About
“There's nothing I'm not a part of unless I let my mind believe without my heart.” -Astrid Hardjana-Large
The journey of Life is filled with challenges and rewards. How we perceive the path determines where it brings us. Inspiration is offered in many forms and it's up to us to decipher what it means to us.
My name is Astrid Hardjana-Large and I host Perseverance Girl to share and learn from what life offers. I have lived with a neurological disease since I was eleven years old. For twenty four years I dealt with spontaneous seizures and head injuries, and am now dealing with the hemiplegic stroke I had in brain surgery to resolve the seizures. Life circumstances that were constantly disrupted by seizures led me to believe in the Principle of Impermanence, where everything (bodies, thoughts) are subject to change and nothing is static. It led me to always try my best while remaining open to learn and flow with change. I continuously search for truth and balance by researching multiple perspectives to prevent hastily making a reaction into an opinion. I've learned that finding relevance to what I trust makes it easier to accept changes and prevent setting permanence.
Perseverance, to me, is more than surviving hardship or persistence in difficult times. Perseverance is a willingness to continuously participate amidst opposing circumstances. My love for perseverance and ability to find peace has been through remembering impermanence, listening to my intuition and using creativity to make the best of what I am learning.
I offer my work, in all its forms, to provide a small moment of reprieve from the overwhelming moments in life, as a way to broaden perspective while dealing with challenges. They are open to interpret in whichever way is most meaningful for you. In sharing, I hope that other people will also have a small escape and return to who they are. This world is filled with unique and capable individuals, my dream is to have everyone realize that for themselves.
“People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves.” -Paulo Coelho
Why I Write and Share
I started writing during a time when my life was filled with uncertainty and I could hardly understand or articulate what I was feeling. I had epilepsy and a recent brain surgery evolved my seizures into a more frequent occurrence. Information on my condition was scarce and easily treated as a taboo. The support I had was consumed with fear and uncertainty, as would be expected, and I had to deal with what I had without losing myself. I didn't want fearful uncertainty to be my person so I had to explore a way that allowed me to sort my thoughts and feelings, connect with who I am, search for truth and lend me confidence to be myself with my circumstances. I started with journal writing and got into poetry to better organize and express what a situation meant to me. Writing poetry became my meditation in difficult moments. An art that allowed me to explore what I felt, draw connections to what I knew and release what built up from what I couldn’t easily share with other people. Poetry became my way of sharing what isn’t easily understood and reaching my own understanding without adding unnecessary opinions or confusion. After dark phases, poetry felt like messages from the Divine encouraging me to keep persevering.
I share my work as a way to continuously grow. Without external influence and diverse perspectives, I end up believing what I want and losing touch with reality. By pushing myself to share globally, I am more conscious of my creations and concentrate on knowing who I am through what I craft. I know that I am constantly changing and focusing on work allows me to flow with the changes and enjoy the process.Sharing is a beautiful way of connecting and learning. It gives me the opportunity to be a part of the world, even if my body has difficulty being able to socialize.