They say that High School days are the best days of your life..Okay, that's just a cheesy cliche intro to this post. And there's nothing cliche about my high school years.
I've pretty much grown up in the environment of Tarakanita. I attended SD Tarakanita I, and SMP Tarakanita V, elementary and junior high respectively. And the person who entered these two schools was still the same old me, still the geeky, shy Gracia, product of cultural shock in elementary school. But that's an entirely different story. :)
So when I entered high school, SMA Tarakanita I, I expected the same old experience: shy little Gracia, joining either the Science club or the English club (which I usually avoided), hanging around with the usual small clique of friends.
But on opening day of club extracurricular, I saw the performance of Korps Putri Tarakanita (KPT), the nationally acknowledged school marching band. Their performance was mind blowing.
The one song that I remember them playing, very vividly, was "Two Worlds", a soundtrack from Tarzan.
Until now, it's still one of my favorite songs besides "Sakura" and "Zamrud Khatulistiwa".
Unwittingly enticed by their performance (the color guards were stunning!), I joined KPT and became a "calang", short for "calon anggota", or a rookie if you may.
6 months of pure hell. Yes, it's bad if training can cause someone to bruise all over and not be able to properly clench one's fist, or even fracture bones.
But it was all worth it. The acknowledgement that you were part of KPT, that you endured the hellish training to become a fully-fledged player. The respect that you gain from others when they learned of how you balanced school-work with practice. And the awe that you see in their eyes when you perform.
Absolute bliss. :)
I thank KPT for bringing out the best in me.
During the second year of high school, KPT entered the Grand Prix Marching Band (GPMB held at Istora Senayan). I thought training during the first year was hell, but this brought pain to another level!
Training centres were the worst, because you had to stand up almost all day long practicing..
But then at night, we would stay up late and gossip or just talk about the day..
I thought that during this year, my grades would drop, but instead I got really good ones. And because of that, until now I still believe that being busy isn't an excuse to neglect grades.
Besides grades and the usual respect from teachers (although not all of them favored KPT members), KPT changed me in a way that saved my social life. I found a lot of new friends.
Not only inside KPT itself, but also outside. I had more confidence in myself, confidence that I lost during my return to Indonesia.
Me and Gladys on the notorious stage at TMII, where all first year rookies make their first KPT performance.
What I loved most about Tarakanita? The red, black and grey skirt "checkered" skirt, famous for its bold color and the bold girls that it represented.
What I loved most about KPT? The "PDL", short for "Pakaian Dinas Latihan" or practice uniform allowed and even encouraged us to shorten the skirt 3 fingers above the knee to ensure ease of movement. Of course, we had to wear tight lycra "bicycle pants" as we called them for safety, but still.. It was AWESOME.
Our awesome skirt and Madagastar bag
Even though I've moved to Bandung, my high school bests, who I sadly only became really close to during the last year of high school, still stick around. The listen to all my problems, and they never change. Boys came and went (and one came back again) but they were always there, waiting and listening, although I sometimes forgot that they were there.
Tonight, alone in my room, I decided to remember.
I miss the laughter, chaos, and absurd screams that came with the all-girls school.
I miss sitting in the "imagination corner", at the righthand corner of the classroom, where Candra, Avi and I used to sit during lunch breaks to play "imagine". This usually involved the phantom of the opera, prince andrea, and fernando torres. :)
I miss the mandatory awkward, thick, tall socks that accompanied our short skirts, simply because they were so cool coupled with out uniform.
I miss the tall football socks that we used to wear when we were still in KPT, part of their mandatory uniform.
I miss the story-telling methods that we used to teach each other before exams. It was like listening to the history channel.
I miss gossiping at the back of the line with Olin (my 'sister'), and my 'children' Kiki and Lola. We were the 'officers of order', and were mostly invincible for the part.
I miss screaming "Kamu nggak asal ya!" or "Suaranya ditahan!" to shut up all those gossiping girls during practice.. I miss the blue and white cord that came with the responsibility.
I miss those late hour practices and coming home all black and blue to a welcoming dose of "param kocok". A very strong version of Salonpas and its friends.
I miss the typical high school sleepovers.
I miss the lovely red skirt.
I miss the friends.
I miss the best friends.
I miss stripping the girls who didn't bring anything to eat at school on their birthdays. ;)
They say that High School days are the best days of your life..And as cliched as the sentence above is, it really is true. I miss High School.
