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Didi Kasim: Living out his dream
National Geographic Indonesia editor-in-chief Didi Kasim always hoped he could make adventure his job. Now, he is living out his dream.
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Dream comes true: Didi Kasim had dreamed of working at 'National Geographic' ever since he was a kid and 14 years ago that dream became a reality. (Courtesy of Taman Nasional Matalawa, Sumba/-)
E
very kid has grandiose dreams of what they want to be when they grow up. For some, it is becoming a superhero. For others, it is an astronaut or a professional athlete.
The vast majority of those dreams never materialize into anything other than abstract, wishful thinking. Didi Kasim, however, is part of the small minority of people who were able to turn their childhood dreams into reality.
Didi’s hobbies growing up, first in Sumatra and then in Jakarta, almost exclusively lay outdoors. He could often be found biking, hiking and climbing mountains and he knew from a very young age that he wanted his job to include exploring nature. Right around that time, he discovered National Geographic.
The bright yellow bordering that has been the calling card of National Geographic for more than 100 years has captured the hearts and minds of people of all ages.
For Didi, the TV specials that National Geographic released when he was a child transported him all over the world. While watching the people on those specials, he realized his hobby could be a legitimate career path and the yellow border became something to strive for.
“I thought if I could have my hobby as my job, it would be wonderful for me,” Didi told The Jakarta Post.
Before he even realized what a job at National Geographic would entail, he knew he wanted to somehow get involved. The only problem was that National Geographic was a world away from where he was.
