New Chapter

          On April 22, 2021, I finally graduated and received a master's degree from UGM. It was a special day and a welcome to a “new chapter” in my life, from college student to jobless. After graduation, I decided to leave Jogjakarta and back to my hometown, since I was a job seeker, not a college student anymore. Being jobless was challenging, but had hidden benefits. It could be beneficial because I had tons of free time to do what I love to do such as memorize the Al-Qur’an and learn English. On the other hand, being jobless for overlong was tiring, especially when our relatives, friends, and neighbor were over meddling in our personal affairs.

        To face that condition, I applied for jobs as a lecturer, employee, and State Civil Apparatus (ASN) for a researcher seat. At the end of June 2021, CPNS registration was opened. This was a huge opportunity for me and thousands of other unemployed to end unemployment status, so I made rigorous preparation to face the CPNS test. As a result, I won the second rank for SKD (Basic Competency Selection) and I was optimistic that I would be ASN. Unfortunately, I failed the SKB (Field Competency Selection) test because I came to the fifth rank and only the top three be accepted. It was not only about me but it was related to my parent, they worry about my future. That is why I was miserable and disappointed but life must go on.

        Being unemployed was not awful, I should be grateful because I had tons of free time. This period gave me a chance to improve my English skill and increase my memorization of the Al-Qur’an. I was not alone, my best friend had the same conditions, so we made a program for speaking English and memorizing Al-Qur’an via WhatsApp call three times per week. Meanwhile, to improve my listening skill I watched an English video, and to improve my writing skill I made this blog. In addition, I learned to design and edit videos, since I had a challenge with my best friend to make YouTube Channel. Maybe, someday I would be Youtuber, so I should learn first.

 

Overview of Butterfly Pea Flower

Clitoria ternatea

        Clitoria ternatea, commonly known as, “butterfly pea” is a perennial herbaceous legume from the Fabaceae family. The etymology of the specific name "ternatea" is postulated to be from the island of Ternate in the Indonesian archipelago, but the exact geographic origin of C. ternatea is difficult to determine. This plant had been widely spread over many countries and uniquely each country has different vernacular names for this plant. For instance, there are tembang telang (Indonesia), bunga telang (Malaysia), pokindong (Philippines), lan hua dou (Chinese), and fula criqua (Portuguese).
 
        Besides, it has vernacular names, butterfly pea is also easy to cultivate in many countries because it can grow wild and also in gardens. This is supported by key characteristics which include tolerance to drought conditions, nitrogen fixation capability, non-reliance on specific pollinators because of self-pollination, and spreads by seeds but has a low seed germination rate. Beyond that, butterfly pea has attracted significant interest because it has potential applications in medicine, food, livestock, and agriculture.
 
        The edible flower, butterfly pea flower has potential application in medicine because has antioxidant activity and antimicrobial which is potential as such as antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antidiabetic, and anticancer. In addition, it is also reported to be a good “Madhya” (toning the brain) drug mainly used in the treatment of mental illness as well as improving the brain system and boosting memory. To obtain the health benefits of this flower, we can use it as an added ingredient in beverages and foods.
 
        Butterfly pea flower has a bright blue color which is produced from anthocyanin known as ternatins and used as a natural dye for food and beverage. For instance, it was used for coloring goat milk yogurt. Moreover, it can also color for several foods such as cake, muffin, and candy as well as traditional foods including barangko, putu, getuk lindri, cendol, and sticky rice tapai. The combination of the exotic color and health benefits promoted the butterfly pea flower as a functional beverage and food.
 
        Not only for humans but butterfly pea is also used to feed livestock which has a high-quality forage source. Moreover, compared to other legumes, feed livestock prepared from butterfly pea has more favorable nutritional characteristics. For instance, it consistently lowers acid detergent fiber content and consequently, it can increase the energy density of the feed. Meanwhile, agricultural sector, butterfly pea can improve soil nutrition because can fix free N₂ from the air and makes the plant ideal to use in a crop rotation system.

Reference

Afrianto W.F., Tamnge F., Hasanah L.N., 2020. A relation between ethnobotany and bioprospecting of edible flower butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) in Indonesia. DOI: 10.13057/asianjethnobiol/y030202.

Hau D.K., Matitaputty P., & Achadri Y. 2021. Integrating Clitoria ternatea and corn in dry land farming for seed production and high-quality forage for livestock in West Timor East Nusa Tenggara: Oebelo Village farmer’s experience. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/807/3/032038.

