My Blog

ATS conference in San Francisco, May 2007 might be the most fruitful conference I’ve ever attended. Unexpectedly, during this conference I met my future boss from NIOSH. It happened we shared the same yellow taxi on our way back to our hotel after an informal dinner with other women participants. I could not believe my hearing when she offered me to do a postdoc at NIOSH in West Virginia. NIOSH is a very well-known and respected institute in the field of occupational medicine and the thought of working there after my study has never crossed my mind. But she was very serious and told me to contact her after I finish my study. Later on I found out that my supervisor mentioned my name to her in another conference, and I am very grateful to him for what he considered as small favor…

Also in May 2007, I met my husband, Dudin, after the conference. I still remember when I got my US visa in early 2007, the first thing I did was searching for US map on the internet. “Hmmm… where should I go after the conference?” Then I saw Los Angeles as the nearby city. “That’s it!” I said. “I will visit Universal Studio and Hollywood!” I have the privilege to travel by plane to San Francisco and stay in a nice hotel there; all expenses covered by my university. Flying to Los Angeles will only cost me 100$ extra for the flight ticket. What a nice deal!

I was so excited and started contacting my friends who live in California. I was very fortunate. Ratih, my high school friend who has been living in San Bernardino with her husband Faisal, kindly offered me to stay with her and to guide me during my short visit to LA. Since I started my study in the Netherlands, I have been used to travel alone, most of the time as backpacker. So, Ratih’s offer was very luxurious! More over, I haven’t seen her since we graduated from high school in Denpasar in 1995. For both of us, my trip gave us opportunity to have a small reunion! And we did our reunion by climbing the hill where the Hollywood landmark stands, unforgettable!

Ratih asked my husband, who is the cousin of her husband, to take me around Los Angeles. I will not forget the day I met him for the first time. It was a sunny Friday. Together with his friend Taufik, we literally drove around downtown Los Angeles to find a mosque for Friday prayer. We finally found King Fadh’s mosque by the time people left the mosque after the prayer, better late than never J Afterwards Taufik left, and the two of us drove around Hollywood. Eventually that’s our first date and we took our first pictures in front of Kodak theatre and Hollywood walk of fames. That’s how things were started.

Fifteen months later, after hundreds of emails, text messages, and long hours of chatting, we got married! Not to mention romantic surprises that I often received: from singing card, buckets of flowers to box of Belgian chocolates J On Aug 17^th 2008 we had our official wedding ceremony; an extraordinary one I must say. Due to rather complex circumstances, we had a teleconference where he was represented by his brother. This was also something that never crossed my mind and I am very grateful to our parents for their profound understanding and acceptance.

After 5 weeks officially married and 13 months since our last meeting, on October 2^nd 2008 we met again for the first time as husband and wife. For a couple who only met lively 4 days before getting married, it was a thrilling moment. Alhamdulillah, I was very relieved that both of us were very convenient and did not have to adjust with each other. I hope it will stay like that for the rest of our married life, insya Allah…

On a sunny Sunday on October 5^th 2008 we had our wedding reception in a mosque in Orange County, organized by his family and friends from the Muslim community. It was very unfortunate that none of our parents, brothers, or sisters could attend the reception due to visa problem. Nevertheless, it was one of the most wonderful days in my life and we both were very grateful to everyone, especially to Ratih and Faisal and the Umboh family, for their enormous and sincere contribution.

Just a few weeks ago, I got news that completed my happiness this year. I got accepted to work at NIOSH starting summer 2009. Alhamdulillah, I could not thank God more for all the blessing that I received. My acceptance leads me one step closer to reunite with my husband who is now living thousand miles away from me. My friend, Vica, wisely comforted me with her saying that since we are now married, Allah opens all the good paths for us, to be together, Insya Allah…

So, on this latest day of the year, I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone, especially my parents, sisters, and friends who have been my endless supporters. To my husband, thank you for being you! I do not think I could be happier if I have to share with someone else. I do hope that next year we could celebrate the New Year together. Really look forward to meet you again in April dear!

Tidak pernah ada kata terlambat untuk belajar.

