping. So, what makes them so different? There are several points that lead to these differences. Examine the differences of online shopping and offline shopping by looking at the time consuming, variety, and prices.

Talking about the time it takes, “When shopping online, you will not have to plan a trip to your nearest shopping centre. All of the information is available to you. You can proceed to do shopping within a short period” (Retail Minded, 2020, para. 3). Online shopping also helps you save time searching for the items you are looking for, as all the information you need is in your device. You can search anything you want while sitting in you couch. In contrast, offline shopping requires you to go to a store to buy your item, which will take time to be there. Not to mention the traffic, routes, distances and also another trip if the store does not have the item that you are looking for.

In terms of variety, online shopping makes you able to look at a lot of kind of items. Your choices are not limited by supplier or brand. You can look up any kinds of items and any brand that you like. While in offline shopping, your choices are limited by what the store provided. Which gives you a fewer selection of items. Thus, makes it really hard for you to look for the item that you really wanted. “A large traditional brick-and-mortar shoe retailer offers at most a few thousand distinct varieties of shoes. However, as we will see, an online retailer may offer over 50,000 distinct varieties.” (Quan and Williams, 2017). This has become one of the reasons why people most likely to shop online when they looking for something they wanted. They can give fewer efforts and have bigger selection to find the right item. The amounts of items that are provided in online shopping is one of the biggest advantages against the offline shopping.

Lastly, online shopping provides cheaper prices than offline shopping. Most people find that when they compare the price in the online shop and offline shop, they often find that online shop gives lower price for the same item. Thus, making them chose to buy it online. “Finally, another very important aspect of any shopping experience is trying to save as much money as possible. One reason that people enjoy online shopping is that you can often find a product more cheaply online than you can in stores.” (Bagla, 2017). Also, online shop sometimes gives discounts and coupons. These discounts and coupons are what attracts people to buy their items. So not only that they will save time and efforts, they will also pay less for the items they wanted. In contrast, offline shop usually gives normal price in their products. Which gives the costumer no motivation and desire to buy the item.  This difference is also what makes people more interest to buy items online.

In conclusion, online shopping and offline shopping have their own characteristics and purposes. Even so, based on the evidence, online shopping is much more advanced than offline shopping. People are getting more and more interested and more comfortable with online shopping instead of having to leave the house to buy something they wanted. They can save their time from driving around the city. They can also relax, see more products and choices, also choose prices that suit them without the need to hold a cash to pay for their items.

 

Author: Yehezkiel David Maruli Sigalingging 

 

References

  1. “PRODUCT VARIETY, ACROSS-MARKET DEMAND HETEROGENEITY, AND THE VALUE OF ONLINE RETAIL” by Thomas W. Quan and Kevin R. Williams, November, 2016, June, 2017
    https://cowles.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/pub/d20/d2054-r.pdf
  2. Retailminded.com “Five benefits of online shopping and offline shopping” September 14, 2020
    https://retailminded.com/five-benefits-of-online-shopping-and-offline-shopping/#.YJkmT7UzbIU
  3. “Online Shopping vs Offline Shopping” by Mrs. Divya Bagla
    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343981513_Online_Vs_Offline_shopping

 

 

 

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Breast Cancer & Unhealthy Lifestyle

Breast cancer is one of the deadliest form of cancer. It can happens when our breast forms a cell that grows abnormal. In general, breast cancer is more common in women but it does not rule out that men can be possibly have this cancer. Many factors trigger the growth of breast cancer in our bodies, this happens when we continue to live unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking, consuming alcohol, and not paying attention to healthy food intake.

First, smoking has become one of the causes of breast cancer. Both women and men are familiar with smoking, even adolescence can consume more than two cigarettes a day. Smoking can cause a significantly increased risk of breast cancer for those who started smoking in adolescence. In general, breast cancer attacks in women. 14% women who had ever smoked were more likely to develop breast cancer than those who had never smoked (Rosenberg, 2017). Drg Rahmi Amtha, MDS. Sp.PM, Ph.D., chairman of the Indonesian Association of Oral Medicine Specialists said that cigarette contains hundreds of carcinogens. Carcinogens are a substance that encourages cancer. This substance worked in the body by changing the metabolism of the cells or destroy the DNA of the cells directly, it will cause cell mutations that interrupt normal biological processes in the body (Rafiqua, 2020). When people had a smoking habit, it means that there are so many carcinogens in their bodies. The more cigarette we smoke, the more good cells will change become malignant cells. That is the reason why smoking can cause breast cancer, smoking not only give an effect on our lungs but the contents of cigarettes, especially the carcinogen will spread to the body cells. When the body cannot control it, it will raise a tumour and then become cancer, one of which is breast cancer.

