Inspiration from Olivia Sonya Aresta

Editing on Tiyan’s Article “He is Beautiful”

As mas Dalih left to Bali for two weeks, mbak Abmi filled the spot as substitute lecture. Mbak Abmi ever came to the class as a guest, first he came to bring topic of movie review and last Monday when she brought a guest. The beautiful guest; with long hair, pointed nose, proportional body and casual gray cardigan, but manly voice. She sat at the back of the class. Special guest which make me confuse at the first, she is a male or female.

This guest would be the informant to interview based on the topic that day. At the first time I confused but I realized it was ok.

After that, this guest sat in front of the class and introduced herself kindly; her name was Olivia Sonya Aresta with her nick-name mbak Sonya. She came from Klaten, and lives in Jogja during her vocational School. Although she is a transgender “waria, she is hard worker. She was actives in her job as a beauty consultant, a seller of on-line shop and bride-make-up artist. She also joint society community of Perkumpulan Keluarga Berencana Indonesia (PKBI).

As the times goes by, Mbak Sonya has to face hard struggle in finding the identity, her complicated family who could not accept her condition as a transgender especially her mother. It was her job to get the confession and acceptance from her family.

Her childhood life was happy, little bit naughty and normally as a child, she comfortably played with girl and it lead her seems to be girly, it was continuing since her junior high school and senior high school. After graduated from senior high school, she considered to go to Klaten to be free from those mocking. Once she heard someone her family had thrown her, yet she refused this assumption. She wanted to restrain from this inconvenience decision as a waria.

For her Jogja was the pleasant place because of the atmosphere which comfortable than another place such as Bali, Solo, Bandung, and Jakarta. In this place, she found her confidence when she voluntary in Bantul to help earthquake’s victims. She has a lot of friends who cares about her likes when she was in hospital because of sick, and she dedicated her time also in PKBI which made her life meaningful, especially waria against HIV/AIDS. She wanted to prove that her identity was not a mere marginal society but they had real contributions by doing something useful.

Although she was a marginal, she still keeps beauty inside. Thank you mbak Sonya for your inspiration.