Dosen saya dulu pernah bilang, setiap lima tahun sekali kita harus mempelajari sesuatu yang baru agar sinaps-sinaps di otak kita senantiasa bekerja dan bertambah banyak. Terbukti, beliau masih aktif mengajar di usianya yang lewat kepala tujuh, hebat!

Contoh hidup yang juga menakjubkan adalah promotor saya, beliau meraih gelar PhD di usianya yang ke-60. Walau rambutnya sudah memutih, tapi beliau punya semangat dan rasa ingin tahu yang luar biasa, termasuk mempelajari program statistik yang njlimet untuk sebagian banyak orang.

Ayah saya sendiri baru mulai memasuki bangku universitas ketika saya duduk di bangku SD. Saya masih ingat saat membuat skripsi ayah saya setiap pagi menginstruksikan ibu saya untuk mengetikkan tesisnya dengan mesin tik yang sampai saat ini masih setia menemani ayah saya bekerja. Setiap malam sepulang kerja ayah akan mengkoreksi apa yang sudah diketik oleh ibu. Begitu terus sampai akhirnya beliau berhasil mendapatkan gelar sarjananya.

Terakhir, yang membuat saya tergerak untuk membuat blog ini adalah sms dari seorang teman, tepatnya seorang kakak yang telah banyak membantu saya saat saya masih bergelut dengan dunia klinik beberapa tahun ke belakang. Tepat lima tahun lalu,  saat usianya juga di mid-thirties, ia mulai  memasuki bangku universitas. Kuliah sambil bekerja. Pergi pagi pulang malam, seperti ayah saya. Dan tidak sia-sia, bulan ini dia berhasil meraih gelar sarjananya. Malahan dia sudah melamar untuk melanjutkan program pascasarjana di UI. Motivasinya mulia, mewujudkan impiannya untuk menjadi seorang guru. Insya Allah terlaksana…

Jadi kesimpulan saya, when there is a will there is a way, as simple as that…

One thing I like most from interview is that you can learn how other people live their life in a very much different remarkable way.
As last week, we interviewed with an applicant for a postgraduate master program in occupational medicine. First impression, nothing special: just an ordinary female in her thirties.
But never judge a book from its cover! When she started talking, we suddenly noticed that she is not an ordinary applicant, not at all…

She flew all the way from another island to join this program; she’s the pioneer, my senior colleague said.
And I was amazed just by imagining how she’s going to manage traveling back and forth between the two islands every week.
She has to take all kind of transportation: buses, boats, and air planes and spend not less than 12-18 hours one way just to attend the weekend classes!
Not mentioning how much budget she has to spend to do this as a routine for 2 years!
Not mentioning how she’s going to run her own drug store, rubber plants, and of course working as a physician!
Not mentioning how she’s going to handle taking care of her two kids and her new born baby; basically playing her role as a wife and a mother!

We were worried she’ll be exhausted right from the beginning. But she determined that this is what she wants, this is what her region needs, and her achievement will benefit a very large working population in her region in long term.
We were still in doubts, but she tried consistently to convince us that things will work out pretty well. She said, even during her medical school, she had to do extra jobs to get the tuition fee paid, and still she finished on time with distinction. Finally she said, “I have a great husband… He is willing to work at home by running the drug store and take care of the kids while I am working. I have been able doing all of these because of him and his full support, and I am very grateful for that”.

That 30 minutes interview was very inspiring. We wish the best for her and hope to see her with the diploma in 2010!

First of all, I would like to thank God
more for making this happen.

Alhamdulillahirobil al’amin… all praise is due
to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala…

On June 6th 2008 at 12.45 I defended my thesis at Academiegebouw, University Utrecht. Just a short flash back, my story started in
April 2002, when a group of professors from the Julius Center for Health
Sciences and Primary Care, of UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands came to Jakarta for
a one week course on clinical epidemiology. This course was an eye opener for
me and showed that epidemiology is an interesting branch in medicine and is not
all about statistics! I interviewed one of the professors about life as a
clinical researcher and I thank him, who turned out to be my promotor, for
inspiration.