Second, consuming alcohol. Nowadays, consuming alcohol has become more common and even becomes a lifestyle. The youth push themselves to adopt a lavish and viral way of life. Without us realizing, alcohol becomes a way to unite some people. Alcohol makes for greater social status also improved friendship,  that is why so many people try to consume alcohol such as wine, beer, and booze. Some of them try to consume alcohol only to be cool with their friends. On the other side, some people also consume alcohol because they felt stress or depressed. Women are mostly at risk of developing breast cancer as women who consume alcohol 15 gram / 1, 5 glass per day get 34% breast cancer risk. The content of alcohol damages the DNA in the breast, it will increase the oestrogen hormone and other hormones that are connected to breast cancer. People who consume alcohol after giving birth, their breast cell system more resistant to cancer.  In fact, there are many people consume alcohol at young age. In America, there are 270 thousand cases and 55 thousand cases in England, which happened because a woman did not realize that alcohol can arise breast cancer. According to the research of a doctor from Washington, dr. Ying Liu, an adolescent who consume alcohol carries 7-10% breast cancer risk for one glass of alcohol that they consumed (Fitri, 2018, para. 5).

Third, one of the lifestyles that encourage breast cancer is unhealthy food. It cannot be denied that junk food becomes a favourite for some people. The taste is just irresistible for some people, as they overeat on eat junk food. Hamburger, pizza, spaghetti, hotdog, fried chicken, steak, and other junk foods, all of them contains a preservative that will be buried in our bodies. So why people still consuming junk food? The reason why people eat junk foods because they are simple and practical, people who do not like to cook will order some food by online. They also extracted by promotion or discount that the restaurant offered. That way makes people forget to consume a portion of healthy food, like vegetables and fruit. In fact, behind the delectation of junk food, they keep the grease in the body. Sandra Haslam, lead researchers from Michigan University, said that, not only obese people get cancer but the increases in greases from junk food increases breast cancer (Scribbr, n.d.). If people continue to consume junk food, they will keep greases in their bodies. There are two types of greases, good grease and bad grease. And what is produced from junk food is bad grease, which means it will increase cholesterol level and produced cells cancer.

Thus, as it can be seen, breast cancer can arise due to an unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking habits, consuming alcohol, and unhealthy food. We can start to change our lifestyle to avoid breast cancer, not only breast cancer but also keep our body in order to stay healthy.

 

Author: Titisari Sasmita 

 

References :

  1. “Gaya Hidup Engga Sehat Bisa Sebabkan Kanker Payudara, Benarkah?”. (2019, July 11). Halodoc.com. https://www.halodoc.com/artikel/gaya-hidup-enggak-sehat-bisa-sebabkan-kanker-payudara-benarkah
  2. Penelitian: Alkohol Tingkatkan Risiko Kanker Payudara. (2018, October 23). GueSehat. https://www.guesehat.com/penelitian-alkohol-tingkatkan-risiko-kanker-payudara
  3. Breast Cancer. (2021, June 4). Mayo Klinik Staff. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/breast-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20352470
  4. Ratriani, V. (2020, October 21). Inilah 5 Jenis Makanan Penyebab Kanker Payudara Yang Harus Dihindari. Kontan. https://kesehatan.kontan.co.id/news/inilah-5-jenis-makanan-penyebab-kanker-payudara-yang-harus-dihindari?page=all
  5. Wicaksono, Bhakti Satrio. (2018, December 14). Bagaimana Rokok Bisa Sebabkan Kanker di Seluruh Tubuh?. Kompas. https://sains.kompas.com/read/2018/12/14/200600223/bagaimana-rokok-bisa-sebabkan-kanker-di-seluruh-tubuh-
  6. Rosenberg, Jaime. (2017, November 28). Study Link Smoking to Increased Risk of Breast Cancer. https://www.ajmc.com/view/study-links-smoking-to-increased-risk-of-breast-cancer
  7. Rafiqua, Nurul. (2020, March 12). Mengenal Bahaya Karsinogen dan Karsinogenik Beserta Bahayanya bagi Tubuh. https://www.sehatq.com/artikel/mengenal-karsinogen-dan-karsinogenik-beserta-bahayanya-bagi-tubuh
  8. Ini alasan wanita tak boleh makan makanan berlemak saat puber!. (2013, December 2). https://www.merdeka.com/sehat/ini-alasan-wanita-tak-boleh-makan-makanan-berlemak-saat-puber.html
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Features Lifestyle

