I should trust myself

It was one Thursday afternoon. I was on my way to the prayer room at the basement, situated on an office building in southern Jakarta. I wanted to hear a sermon. I always love doing that.  As I entered the prayer room area, a man said, “Hey Mister”.  I knew he said that to me. He was mocking me. Hearing that, I felt angry. I stared at him, but I said nothing. Then I decided to continue to go to the prayer room.

I listened to the sermon from the beginning until the end. It was a good one. However, that is not what I am going to talk about here. I am talking about the mocking. Since I was a child, I am often bullied because of my skin color, which is different from most Indonesians.

Being treated like that often discourages me. However, I must not give up since I believe that I have strengths and potentials.  Besides, why should I care about what strangers say? Most of them do not know anything about me. Many of them even cannot speak English fluently. So, I should trust myself that I can be a better person.