My most memorable lecture was IST22CL: Optimism and Wishful Thinking by Clarice Lee. I was thankful to have three different lessons with Clarice Lee; her teaching method is engaging and keeps pushing us to ask questions, besides bringing fun examples to keep us entertained. She talked about how we must be aware of the line between being optimistic and just thinking positively. Clarice helped me understand that to achieve a goal, I must not only be positive and believe it will happen.

I feel deeply. I have strong feelings about equality for women, and I want to join a community that will amplify my voice and not silence it. At YYGS, youth from all over the world helped me learn about spreading awareness of the issues I care about without fear of reprisal.

Disagreement. Across my YYGS experience, I encountered new areas of growth and development, but perhaps the most important was understanding viewpoints much different than my own. I remember sitting in my chair, staring at my computer screen, formulating a rebuttal in my mind, but attentively listening to my peer’s statements. This experience was common and helped me digest the information I had just learned and change or further lean into my position.

I was honoured to be among such bright minds and be a part of a positive global influence which will, no doubt, continue to extend the limits of development this generation can bring about by working together. I have been inspired to really make an impact on everyone around me and constantly seek for ways to ‘get involved’.

I am interested in politics on a global scale now because YYGS has helped form my academic mindset with a curiosity for problem-solving and analytical reasoning that I have never experienced before. The lectures helped me understand global economics and how it can be more equitable through international law.