The Long Way to School

Name: Muhammad Fadhil Azni

Date: 9/11/2022

The Long Way to School

In June 2018, a child had an accident while driving out of school. This incident made the school provide services and protection for all students who wanted to leave school using a vehicle. Maybe one of you is wondering who the kid is. Congratulations to those who answered that it was the principal’s son because you were wrong. Sorry, I was just kidding and please don’t hate me for it. This story is about me, who just wants to go to school in peace. “Well, don’t immediately think about sad things because in this world, everything can change.” Let me take you to the beginning of this story. This all started 7 years ago. At that time, the rainy season hit my village for 2 weeks. It was the first day that I was about to enter junior high school. The distance between my house and school is far enough that it requires me to be able to ride a motorcycle to get there. Before I continue, let me introduce my father, who is a teacher, and my mother, who is a housewife. My father is a hard worker who teaches his son to always try and pray if he wants to achieve something. On the other hand, my mother is a kind person and always loves her children.

At that time, I just rode an old motorcycle, which is a legendary variant of the Honda brand, to go to school. My dad said that just because the bike is old doesn’t mean it can’t be used. Maybe one of you has heard and seen firsthand how the past is clearly visible on this motorcycle. I used this motorcycle for three years, with a noisy exhaust and a slow speed due to age. Although in reality, there are problems worse than all of that. It is the over-burning of the spark plugs that cause it wear out quickly, and this is what happened on my first day of school. Everything was fine until the middle of the trip, when my motorcycle broke down. I asked myself if this was bad luck since it was my first time experiencing something like this. At first I felt like I wanted to cry because it was my first day and I didn’t want to be late, but then I remembered that it was because of a dirty spark plug, like my father said. Even though it is tired because it takes a long time to open and clean, time still goes on.

The first step is to remove the spark plug from the engine. This case is not easy because the spark plug is located below and in the engine section, followed by a small size that makes it difficult to remove. I spent 20 minutes just letting it go. The second step is to clean it. Each spark plug has a fist like a hook and that part is always connected, which means it always carries out the process of burning gasoline to move the piston. Well, I’m sure some of you are confused because not everyone knows how a machine works. It has a shape like a closed hook, making it very difficult to clean. The only things that can get into it are needles and pins. I slowly cleaned the spark plug of the very sticky burn marks. It was so sticky, I spent 30 minutes just cleaning it. Either my eyes or the head of the spark plug are too small, so I sometimes get pricked by a needle when cleaning it. The third stage is to trigger combustion without a spark plug by cranking the engine so that the dirt inside can come out. How it works and the results you can imagine, like when you cough. The last step is to put it back into the engine and then start cranking the engine to ignite the spark plugs. After cleaning it, I wonder whether I should thank my dad for the information or reconsider that this bike was not roadworthy when I first saw it.

The clock on my hand showed 8 o’clock, which is where I could be said to be late because the opening ceremony started at 7:45. Everything went well until bad things happened again. I couldn’t say anything else when I looked up and wondered if this was a test from God or just my bad luck that suddenly my motorcycle tire burst. The first thing I did was complain and swear about everything that happened that day. How can I not be that annoyed if the distance between me and the school is only 300 meters away and I have to push it with my own strength to the school?. First of all, I am a child who is not very strong, and the weight of this bike is quite heavy for me. I was forced to push it because after I arrived at the school I realized that there was not a single workshop near the school.

I didn’t realize that it was four o’clock in the afternoon. I rushed to get out of school with the offer from my friend who would help pull my motorcycle. The way out of the school is in the form of a sloping descent road. By utilizing the force of gravity, I rode the motorcycle to the side of the road before crossing. Finally, the most terrible thing in my life happened. With less energy, I pushed the bike across the street. Of course, I looked right and left before doing it. However, there is a motorcycle running at a high speed. The condition of the driveway, which was close to the bend in the road, made me unable to see the position of the vehicle from the opposite direction. Suddenly, the impact occurred, which made me fall and hit the weight of my own motorbike. The high heart rate and blurred vision made me wonder if I was going to die here. Before I fainted, I remember that many people carried me to the side of the road. When I woke up, I was already in the hospital with an IV in my hand. My father was beside me, along with my sister. My mother couldn’t come because she was guarding the house. My sister immediately started crying when I woke up, and I could only give her a smile to calm her down. After the examination process, the doctor stated that there were no internal organ problems or fractures and I was allowed to go home after rehabilitation to walk for 1 week there.

During that time, I began to realize that God would never test his servant beyond his abilities. It’s a tough test, but there’s definitely a lesson behind it. Indeed, problems that come in succession can make a person angry and consumed by their emotions. On the other hand, it can make people feel hopeless. But from all that, I think we should try and remain optimistic in the face of it. That’s what I thought, and I hope you guys understand that the problem is actually easy to solve if we keep thinking clearly. Complaining, crying, being angry and cursing will not help us solve a problem. Just as Newton’s law says that every action will cause a reaction, problems will also work like that. I hope we can meet again another time and see you. May God bless you.