In October 2002, I specifically asked the program
co-ordinator at the NIHES if they had a research project for my Master’s thesis
in occupational medicine. That led me to a collaborative project between IRAS-Environmental
Epidemiology division and Julius Center for Health
Sciences and Primary Care, UMC Utrecht. From that time on, I have been working
with Prof. Dr. Dick Heederik and Prof. Dr. Diederick Grobbee, who are now my
promotors and and Dr. Evert Meijer my co-promotor. I am grateful that I had the
chance to learn a lot from these excellent persons, professionally and
personally. Thank you for everything: for the opportunity, for the
encouragement, for being a teacher and supporter all at the same time. 

To everyone helping me with the bakery
project: Birgit Stuurman, Eef van Otterloo, Frits van Rooy, Isabella Oosting, Jack Spithoven, Jos Rooijackers, Jose Jacobs, Joris van Loenhout, Lieke
Gerris, Mischa Zengeni, Tim Meijster, and Vanessa Zaat, thank you for the team
work! Special thanks go to NetherlandsTim and Jack, my paranimfen.
Tim, thank you for helping me from the very beginning: finding me a room,
showing me the beauty of the Netherlands,for all the dinners with Marjoke (and Wiebe), and yet being a very informative
and constructive co-worker in the project! Jack, I have always been amazed by
the speed with which you have been running those assays! You are the only person I know who could
handle the hardest situation with laughter. Keep on being strong and cheerful!

At this occasion I would also like to thank
all who contributed to my thesis, especially Dr. Yvonne Vergouwe, who has been my
great tutor in statistical modelling. My analytical skills have also been
improving thanks to the “Prediction Club” at Julius Center,
lead by Prof. Dr. Carl Moons. The group keeps on growing in numbers and
quality. I thank Corne, Jolanda, Kristel, Diane, Peter, Lidewij, Martijn, and Teus
(the “old” members); Geert, Joris, Roelof, Mireille, Sjoerd, and Linda (the new
members); and most of all, Carl, for sharing your knowledge every other Monday.
Hope all of us will become “accurate and valid predictors”!

I would also like to thank Dr. Denyse
Gautrin, Dr. Jean-Luc Malo and Dr .Heberto Ghezzo for giving me a chance to do
a 1-year fellowship at the Asthma in the Workplace Centre,

Montreal, Canada.
It is a privilege because before the fellowship I only knew you from text books and
papers and I never thought that I would have this rare opportunity to work in
close contact with you. Merci beaucoup, it’s
been wonderful to work with you! My appreciation also goes to Sylvie, Roberto,
Lucero, Samah, Khadija, Christina, Sandra, Sebastien, and the members of the axe de recherche
en santé respiratoire, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur
de Montréal,
who made my stay a fruitful one.

To Dr. LondonMark Nieuwenhuijsen from Imperial
College-NHLI (London), Dr. David Fishwick from HSL (Sheffield), Dr. Susan
Kennedy from UBC (Vancouver), Dr.
Kathleen Kreiss from NIOSH (Morgantown), Sally Brown from the EIS program (Atlanta),
Dr. Manon Kluijtmans from Julius Center (Utrecht), Prof. Dr. Bambang Sutrisna
from FKMUI (Jakarta), Prof. dr. Sudigdo Sastroasmoro from FKUI (Jakarta), and Prof.
dr. Saleha Sungkar from YPIDI (Jakarta), it has been a great pleasure to
knowing you in person. I hope our collaboration will continue in the future.

To my seniors and colleagues at the
Community Medicine Department, especially Prof. dr. Bastaman Basuki, Prof. Dr.
Corrie Wawolumaya, dr. Zarni Amri, Dr. Muchtaruddin Mansyur dr. Novi Arifiani and
dr. Retno Asti Werdhani, thank you for your support and back up while I was
away (for such a long period!). To dr.
Nitra Rifky, thank you for giving me the very chance to enter the whole system.
To my head of department, dr. Setyawati Budiningsih, thank you for your trust
and being very supportive and open minded…

Last but not least, I’d
like to thank all my friends and the greatest people who helped me through the
good and bad times, and make these few years as one blink of an eye. To my
office mates (Mieke, Mariella, Wouter, Frank, Lot, Maaike, and Esmeralda) and my housemates (Ebru, Celal, Bilgen, Daniel, Jessica,
Maxi, Scato, Sandra, Marja and Corine), thank you for cheering up my days. Especially
Shuwen, Ilka, and Sarah, thank you for being more than good friends! 

