[Summer Youth Program 2023] My Summer Sojourn at BINUS University

Hello, wonderful people!

A few months ago, from July to August, I had the chance to have a truly interesting and memorable experience that I'm eagerly excited to share with everyone. I attended a Summer Program at Binus University with 40 other students. I chose the Architecture program because it's what I aspire to delve deeper into in higher education.

I've shared some of the academic aspects on my Instagram (@h_larasati), and you can check them out there. Here, I'd like to focus more on talking about the lovely people I met during my time there. In total, there were approximately 40 people, with 16 of them being part of the architecture class, including myself!

They were all brilliant individuals. They knew how to express themselves, and were exceptionally active, bright, ingenious, and, most importantly, very supportive. They constituted a group of people with an impressive track record of achievements, and I could see that they would undoubtedly have incredible futures. Their existence inspires me greatly, and I genuinely look up to them.

Being surrounded by such an environment made me wonder if I truly deserved to be there. I felt small. My feelings during the first week were like a roller coaster. I felt discouraged. However, there was one class conducted by "Multi Human Cendikiawan," focusing on our leadership and personal growth. The lecturer said, "We must not be trapped by the monsters within us."

It's true that many people's comments can both push us forward and hinder our growth. However, when we are the ones who bewitched ourselves that we can't achieve our goals, then we become the monsters. This will become a whole different level of difficulty. If we keep making excuses and refuse to step out of our comfort zones, we will eventually believe that our goals are impossible. That class truly struck a chord with me.

Furthermore, I also learned in other classes about communication and diversity. "If you communicate well, your message is well-received," as Mrs. Ayupitha said. I started talking to my friends more and got to know each other better. Talking and sharing our thoughts could be a way to prevent negative thoughts from clouding our minds. As time passed, I learned that we are all in a constant state of learning. We all want to grow. It might be challenging at times, but we must overcome those challenges.

I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to meet the coolest people from all around Indonesia. We came from different backgrounds, had various interests, and approached things differently, which made each one of us unique. They taught me their perspectives and time. We shared a lot of good laughs and smiles. Thank you for the unforgettable memories!!