Jamil N., Zairi M.N.M., Nasim N.A.M., Pa’ee F. 2018. Influences of environmental conditions to phytoconstituents in Clitoria ternatea (butterfly pea flower) – A Review. DOI: 10.30880/jst.2018.10.02.029.

Jeyaraj E.J., Lim Y.Y., & Choo W.S. 2021. Extraction methods of butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) flower and biological activities of its phytochemicals. DOI:10.1007/s13197-020-04745-3.

Kosai P., Sirisidthi K., Jiraungkoorskul K., & Jiraungkoorskul W. 2015. Review on ethnomedicinal uses of memory boosting herb, butterfly pea, Clitoria ternatea. Journal of Natural Remedies. Vol. 15(2): 71-76.

Marpaung A.M., Lee M., Kartawiria I.S. 2020. The Development of butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) flower powder drink by Co-crystallization. Indonesian Food Science and Technology Journal. Vol. 3(2): 34-37.

Oguis G.K., Gilding E.K., Jackson M.A., & Craik D.J. 2019. Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea), a cyclotide-bearing plant with applications in agriculture and medicine. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00645. 

The Last Semester

August 2020 was an extra semester for me and there were many things to do such as completing my research in the laboratory, class seminars, submit journals, and thesis examination. In the pandemic, the government made policy “New normal” after Eid Mubarak, so I was able to continue my research in the laboratory. About my research in the laboratory, I had a big deal with it. I was always scared, didn’t enjoy my activities in the laboratory, and wanted to go back boarding house soon. It was a feeling that I didn’t understand and took a long time to deal with this problem. For the first time, I was longing my activities in the laboratory so much. I realized this when I wanted to go laboratory but could not because one of the students in the laboratory was infected by Covid-19, so the laboratory was temporarily closed. Unconsciously, I started to like my activities in the laboratory. 

An unforgettable moment in this semester, I had to complete my draft journal and thesis, afterward preparing thesis examination only in three weeks or I had to pay tuition fee again for next semester. The first time I knew that I only had three weeks, my feeling was so scared and frustrated, but at the same time, I was happy because I had the opportunity to graduate this semester. Therefore, every second was precious,  consequently, I had to skip all activities there was no correlation with my thesis including took a break from my studying English routine. Besides that, no time to cook or do laundry again, and I just focused on the laptop until my eyes stung. Sleeping, listening to the khutbah, and of course, support from my lecturer, family, friends made me strong to face this pressure.

This was like a miracle that finally I could graduate from Phytopathology UGM after five semesters.  After all that has been through, I have two points to share. First, we can train or perhaps force ourselves to do good things until eventually, we can enjoy that activity. It is like my thesis journey. Second, we can force ourselves to avoid something that is not good for us until we don't want to do it again without being forced. It is like my journey to free from being hooked on watching drama. Allah,  thank you for all the things that You have given to me.

 

Pandemic

Time flies so fast, it had been February 2020, so in this new semester, the thesis was my priority. After collecting all of my bravery, I ventured to the few regions in Java, looking for garlic samples with virus symptoms. The next step was extraction, PCR, and electrophoresis, yet I still didn’t familiar with using all the kinds of stuff in the laboratory so I asked my senior to help me to use those machines. March 2020, the government declared that Covid-19 arrived in Indonesia, and to curb the spreading of Covid-19, all public areas, including campus were closed. Consequently, I couldn’t continue my research in the laboratory.

Pandemic provided time for me to truly understand my research, through reading books, journals, and watching videos that relate to my research. Ultimately, my thesis proposal was done this semester. Besides focusing on my thesis, I started to learn English with my friend and practice every single day even just a half to one hour for "speaking". Just speaking practice was not enough, so I expanded my listening to western songs and watching English videos. Learning English was one of my efforts to escape from the habit of watching the drama because occasionally I still had the desire to watch drama.

Escape from addicted to watching drama was so heavy. In some conditions, such as when I was extremely tired or I was in bad mood, the drama was still relaxing for me. Even though the duration of watching drama was not too much, rarely but I hated it and I still stood to abandon drama. Ramadan this year, besides fasting from eating and drinking, I was also forced to fast from watching drama, to be free from drama. I already wasted my time watching drama and then a pandemic came, as a result, my thesis didn’t finish so I wanted an extra semester to finish my thesis. For the extra semester, I wanted to fix what I had broken.