To Indonesian muslim communities (PPMR, PPME Rotterdam, PPME Den Haag, Bina
Da’wah Utrecht, and Syiar Montreal), especially to the family of Bpk. Endro
Harsono, Bpk. Rifai Hasan, Bpk. Sigit, Bpk. Lilik, Bpk. Hendro, Bpk. Ali, Mbak Debby, Mbak Martini, Bpk. Ridwan, Ibu Taty, Ibu Fatima, Mbak Wilkaziana, Mbak
Laila, Bpk. Razak, Bpk. Pourchez, Bpk. Donni, Bpk. Bachtiar, Bpk. John Kasijo, Ibu
Dewi, Mbak Nita and Mas Yusuf, Mbak Masinah and Mas Franklin, Risda and
Supardi, Eha and Andi, thank you for making me feel like being at home and
being my family abroad.

To my friends during my master course: Hamid (and Gisso
and Kiana), Made, Wangge, Isabelle,  Haris, Novita, Henny, Vica, Jamaiyah, Kiad, Esther,
Elisa, Gloria, Regie, Monica, Natalia, and Daniela, thank you for the genuine friendship
and always being great supporters. To Ingrid, Evelyn,
Giene, and Annina, thank you for taking care of my paper work and arranging countless
appointments! To everyone at IRAS
EEPI, Jelena, Anjoeka, Rocio, Angeles, Fatima and Youssef, Mbak Hesti
and Anya, Mbak Anna, Mbak Imelda and Nico, Ratih, Liesye, Teddy, Ari, Jessica,
Fleur, Marije, Aicha, Nike, Ika, Vicka, Mila, Sura, Pipit, Lina, Neny, Mira, Diyah, Prapti, Vivi, Leila, Mbak Jiah and Mas Iskandar, Mbak Hermina and Rene, Atiet, Ratna, Fenida,
Kadek, Liana, Bili, Achie, Suryaningsih, Soraya, Eka and everyone in my
long list who I do not name one by one, thank you for your valuable contribution
to my achievements!

To Hapidudin, thank you for your understanding and faith in me. You were my biggest supporter during the most critical phase in my study, so this achievement is for you too! I am really glad that since the past year you have always been there for me and I wish you all the best  for your study and career in near future dear!

I finally want to express my utmost
gratitude to my family for giving me freedom to do what I believe in. With out
your prayers and sincere love, I will never become of what I am. I love you!!! Untuk Bapak, Mama, Santhy, Sherley, Media
dan Clara terima kasih atas dukungan, doa, dan kasih sayang kalian. Tanpa kalian,
hari ini tidak akan menjadi kenyataan…

The Road not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both….
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost, 1920

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside,
just before putting him into the box.

"There are 5 things you need to know," He told the pencil,
"Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never
forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow
yourself to be held in Someone’s hand."

"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but
you’ll need it to become a better pencil."

"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."

"Four: The most important part of you will always be what’s inside."

"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No
matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with
purpose in its heart. Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them
and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself
to be held in God’s hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the
many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going
through various problems in life, but you’ll need it to become a stronger
person.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No
matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special
person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to
accomplish.

Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is
insignificant and cannot make a change.

In a couple of days we’ll end the year 2007. I conclude that 2007 is a year of friendship and networking. Alhamdulillah I was given chances to know great people, either professionally, personally, or both; from the  unexpected friendship at the hospital until the acquaintances that I made in  various (strange) situations.

