I still remember my first earning, well, sort of. That is, if you can even call it an earning. It was either 2003 or 2004, I can’t remember it well, it was two decades ago anyway. What I remember crystal clear is the number: Rp 20.000.
Yeah, you read that right. Twenty thousand rupiah. You can convert it to HBD to see how glorious it was, not to mention the inflation rate. Now before you laugh, let me tell you the whole story.
I was in a band. There were five of us back then. We were this scrappy little group who loved weezer too much (any weezer fans here? Hip hip!).
Our band when we were young
Image source: My Facebook
On one beautiful April afternoon, we got a gig. The total fee for our gig was Rp. 100.000, which felt like winning at the time. We were so excited when we got the job. We high-fived each other, probably jumped around a bit.
Then came the math.
One hundred thousand divided by five people equals twenty thousand each. The excitement deflated pretty quick when we realized what we’d actually be taking home. The cost of renting the studio for whatever we were doing was way more than what we were getting paid!
I know it makes absolutely no business sense whatsoever. We were basically paying for the privilege of working. If we were smart, we would’ve said no thanks and walked away. But we weren’t smart. We were young and stupid and just wanted to say we had earned money doing something. Anything. The bragging rights felt more valuable than actual profit, which is the most backwards logic ever, but that’s how it was.
Looking back now, I can’t help but laugh at how tragic the whole situation was. We probably spent more on transportation getting to and from that gig than we made. And don’t even get me started on the food and drinks we bought to celebrate afterwards. That twenty thousand was gone before we even really had it.
But I don’t regret it one bit. That pathetic little Rp. 20.000 taught me more than any business class ever could. It is priceless. I mean the experience and the story you’ll tell later.
So for lessons, I guess, now I know that splitting money five ways is always depressing, no matter how much the total is.
Another lesson would be, back then, holding the money that I earned myself, not from my parents or relatives, felt different. It felt like proof that I could actually do something, even if that something barely covered my lunch money.
I wish I could tell you I was smart enough to save that first earning. That would make for a better story. Some inspiring tale about framing it or keeping it in a special box. But nope. I spent it. Probably on something completely forgettable like snacks or cigarettes.
The money’s long gone, but the memory stuck around. And that’s worth way more than twenty thousand rupiah.
Fin.
Hello, I am gibic from Indonesia. I want to say hello to this community. I read a lot of great content from Indiaunited, pure awesomeness! And this is my first post for this community. This is an entry post to participate in my first earning contest!