Temptation

        August 2019, the third semester arrived, time to worry about thesis. Luckless, my research topic was about the virus and molecular, something that I never expected before, moreover, I didn't take plant virology class in the previous semester and molecular was complex. After knew it, I took a plant virology class, class seminar, and thesis for this semester. Becoming the oldest in the plant virology class and the same class as my junior was advantageous, that I found new friends. Meanwhile, trying to understand the virus and molecular was hard, even just read a few pages of books or journals about the virus and molecular already made me dizzy.

        I kept myself busy by organizing at FOST, attending seminars, and watching drama to escape from the gloomy thesis. Watching drama was the worst way, but I did that. At first, watching drama was just for entertainment, but by the times brought me addiction. This semester I only had one class, so I had tons of time away to watch Chinese drama. I could watch the drama for long hours, but for reading a journal or book my eyes automatically sleepy. When I watched Chinese drama, my ears heard Mandarin, my eyes caught English subtitles, and my brain translated into Indonesian. Watching Chinese drama almost every day gradually created addiction.

        Watching drama was enjoyable, on the other hand, my consciousness whispered that watching drama too much was terrible. After completing one drama series, I felt regret, weirdly I repeated it again and again. There were various ways that I had tried to free myself from the addiction, such as listening to the khutbah, making the poster "It's forbidden to watch the drama" on the bedroom wall, but didn’t work. Last, I asked my friend to scold me if I watched drama, yet didn’t effective. After all that had been done, but it was still arduous to free from this bad habit. Until the end of the semester, my thesis proposal and class seminar draft were not finished yet.

Struggling

 

        In February 2019, I began my second semester with 17 SKS (course credits), sufficient for the master’s degree level, especially for those who came from different faculty. Presentations, essays, and one practicum already waiting, therefore there was no time to relax since the presentation and essay tasks were worked individually. Making a presentation and essay with journals as references were difficult, moreover plant pathology was new for me, and there were numerous terms in the journal that I didn’t understand. Furthermore, the journal used English and my English was poor, it was completely driving me dizzy.

        In this semester, I joined FOST that I never expected before, but fate brought me to FOST. Honestly, I distaste all things about physical exercise, but I did badminton with members FOST, although, after it, my body felt crushed. Another one, when all members of FOST were busy, this condition forced me to learn how to create posters and videos for the event in FOST. Responsibility as one of the head divisions was driving to take up those. Nevertheless, I was grateful for becoming part of FOST and met various characters from various majors.

        At the end of the semester, I faced eight subjects in my final examination. All the subjects were difficult, but molecular plant pathology was a terrible subject for me. After one week, the final examination finished, but I felt that I didn’t maximal in my final examination. If I contemplated my capability, I hesitated with my answer. Surprisingly, I obtained a temporary GPA of 3.93 this semester. Getting a miracle result, I kind of thought perhaps there was an angel who replaced my answer with the correct answer.

The Beginning

 

In 2018, I decided to continue my study and chose Phytopathology for my master's degree. Something extremely different from my bachelor's degree, but made my study colorful. From here my story was begun. Just the first day of college had surprised me because there was a quiz about the diagnosis of plant diseases. Having to answer questions that I never gained before in my bachelor's degree was a nightmare. The worst part was our answer corrected by our friends and should be read in front of all, I was embarrassed to the bone at the time.

The first semester was time to adapt to all the subjects and environment in my new faculty, the Faculty of Agriculture. When the lecturer explained in the class, I didn’t understand and felt so brainless. There were many new terms for me such as isolation, transcription, gene silencing, etc. Consequently, I should attend basic subjects, which should have been taken at bachelor degree level. About the environment in my new faculty, all facilities such as laboratory, canteen, and a mosque were good, but I didn't feel comfortable with all those facilities. Ordinarily, after class was over, I went to the faculty of agricultural technology (my faculty when I was in bachelor degree) just for studying, eating, or praying.

In this semester, I was busy with the practicum of mycology (fungi) and the diagnosis of plant diseases (includes viruses, bacteria, and fungi). In practicum mycology, we observed fungi beneath a microscope and then drew those fungi in the paper. Another practicum was a diagnosis of plant diseases, like a doctor we should find a patient, but for a Pathologist, our patient was plant with symptoms. The next assignment confirmed that the plant was infected by fungi or not. Until there was the moment when I saw food as if it were fungi, whereas there were no fungi on that food. I kind of thought perhaps practicum almost every day had driven me little stress (lol). Gratefulness, after I had struggled to adapt for one semester, I closed my first semester with a GPA of 3.52.