New York
Early in the morning I was waiting for a bus in Greyhound station, New York. I was a total stranger to this city. Next to me standing a middle age lady. It’s pretty obvious that she’s a Muslim; she wore a necklace hanger with the symbol of Allah. She seemed to be a kind person, so I initiated the conversation. I asked if she was also going to Washington DC, and she was. The next few minutes I knew that she’s a Pakistani lady who’s been living for years in the US. She used to work at one of the biggest research institute in the city as an administrative staff before she resigned a few years ago. Then we sat next to each other on the bus, which gave me a feeling of security as I traveled alone. In more or less two hours trip I knew a lot about her and her family, and vice versa. She has one daughter who is much younger than me. She kindly invited me to come over to her place, which is located close by from Washington. It’s a pity that I didn’t have much time to travel, so I had to refuse her offer. She asked where I’d be staying in the city and if I knew the place already. As a budget traveler I said honestly that I’d be staying in a hostel a few blocks from the bus station. I printed the direction given on their website, but had no clue if I would find it easily. On our arrival, this lady was so worried about me getting lost in this capital city of the US. I tried to convince her that I’d be fine, but she insisted me to join her. The next thing happened was we arrived in front of my hostel with her cab. She looked relieved and told me to contact her if I needed anything. I couldn’t thank her more… Motherly she said that it was her duty to protect me, because at the same time she thought of her daughter. "We are Muslim, we have to help each other. It is my duty to help you because you are new in this city…" I promised to call her before leaving, and I did. Again, she kindly invited me to come over when ever I visit the city. Insya Allah I would, if I have the chance…

Atlanta
The first thing you want to do when you have an interview is to arrive on time. So, I ordered a yellow cab to pick me up as early as 7AM. At 6.50AM a cab was there, waiting in front of my hostel. I thanked the driver for being on time. To break the silence I started the conversation with standard questions. He comes from Palestine, he was a teacher back in his country but he has been a cab driver since his arrival in the US. He is a middle age man who has been working alone for his family in Palestine. Alhamdulillah his family are doing fine there. He asked why I was traveling to the city. I told him my intention, and he sympathized because I traveled all the way from Montreal to do the interview. Again, an unexpected thing happened. We were halfway to our destination when he turned off the argometer (I expected to pay at least 35 USD). He said, "Look, I am helping you because we are Muslim. I will not charge you anything." Then he started writing his address and phone number. "If in the afternoon you need a cab to take you to the airport, just call me. I’ll come and pick you up," he said while handing over the piece of paper. I was totally speechless and again couldn’t thank him for more…

I couldn’t describe how I was amazed of this beautiful bound of  brotherhood in Islam.  Good people do exist in this harsh world, if you believe in their existence.  A total stranger might turn out to be a genuine hero. I could only thank God for His beautiful and kind arrangements. Alhamdulillahirrobilalamiin …

In the past few weeks a lot of things are happening surround me…

Few couples are expecting their babies…
Two couples are celebrating their new born baby girl…
One couple had to stay for weeks in the hospital because their few-weeks-old son had to undergo surgery for hydrocephalus…
One couple were about to migrate to another country but they postponed the plan because his mother passed away…
Few couples are planning to get married…
One couple just got married…
One friend had a broken heart after a rejection…
One couple went to court to get divorce…
One friend almost finishes her PhD…
One friend just got accepted for a new PhD position…

Above all, there’s a friend whose father has been hospitalized for years for his stroke, his mom was diagnosed a cancer and the doctor said she has only a few weeks left, and his mother in law has been hospitalized due to neurology disorder. He, as the eldest son in the family, is responsible to take care of everything, but he keeps on smiling and laughing at work. Every morning he comes and gives his sweet greeting to me, "Hi good morning sunshine!" and all of us are amazed how he can handle such a situation with such a great sense of humor. I asked him, what’s his secret, and he simply said that, "This is life dear, when you learned that there’s nothing you can do to change it, then learn to live with it…"

I learn that there’s always a beginning and an end, some are good, some are bad,
we never know for sure what will happen in our future… Just keep on praying that may He take a good care of each of us, our beloved family and friends, amiin…

Seorang tukang kayu tua bermaksud pensiun dari pekerjaannya di sebuah perusahaan konstruksi real estate. Ia menyampaikan keinginannya tersebut pada pemilik perusahaan. Tentu saja, karena tak bekerja, ia akan kehilangan penghasilan bulanannya, tetapi keputusan itu sudah bulat. Ia merasa lelah. Ia ingin beristirahat dan menikmati sisa hari tuanya dengan penuh kedamaian bersama istri dan keluarganya.

