My 2018 - This is my Hobby: Poetry as The Healing of Mine

Hallo steemians, this time I'm going back to my 2018 contest which is held by @anomadsoul with the support from @blocktrades. I really want to thank both of them for giving the opportunity for all the steemians to participate here.

The theme for this time is very interesting because we will tell about our hobby. I myself often ask my students to write about their hobbies, and this time is my turn to tell about my hobby.

Actually I have some hobbies that I often do. During the growing age of mine, my hobbies are also growing. I keep doing some of the past hobbies, and some others are I do less.
But there is a hobby that I have been still doing since I was a little girl until now, that is poetry. I actually like everything related to poetry; writing poetry, reading poetry, performing poetry through theatrical and musical, or even solo performance.

So, here below I will answer some questions mentioned in the contest requirements. Check this out.

Why do you fell passion about your hobby?

I love this hobby because through poetry I can express my feelings. I believe that people who are able to string the beautiful words are those who have more sensitivity in life. People who have this intuitive intuition can understand and learn the life deeper, they can think wisely, though perhaps not all can express it boldly.
However, writing or reading poetry is of course different, you can be anything you want to be. You can express yourself as what you want. You can be anything when you're on the stage, no one will laugh at you. In fact, when you go deeper into the character you play, they will give you a standing ovation.

How did this hobby pick you?

I remember I was in the 1st grade of elementary school. My mom enrolled my name at a poetry reading competition in our district. My mom made me a poem for the competition; I was very enthusiastic to practice it.

Maybe at that moment, my enthusiasm was not entirely because of the poem I was about to read, but more because of the competition I was going to follow.

On the day of the competition, I started to get nervous because I think what if I make mistakes and make a fool of myself? Then my mother gave me support and said to do everything according to the exercises we do every day.
The MC called my name, and I walked toward the stage. As my mother says, I will do as I usually do during the practice times. I know I did well when I heard the audience's applause. At that time I felt very relieved and happy.

But unfortunately, I did not win the competition. However, the experience was so amazing that it made me want to do it again. I want to be on stage again and show my best performances in reading poetry.

I remember my mother said, in order to display the best, I must be able to understand the message to be conveyed in the poem. From that moment on, I read a lot of poetry and tried to understand what message to convey there. I also started trying to write my own poetry, at least I would understand what is contained in my work.

How long have you been doing it?

I feel as if I have done it for all of my life. Given that I performed my first performance at the age of 7, and I'm 29 now, so I can say I've been doing it for 22 years. But I began to focus when I was in senior high school. At that time I was active in a writing club. I became interested in reading the works of Jalauddin Rumi, Khalil Ghibran, Robert Forst, Chairil Anwar, Zulfikar Sawang, and so on.
The more I read the works of great poets, the more I understand these poems in different styles. However, I really like the uniqueness of their work, each of them has its own trademark.

At the university, I began to be active in an arts organization, in which there were art areas such as music, acting, traditional dance, and vocal. There I can further sharpen my sensitivity in art. I learned how to understand the characters, movements, musics, and so on. From this organization I also learned about the relationship between art and life itself; that everything in our lives can be expressed through art.

From this organization I also started performing musical performances of poetry and theatrical poetry. Those experiences made me learn many things. And I enjoy every process of it.

What do you like about this hobby?

Well, this hobby helps me in expressing myself. It gives me peace and quiet. This hobby also helped me through the tough times of my life. It is a healing.

I express everything through this hobby. I remember in the hard times I faced the bitter experiences, my works became better and better. Moreover,I also can perform very good performance at that time. The bitter experience that I experienced at the times made me better in understanding the meaning of life, and can express it through my hobby is a blessing.
I have made this hobby as a therapy, and it works. Sometimes, I also miss being on stage and hear every applause after I give the show. I like the feeling when the audience can understand and feel the message I want to convey through the poems. I think it's very good, considering that not everyone likes reading, especially reading the poetry. So the messages from the writers can be felt and understood through my appearance.

When do you practice it?

Actually there is no special time I do it. I can write poems in my day out every day. Ideas can appear anywhere.

Once when I was going to sleep, suddenly the desire to write poetry was so great that it kept me awake in the middle of the night. I could not sleep before writing the words that kept playing in my mind.
As soon as I finished the writing, right then I was able to sleep peacefully and soundly.

Is this hobby something you share with others?

Yes, of course. I often make a work and display it on stage. Sometimes the poems that I write are also shared in the social media.

However, there are also some poems of my work that are personal works that I do not want to show to others. The poems of the problems I have experienced are certainly not for public consumption. I do not like too many people to know about my private life. However, I really like showing musically or theatrical poetry performances. Usually I do it with my other friends.

What's on your mind when doing it?

When doing so, in addition to my inner satisfaction, I want to give the best performance that everyone can enjoy. I want the messages contained in the verses of the poem can be understood by the audience. For the poem I write, I hope the people who read it can enjoy it.

Is this hobby a priority?

For me, this is a hobby, and not a priority. However my social life with family and friends is very important. I can do it on the sidelines of my time without having to withdraw from my social life. I love this hobby, but that does not mean it takes all of my times.

Is this hobby expensive?

Of course not, this hobby is not expensive at all. But the idea is. I can do my hobby whenever I want, as long as those ideas keep popping up in my mind.

Are you an amateur or expert?

I'm too embarrassed to say I'm an expert, but I'm not an amateur either. I have done it for more than 20 years, so obviously I am not an amateur. However, I am compared to world experts, I am definitely nothing. I always felt I had to continue to hone my skills to be better.
What is a hobby this is part of your job?
No, this hobby is not part of my job. But I feel grateful that I can still do it. Nothing can hinder an artist to work, and we can do it anywhere. As a teacher, I can even teach my students about this.

If you have to explain to Alien about this hobby, how are you going to do it?

Honestly, I never thought that aliens would want to hear or read my poetry. But if this is a necessity, I'll tell them that to live you have to understand the life itself, and my hobby can help you in understanding it.