Becoming a Diplomat: Beyond Courage

Hola todos!

Been a very, very long time since the last time I posted my article. My life has been really busy so far doing something related to my campus life. Two things were occupying my life, they are internship obligation and my thesis proposal. Some of you might think there are only two things, why so hectic? I feel like I was chased by them. Deadlines of my thesis proposal was overlapping with my internship. Crazy! No, I ain’t complaining. I stay strong tho!

Okay, no more drama, let’s talk something about my internship. I will take you to an interesting journey (at least for me). This February, I had a very good chance to do my internship at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Indonesia. It was such a good opportunity to have a live experience, interacting with them whom actually formulate current Indonesia’s foreign policy.

I did a lot of things that I cannot breakdown here, but I will pay it back with something that I think more substantial. As an International Relations student, some of the freshmen probably dream of becoming a diplomat. Negotiating with people from across the globe and representing Indonesia in the global forum are some of most prominent roles that will be given to you if you are successfully passing the competitive selection. After talking personally with some of diplomats, it is not an easy thing becoming a diplomat. You gotta be ready 24/7 for your country, cannot complaining where you will be placed, either a developed or the very least developed countries. You gotta do everything wholeheartedly. It’s a duty, not a pride. What’s more interesting is that they gave me many tips to have myself ready for this extremely heavy duty (re: burden).  What are they? Let’s have a look!

        Follow Your Passion: Start Questioning.

Seriously people, you have to question yourself. Is becoming a diplomat really your biggest dream? Is it real or you just following others? I have warned you above that becoming a diplomat is not a pride, it is a duty. If you think that being a diplomat means living a glamorous life, you better stop dreaming. You will not partying all night long with businessmen, you will not always travel to tourist destinations. Your primal duty is to get your country’s interests accomplished. The country’s interest itself can be very various, depending on where you are posted. If you are posted in the core country like United States or China, you might be thinking a lot about economy, security, and everything in between. Your critical thinking is inevitable, as you are calculating the cost you splurge and the benefit you will gain in the end. If you are a person that loves challenges, analyzing, and negotiating, this is exactly a job that is worth your blood and tears. Keep it up!

2.       Real Life Experience: Internship

After realizing that diplomat is your ultimate career path, you gotta see how it really works. Doing an internship will give you real life experience of being a diplomat. As what they said, seeing is believing. To believe that you can achieve that goal, you have to see how diplomat live their daily life. Experiencing their daily life will either strengthen or weaken your dream. During the internship, you will take part from a small to big role in helping them fulfill their duty, such as archiving, writing speech, writing papers for their seminar drafts, as well as assisting them in handling events. The result is, you are one step further than your competitor in the future. You know your dream, you have lived the life they live, what else? A good step, indeed.

        Fake it Till You Make It: Model United Nations

If internship trains you to become an officer, you need more experience in more of practical things. Model United Nations may suits you to practice everything you have got from previous points I just told you. During the sessions in MUN, you will act as if you are the real diplomat. All of the delegates (how we call participants of an MUN) will gather in the assembly hall to represent certain states in deliberating global issues. Sounds cool, eh?

The reason why I tell you to fake it is because you are definitely going to wear formal suits like the real diplomat! Not to mention the gala dinner, and the new friends! One of the biggest MUN here in Jakarta is JAVA MUN. Established last year by International Studies Club, this MUN can reach delegates from Germany, Philippines, and Bangladesh. What an accomplishment!

This year, they want to reach broader experience by re-establishing this year's JAVA MUN. Global issues which will be discussed is "GLOBAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT IN PURSUING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND COLLECTIVE SECURITY". This year's JAVA MUN will be held in 18-21 March 2015. This event will take place at Great Western Hotel, Tangerang, Indonesia. Click JAVA MUN website for further info.

Dreaming of becoming a diplomat is good, but being good is not enough. It needs more than courage, it needs your biggest effort to achieve. Enjoy every tears heading there, as you will appreciate everything once you reach the goal. Keep up the good work, people!


Xx, Justian Edwin.