Gajah

 Setidaknya punya tujuh puluh tahun

Tak bisa melompat, ku mahir berenang

Bahagia melihat kawan yang betina

Berkumpul bersama sampai ajal

Besar dan berani berperang sendiri

Yang aku hindari hanya semut kecil

Otak ini cerdas, ku rakit berangka

Wajahmu tak akan pernah kulupa

Waktu kecil dulu, mereka menertawakan

Mereka panggil ku gajah

Ku marah

Kini baru ku tahu, puji di dalam olokan

(Mereka ingat ku marah)

Jabat tanganku, panggil aku gajah

Kau temanku, kau doakan aku

Punya otak cerdas

Aku harus tangguh

Bila jatuh, gajah lain membantu

Tubuhmu di situasi rela jadi tamengku

Kecil kita tak tahu apa-apa

Wajar bila terlalu cepat marah

Kecil kita tak tahu apa-apa

Yang terburuk kelak bisa jadi yang terbaik
Yang terburuk kelak bisa jadi yang terbaik

Kau temanku, kau doakan aku

Punya otak cerdas

Aku harus tangguh

Bila jatuh, gajah lain membantu

Tubuhmu di situasi rela jadi tamengku

- Gajah, written and sung by Tulus (2014)

The first time I heard that song through my earphone, I almost cried. The 'almost' exists because I was on a public place at the moment. The music and lyric was written wholeheartedly, and brings back so many memories from the past.

I used to be bullied at school, from primary until high school. "Gajah" was never my name, but my friends used to call me names. Names that are not really nice to hear.

I always wanted to look strong, though, so I just laughed about it. After all, my friends still loved me and still wanted to be my friend. After all, I was not the kind of children who get bullied, sit on the corner of the room, and have no friends. That's why, the submissive me kept telling myself that I didn't have to be upset about it. Yet sometimes I did cry at home when I couldn't handle it anymore. Kids are mean, especially around their preadolescence. Most of them can be obnoxious and disrespectful.

As I grew older, I learned to stop caring about bullies. I even realized that I should have pitied them. They were insecure, and they projected it into someone else's weaknesses, so that they could feel better about themselves. I learned to ignore their insults, and to think low of them.

However, even if I never liked it, being bullied helps me be who I am right now. It helps me learn that life cannot be impeccable all the time, and you have to suck it up. Being bullied as a child also made me be protective of those who are bullied. I'm going to be furious if some kids bullied my students, for instance.

Let's control ourselves not to make fun of other people, especially if we don't know them very well. Those people we made fun of is no less than us. Maybe we don't mean to hurt them, but a joke is no longer a joke if someone feels offended.