From the Library to the Winner’s Stage: Raina’s Journey in a Short Story Writing Competition

“The library has become the source of inspiration for Raina to enrich her ideas and vocabulary through the children’s storybooks available there, enabling her to craft beautiful and engaging stories for her future readers (in this case, the judges). Raina often visits the library, even outside of visiting hours. When her teacher has out-of-school activities, she and her classmates will usually visit the library.”

Maria Mathildis Raina Eka Putri, now in grade VI A at SDI Tibakisa, once participated in a short story writing competition in 2023, representing her school at the school cluster level. Unfortunately, her journey ended at the cluster level, and Raina, as she is usually called, didn’t have the opportunity to advance further. A year later, this student who dreams of becoming a doctor  was once again chosen to participate in the short story competition at the cluster level, representing her school. Initially, Raina was reluctant, fearing she would face the same disappointment as the previous year. However, her homeroom teacher, who also acted as her mentor for this competition, continued to encourage her to try again.

Yakobus Ede Pawe, S.Pd., Raina’s homeroom teacher, successfully convinced Raina, who was then in grade VA, and committed to mentoring her throughout the process of learning to write short stories as the school’s representative. With his support and guidance, Raina began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Her stories became more substantial and captivating, capturing the judges’ interest and taking her to the district level, representing the Boawae sub-district in the Literacy and Numeracy Competition for elementary school students in the short story writing category.

So, what exactly made Raina succeed in going further in her short story competition journey this time?

Mr. Yos, as he is commonly called, played a significant role as Raina’s homeroom teacher. He still believed in Raina’s potential to represent the school in the competition because he hoped she could develop further.

“First, there was a selection process at the school level, where five children’s writings (short stories they created) were selected. Raina had the highest score. She excelled because she had many references with rich vocabulary, making her stories neither monotonous nor repetitive. She also had a lot of experience. She knew many words other children hadn’t learned yet. And she frequently visited the library,” explained Mr. Yos.

Throughout the short story competition process, Raina was closely guided by Mr. Yos. To help develop her story, Raina tried to draw from her experiences and add references from the library. Yes, the SDI Tibakisa library, which has now transformed into a child-friendly library, was instrumental. It has a new collection of more engaging books, from illustrated stories to children’s comics, even knowledge books presented in interesting narratives that are easier for students to understand. No wonder more students started frequenting the library during breaks. It was there that Raina found additional sources of inspiration to refine her story. Raina, who already enjoyed visiting the library, became even more frequent in her visits, sharpening her imagination to write more compelling and exciting stories through the various books now available in the library.

The mentorship from Mr. Yos and Raina’s efforts paid off. The health-themed short story she wrote for the cluster-level competition advanced her to the sub-district level. Slowly, Raina’s anxiety faded as she took one step further than last year. Now, Raina is preparing to craft an even better story to compete at the sub-district level.

At home, Raina also received full support from her father, who had once participated in a short story competition and made it to the provincial level. Her father helped her choose proper and appealing words to make her story more interesting and vibrant. Indeed, the universe conspired to support her. The support from all sides (parents, teachers, and the school) strengthened Raina’s ability to create works that now take her to the district level.

In addition to the support from those closest to her and the guidance at school, the facilities provided at school also played a role in developing Raina’s story. According to Mr. Yos, reading the books in the library helped Raina expand her vocabulary and imagination in creating engaging storylines, resulting in well-crafted stories. Not just Raina, but other children in her class also developed their imagination through picture-filled books, making them think more often and find it easier to visualize the stories they read. Furthermore, their vocabulary and knowledge expanded. Moreover, as they read more, their self-confidence grew, especially since the teacher introduced read-aloud activities during library visits. During these read-aloud sessions, children were invited to participate directly in reading through questions asked by the teacher and how they mimicked voices accompanied by expressive gestures in the story.

As Raina’s homeroom teacher and mentor during the story-writing process, Mr. Yos felt a sense of pride. Raina, who previously hadn’t succeeded in advancing, was now slowly stepping onto the rainbow path she had longed for. Starting from the school selection, she secured first place at the school cluster level, giving her the opportunity to advance to the sub-district level. At the sub-district level, Raina won second place, which meant she would be one of the representatives at the district level.

“The library is now better, better maintained, and more enjoyable for reading and borrowing books. It’s more comfortable now. I hope all children can read fluently (with the current child-friendly library). They could be like me, participate in short story competitions, reach the district level, or even go beyond that. I hope they all become smart,” expressed Raina, who enjoys the book ‘A Day as a Farmer’ because it contains fun adventures in the rice fields.

Although she didn’t win first place at the district level, Raina succeeded in becoming the first in her school and her school cluster. Her efforts paid off, thanks to her perseverance and the support from teachers, the school, and even her parents. The child-friendly library’s book collection also became a supporting tool for Raina in honing her skills in crafting fresh and engaging stories. Raina’s hope for her friends is also our hope for all Indonesian children: that they can become smart and achieve their dreams by exploring the books in the library, which are certainly interesting and suited to their reading abilities. Taman Bacaan Pelangi believes that by providing quality children’s books, Indonesian children will grow to love books and reading, so that one by one, they can achieve the dreams they weave. One book, a million hopes for Indonesian children. Let’s cultivate a love of reading among Indonesian children together.