During my time at YYGS, I met an incredible group of people with whom I made deep and lasting connections during those three short weeks. With thoughtful mentorship from our instructor, I formed meaningful connections with the other people in my family time group. Our conversations, largely stemming from various lectures we listened to together, gave me a much broader range of global and cultural knowledge. I valued my peers’ opinions on global events and how we tied those opinions into our personal lives.

One of the highlights I had at YYGS was the seminar about Taylor Swift’s albums. During the seminar sessions, we listened to and analyzed songs in the albums as well as the background context of each of the songs. We would go through every single line of the lyrics and analyze different aspects of the lyrics like the point of view, plays on words, and repetition. The group discussions and activities provided me with new insight into the meanings and messages musicians incorporate into their music and lyrics.

I enjoyed the readings and found that I was able to delve into global problems and discuss them in a new light. I liked that there were so many diverse participants from multiple countries who provided such unique perspectives. Some I agreed with and some I didn’t–and I liked this. It challenged my thinking.

I feel that upon YYGS, I have been more confident to explore areas that I am not knowledgeable about as I successfully pursued the PLE track during YYGS while I am academically oriented towards STEM. I am also grateful to this opportunity that prepared me to integrate in my new school as I have become so comfortable to interact with diverse people in multicultural environments.

Only after realizing how our voice can be mightier than sword, did I decide to speak up about the struggles in the world. In our simulation group, I spoke up for the underprivileged children in China who didn’t have access to textbooks or remote learning. With the help of global peers, we established a network in rural China to share resources during Covid lockdowns and reached out to multiple schools. This made me believe how our words and actions can make a world of difference.