Just a Speck of Dust Within a Galaxy

I wrote this during the recruitment process for a big tech company in Indonesia. If you're wondering when—it was the first week of February 2025.

New year, new company?

Well, not really.

I was caught off guard by what happened. Everything unfolded so suddenly, and I didn’t even have the chance to ask why. The moment I’m referring to? Getting laid off. Why was I laid off? Honestly, I don’t know all the details. What I do know is that my previous company was sued by a big corporation. The reason?

Scraping their data.

Let me explain a bit about my previous company. I had been working for a Singapore-based company for three years. It was a Data-as-a-Service company, and for the most part, my time there was amazing. The first year was tough, but after that, things got better. We built the company together. I joined when there were just 22 employees, and I watched it grow to nearly 100 before everything collapsed.

Looking back, 2024 was an incredible year for me. I had opportunities to contribute some projects, achieve milestones, receive a promotion, and even get a salary raise. If I had to sum up 2024 in one phrase, it would be "a year without blockers." Everything just flowed seamlessly.

And what was the effect on me? I started feeling invincible. I thought I was superior to others. I believed I had everything under control. I felt like the smartest person in the room.

But who are we, really? Can we control the universe? Absolutely not.

And just when my ego reached its peak, God stepped in and reminded me: "You're straying too far from the right path. Come back."

We are just specks of dust within a galaxy. If a massive planet were to crash into ours an hour from now, what could we do? That’s exactly how I felt. I had so many plans for 2025, but God had a different plan for me. Instead of focusing on self-improvement, I found myself scrambling to prepare for interviews.

But there's no point in being angry or bitter. Resisting reality doesn’t change it. The only thing we can do is move forward and give our best for the next chapter.

As Martin Luther King jr. said:

If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.

Thanks God,

I just hope I can learn from this experience.

I hope I always remember that I am just a speck of dust within a galaxy.

I hope I never see myself as superior to others.

And I hope that when I reach a high position, I can come back and read this—to keep my ego in check.