Starting Your Own Business: Devaneira’s Thrift Shop, ‘@neyrooms’

When the pandemic outbreak started around March 2020 and the students were forced to hide at home, Deva  (184214062) lost all of her monthly stipends since she had to return to her hometown. Thus, with her minimum availability of money, she started to think of any possible strategy to turn the situation around. Departing from her very own hobby in fashion, she decided to open a thrift store in Instagram – well, the batch 2018, actually, aspires to open her own fashion brand, but “That’s a future shot” as Deva said.

https://www.instagram.com/neyrooms/

With now more than 21k (yes, twenty one thousands) followers and monthly income surpasses 6 – 8 millions rupiah, Deva’s thrift store, @neyrooms in Instagram (you have to follow and check them out!), has now developed massively in comparison to its starting point a year ago. It’s not exaggerating to say that the business is a beautiful success. Deva’s struggles, in the midst of her juggling between academic responsibilities and personal lives, are truly paid – especially in addition to the fact that every effort (connecting to supplier, doing marketing & promotion, conducting photoshoot for online catalogue) in the business are being done fully by Deva herself, independently. Really cool, right?

Luckily,

For whoever is inspired and interested, Deva is generous enough to share with us further about some of her prominent tricks in doing online thrift shop – based on her real experience as a digital businesswoman:

  1. Rebranding

A constant rebranding is important for whoever turns themselves into the fashion business. The key lies in trend awareness! One day, sweatpants were a mad hype, and the other day it might be sweaters. In this case, staying updated on the fashion market is very necessary. While it’s also okay to change your collection from time to time. Accordingly, you need to fully recognize your customers and markets.

  1. Patience

As an online-based business, handling the customers as well as courier service could be tricky and challenging at some points. It needs a whole lot of patience. One time, Deva’s goods were lost during the delivery and she didn’t have much of an option, but to declare it to the customers. Choosing the right courier service and maintaining good communication with the customer are very important.

3. Starting from smalls

Many people, fatally, aim for a big shot when they just start their own business. Deva chooses to disagree. She believes that a good business has to be initiated from scratch and small steps. Do not ever hoard goods stocks, because it will be much more difficult for you to sell later.

4. Last but not least, resilience

“It might be cliche, but do not ever give up!” Deva said. You have to keep going when you encounter challenges along the path. Certain negative thoughts might kill your will, and they are something that you have to dismiss since the very start. At the end of day, if you truly put time, effort, and patience into doing your business – in whatever it is – it shall work!

Journalist: Nathaniel Alvino Risa Prima

Editor: Michael Tan

Categories
Features Lifestyle

The Important Things in Running a Business: Andra Febri Aura

Since high school Andra (194214166) has been helping his father in running his family’s aquarium decoration business. Their shop named ‘Bang Jo’ sells many types of aquarium as well as other things such as sands, rocks, wood decorations, and many more. The shop earns approximately 5 million rupiahs per month.

According to Andra, there are three important things to do when running a business.

The first one is patience. In running a business, patience is very important. “We don’t know what kind of customers we get. So controlling emotions is very important,” said Andra. Besides dealing with customers, there are times when the incoming orders are out of control, either very much or not at all. So patience is the key to business success.

