NOT all of life’s lessons come from school. Sometimes, the most powerful ones come from simple childhood experiences — from pain, from discipline, and from moments that test your heart. For Jimmi Saputra, those memories became the foundation of the resilience that defines him today.
“Honestly, I used to hate my father,” Jimmi recalls with a faint smile. “But now I realize — all of that made me strong.”
When he was little, Jimmi’s friends received generous allowances — five thousand rupiah or more — while he only got 500 rupiah, even though his father was fairly well-off. “My friends used to tease me because I had the smallest allowance,” he says.
But instead of feeling defeated, something awakened in him. His instinct for independence. He began thinking about how to earn his own money.
One day, he noticed a friend turning his front yard into a parking area for people coming to take their driving tests. Jimmi offered to help — organizing the parked motorcycles, collecting small fees.
“I made around fifteen thousand rupiah a day,” he laughs. “That was so much more than my allowance — and it felt incredible, because I earned it myself.”
He thought his father would be proud of his initiative. But instead, he was met with anger. “When my father found out, he was furious,” Jimmi says. “He hit me, saying I had embarrassed the family.”
Still, Jimmi didn’t give up. He kept working in secret. Eventually, a neighbor told his father — and once again, he was punished. Yet again, he refused to stop. “I don’t know why,” he admits softly. “I just didn’t want to quit. Maybe because I felt proud of earning something from my own hard work.”
Now, decades later, Jimmi looks back on those moments not with resentment, but gratitude.
“That was the beginning of who I am today,” he says firmly. “I didn’t realize it then, but that was my down payment for the future. From that 500 rupiah, I learned the real meaning of hard work and independence.”
What began as a child’s quiet rebellion has become the very essence of Jimmi Saputra’s life — proof that sometimes, the smallest lessons can build the strongest character. **
By Karolina | Edited by Igo Kleden