Pemilik perusahaan merasa sedih kehilangan salah seorang pekerja
terbaiknya. Ia lalu minta pada tukang kayu tersebut untuk membuatkan sebuah rumah untuk dirinya. Tukang kayu mengangguk menyetujui permohonan pribadi pemilik perusahaan itu. Tapi, sebenarnya ia merasa terpaksa. Ia ingin segera berhenti. Pikirannya tidak sepenuhnya dicurahkan. Dengan ogah-ogahan ia mengerjakan proyek itu. Ia cuma menggunakan bahan-bahan sekedarnya. Akhirnya selesailah rumah yang diminta. Hasilnya bukanlah sebuah rumah baik. Sungguh sayang ia harus mengakhiri kariernya dengan prestasi yang tidak begitu mengagumkan.

Ketika pemilik perusahaan itu datang melihat rumah yang dimintanya, ia menyerahkan sebuah kunci rumah pada si tukang kayu.
" Rumah ini adalah rumah kamu," kata sang pemilik perusahaan.
" Hadiah dari saya sebagai penghargaan atas pengabdian kamu selama ini."

Betapa terkejutnya si tukang kayu. Betapa malu dan menyesalnya. Seandainya saja ia mengetahui bahwa ia sesungguhnya mengerjakan rumah untuk dirinya sendiri, ia tentu akan mengerjakannya dengan cara yang lain sama sekali. Kini ia harus tinggal di sebuah rumah yang tak terlalu bagus hasil karyanya sendiri.

Itulah yang terjadi pada kehidupan kita. Kadangkala, banyak dari kita yang membangun kehidupan dengan cara yang aneh. Lebih memilih berusaha ala kadarnya ketimbang mengupayakan yang terbaik. Bahkan, pada bagian-bagian terpenting dalam hidup, kita tidak memberikan yang terbaik. Pada akhir perjalanan kita terkejut saat melihat apa yang telah kita lakukan dan menemukan diri kita hidup di dalam sebuah rumah yang kita ciptakan sendiri. Seandainya kita menyadarinya, sejak semula kita akan menjalani hidup ini dengan cara yang jauh berbeda.

Renungkan bahwa kita adalah si tukang kayu. Renungkan rumah yang sedang kita bangun. Setiap hari kita memukul paku, memasang papan, mendirikan dinding dan atap. Mari kita selesaikan rumah kita dengan sebaik-baiknya seolah-olah hanya mengerjakannya sekali saja dalam seumur hidup. Hidup kita esok adalah akibat sikap dan pilihan yang kita perbuat hari ini. Hidup adalah proyek yang kita kerjakan sendiri. Keberhasilan yang diraih, atau kegagalan yang menimpa dapat ditelusuri jauh ke dalam diri kita masing-masing.Karena KITA-LAH YANG MENJALANI semua ini.Bukan orang lain.

" Seorang bijak pernah mengatakan demikian :
Amatilah pikiranmu, karena akan menjadi ucapanmu.
Amatilah ucapanmu, karena akan menjadi tindakanmu.
Amatilah tindakanmu, karena akan menjadi kebiasaanmu.
Amatilah kebiasaanmu, karena akan menjadi karaktermu.
Amatilah karaktermu, karena akan menjadi nasibmu.
Di atas semua itu, amatilah dirimu sendiri.
Hanya mereka yang mengenal dirinya-lah yang akan mencapai kebahagiaan yang sesungguhnya."

***Thanks for Agus sandra for sharing this beautiful and inspiring story.

A very nice song and touching video by Josh Groban
(click on the name to see the clip).

***
You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up)

Don’t give up
It’s just the weight of the world
When your heart’s heavy
I…I will lift it for you

Don’t give up
Because you want to be heard
If silence keeps you
I…I will break it for you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don’t give up
Because you are loved

Don’t give up
It’s just the hurt that you hide
When you’re lost inside
I…I’ll be there to find you

Don’t give up
Because you want to burn bright
If darkness blinds you
I…I will shine to guide you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don’t give up
Because you are loved
You are loved

Don’t give up
It’s just the weight of the world
You are loved

Don’t give up
Everyone needs to be heard
You are loved