The second important things is finding connections. Social media has an important role in finding connections to get the best materials from suppliers. Andra uses the Facebook group to find supplier connections. He said, the downside of using social media to get connections is not being able to know the quality of the goods clearly, so to ensure the quality, he must go to the supplier directly. However, on the other hand, with social media, these connections are easier to obtain.

The final step is promoting and advertise. Once again, social media plays an important role in the business. He uses Facebook to advertise his shop. “For hobby items, Facebook has the best marketplace,” said Andra. He uses a Facebook group to advertise his product. He said in general, every times he post something in the group he could bring up to 25 customers.

In conclusion, according to Andra, there are three important things in running a business, namely patience, connection, and promotion. Patience is important to deal with customers and order conditions. Finally, to get connections and do promotions use social media as effectively as possible.

Journalist: Michael Surya D.P

Editor: Michael Tan 

Categories
Features Lifestyle

How does men dress up in English Letters? : Adrian Febriyanto

English Letters USD’s students are quite famous for their unique and bold fashion sense. Due to the non-strict regulation of dress code in this department, many of their students expressed their own self through fashion style. Adrian as one of English Letters USD also believes that the advantage of being part of this department is to be able to have the freedom of speech and act. The unique thing about fashion in English Letters department, it isn’t only for women. There are also a lot of men seen dressed up in this department.

In this interview, Adrian explained how men’s fashion has changed drastically especially from the Age of Conformity (1950s) to nowadays. From the age where everything seems just black and white and also conservative to the age where there are a lot of options for men to explore. He said, “now men’s fashion has changed and it’s getting wider, men can wear anything they want and no longer have to show his masculinity, they can wear skirts, crop tee and so on as long as it makes them comfy”.

However, in Indonesia, society still views men’s fashion as showing masculinity to look cool. Adrian believes that Indonesia has double standard in men’s fashion for example when Jefri Nichol wore skirts in his IG, people seem fine in the comment section.  But then, when non-celebrity men using the same things like skirts, people tend to judge or be sentimental about it.

Adrian believes in the principle that fashion is genderless. “Fashion can be worn by anyone without seeing their gender especially in 2021 right now everything has changed. Men can wear skirts, pearl necklace or even crop tee, heels and the otherwise, women also can wear jeans, tuxedo, hat, pantofel” he said.  He also stated that the stigma of fashion boundaries between men and women has low-key faded.

In the relation to the freedom that English Letters student has, Adrian believed that fashion in the department has no boundaries. He said, “EL students have the perks to dress up as we want and no one will judge you”. Adrian always expresses himself through fashion, even when he goes to campus (before the pandemic). He explained his own fashion as something that makes him comfy. “I always buy something oversize, either clothes or pants, because I really like when it looks loose when I wear it, and I always see what occasion that I head to”. Adrian always prepared his outfit to campus the night before. “I always prepare my outfit to be variative and make an extra effort to it, because whenever I did this, it makes me more excited to go to campus”.  

Adrian’s campus outfits mostly consist of t-shirt rather than collar shirts. But not only with a basic t-shirt as he mixes and matches it with other accessories such as Balinese cloth, collar, and tote bag. For the bottom, Adrian’s go-to is boyfriend jeans. The point is every day has to be different, may add some details or change the details.  

For hangout after the class outfit, Adrian has several tips. Start with the top, try to wear a basic tee that could be oversize or the fit one. Then mix it with boyfriend jeans and for the footwear, use converse 70’s. For the details you can also add a necklace and ring but, if you want to wear anything else that are more suitable for you are also suitable. “, if want to wear a skirt and crop tee, that is amazing as well, because when you are confident anything you wear will look totally cool”.

Most of his stylish outfit, he got it from IG thrift shops. “I highly recommend you to buy on thrift shop especially on IG. No need to buy something expensive because from the thrift shop u can get cool clothes, pants, and stuff”.  He recommended several of his go-to stores: @fuckyeahendy, @vaga3ond, @_dindayasmin, and @davidguison. 

At the end, Adrian believed that the most important thing is to be yourself and don’t think about someone’s opinion, just be comfortable in your own style. “Find your own style and when you think it is cool wear it because your uniqueness is something that you should be proud of and just ignore what people think,” he said.

 

Journalist: Sara Immaculata Terra I.

Editor: Michael Tan