Indonesian Translator Shares Her Advice (Be You)

The story you're about to read is a sneak peek into one of the interviews I did for my new book series. Faiza and I met at a female entrepreneurship event in Bali. The event was miraculously communicated in both English and Indonesian. Faiza was the one translating from one language to the other.

I was so impressed by her patience and skill. Faiza has an interesting story, as she was raised partly in Indonesia and partly in Holland, before finally settling in Bali. She was exposed to many different languages at a young age and stresses how beneficial it is for Indonesian people to learn English in order to build a better life for themselves. Keep reading to learn what advice she would give to her younger self.

Faiza Muhamad

October 2018, Bali, Indonesia

Language Expert & Founder, Makna Wacana

Maeve: How do you define success?

Faiza: For me, success is doing what you love and loving what you do. You do it wholeheartedly and you feel that sense of fulfillment by the end of every task. You're growing as a person from your experiences and from your interactions. Success is when you're happy with who you are, with whom you’re becoming, and with what you’re doing.

Maeve: What is something you wish you could go back and tell yourself when you were a teenager?

Faiza: I would tell the younger version of myself that the things that I focused on obsessively are just a part of being a teen, most of them don’t really matter.

You don’t have to be good at everything. You don’t need to beat yourself up. If you’re bad at something, then maybe it’s just not part of your gift and you should focus on what you can do well. Be more productive and stop beating yourself up over something you’re not great at.

Be the truest version of yourself. You don’t have to fit in, because if you don’t, there’s probably a good reason for that. This is a colorful world full of different people; you don’t always have to fit in. It’s totally fine and it’s not an issue.

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For more insights like Faiza's, check out It's the Depression for Me: 3 Ways to Make Being a Teenager Suck Less.

For more stories like this one, you can check out Vanessa's: Thai Entrepreneur Shares Her Story (Broke to Business Owner).