Self-Improvement, Writers
My Journey of Gaining 2.8k Followers
It all began in 2021 when my GPA collapsed like 9/11. It made me sad, angry, and cry like a fucking two years old baby girl seeking her milk. The first thing that comes to mind after getting this shit GPA is that I think something is wrong with myself. If you know something is wrong with yourself, but you aren't doing something to change it, it means that your whole mental model is fuck.
After that, I do some self-reflection in the middle of the night with my cigarettes and coffee and think about what I would do to make my GPA above 3.5 points. I do self-dialects on my balcony with the calm starry night, with the blowing winds that touch my neck. It was hushed there, and once I saw the clock, it was 02.42 am. Only the sounds of the wind, my breath that sucks cigars, and an owl. These were memorable nights in my life because I'd never done self-dialectics and self-reflection before.
Hours-by-hours I spent on my balcony alone until I concluded that I had to deal with myself. I have to begin to love the thing I hate: studying. Ok, at least I'm going to try it. The next day I began to study with profound focus. I started to watch educational videos with philosophy as the topic on Youtube. I remember the speaker is Mr. Fahruddin Faiz, one of my life idols. He can explain Nietzsche, Baudrillard, Kant, Sartre, Foucault, and many more philosophers in a funny way and easy to be understood by the audience. I think he taught me better than all my college lecturers, except for my philosophy of mind and the philosophy of economics lecturers.
It was the moment that I started to love studying, and it was also the moment that made me find my best method of study — writing. I write every point Mr. Faiz said on a sheet of paper — such as summarize. After that, I made my own story of the topic combined with this summary. It makes me easily understand something with this method. I think this method works for me; watch-listen-take a notes-make your own story. It is effective, but it is not efficient, and I don't give a shit if I'm a slow learner. I'd rather be a walker and enjoy my process than a sprinter.
As a result, my GPA is never below 3.5 points in the following fourth semester. Payback completed motherfucker. You mess with the wrong guy. After gaining my revenge, I thought, what else will I do? I began to recall my journey after this glorious day. The things that I gain besides my GPA and knowledge. At that time, finally, I realized that I had unlocked my new hobby: writing.
The Medium
It was in 2021 when I first wrote my article for Medium. At that moment, my knowledge of writing is still low. The first thing that comes to mind after hearing "writing" is just writing. I don't know the formula, tips & tricks, grammar, spelling, etc. I write about the topic I know and then publish it on Medium. Write and publish. That's it. Fuck else.
I remember my first article on Medium was about Heidegger's notion about phenomena, and I published it on 9 July 2021. I wrote it in Bahasa because I still lacked the confidence to write my article in English. After publishing my first article, I felt so satisfied. I've never posted my essays before, but thanks to Medium, which provides a platform for anyone who wants their article published without specific complicated rules.
In the first month of writing, I succeeded in producing five articles, all in Bahasa, and I'm not gaining any fucking claps. I felt slightly sad on that day because no one reads my copy. I concluded that I was not good enough to be a writer and didn't belong to Medium. However, besides that sadness, I still evaluate my articles.
I got two critical points after my evaluation; try to write in English and only write a story that you love to re-read it again. After that, I challenged myself to write in English and added one more topic to my niche (self-improvement). I keep my spirit and focus on writing no matter what. Even if it's not a one-day-one article, I'm targeting to write at least five articles monthly.
As time passed, my followers grew gradually. I gained dozens of claps that day. My spirit of writing is getting fired, especially when I've done my article about self-improvement entitled "Dear 20–25 Years Old". I think that's one of my best articles so far, although the grammar was still shit. This article made me become a top writer in self-improvement and book topics, where this article gained 5.3 claps and 113 responses and was shared by a hundred people on their social media. It is just like a snap of a finger a think.
Phew…
Sometimes things may not always make sense. I don't aim for followers the first time. I don't expect a stranger to post my story on their social media. I write and hope that my article is helpful to others. And finally, my consistency led me to the current circumstances where I had 2.8k followers. Even if I could not be a part of the Medium partner program because of my geography, I still could make hundreds of bugs from it. In the other article, I'll tell you how I earn money without the Medium partner program.
To all my followers, I love you guys. Thanks for supporting me for the last couple of years. It means a lot to me. For those who begin to write on Medium, my advice is; to be disciplined and consistent. Find your best niche and identity. Create your unique writing style. It always seems impossible at the beginning until it's done. You never know which of your articles will be trending, so stop calling your art as a fucking trash. Thank you, and have a good day…
