Sunday, July 5, 2020

101 Series: Stumbling upon Aufnahmeprüfung/ANP (pt. 1)

بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم
Assalamu'alaikum
Hallo, Lieblings!
How are you today?
At this particular time of the year, I think most people who are going to enter Studienkolleg in the upcoming Winter Semester in September/October are busy preparing for the entrance exam -- the holy Aufnahmeprüfung (ANP). Jjeng, here I am ready to tell you guys some introduction about the ANP itself including tips and hacks you guys might find it useful to prepare for your study! 😄
For those who are actually interested in reading my actual experience of going to the Studienkolleg, I recommend you to read The First Footsteps series part 4, Aufnahmeprüfung (ANP) Dramas + Important Travel Tips. Here, I’m just going to explain (kind of) briefly of what ANP actually is.


What is Aufnahmeprüfung (ANP)?

Aufnahmeprüfung (ANP) literally means entrance examination in English. This is a test that soon-to-be students must take in order to enter Studienkolleg (university preparatory course) before entering University. The test between each University might differ, that’s why you should check it one by one. No worries, normally the Uni will provide its soon-to-be students with sample ANP questions.
TIP: To get the sample questions, enter the keywords "ANP Studienkolleg Uni (the name of the Uni) Musterbeispiel" in the google search, and voila! Don't forget to download it.

 Nevertheless, the test generally consists of 2 main subjects:
  1. German,
  2. Additional subject depending on which course you are taking (M/T/G/W/S Kurs).
For more info about Studienkolleg, I've written some posts about it too regarding my experience and also the must-know stuff about Studienkolleg!
Let me give you an example.
I wanted to take M-Kurs entrance exams in Studienkolleg Marburg, Studienkolleg Halle, and Studienkolleg Heidelberg. In Marburg, I was obliged to take Mathematics and German. In Halle, the ANP I needed to write was German and Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology – yes, three). Whereas in Heidelberg, I only needed to prepare for German. Your course is no guarantee that you'll only take certain subjects in the exam.

The Exam in a nutshell

We all now knew that each university has different subjects to be tested. To make things easier, I’m using practice questions (mainly) from Uni Halle. You can download the questions here: https://www.studienkolleg.uni-halle.de/aufnahmetest/.

 Along with some brief explanations about the types of exams, I'm going to sparkle them with some hacks too! Please be wise of taking the tips, as everyone has unique ways of learning. You don't have to follow the exact same thing that I did. 🙅
In general, the foremost thing to do before the exam is actually done as many practice questions as possible. I mean it. Download all practice questions (Musterbeispiel) from as many universities as possible, regardless you apply to it or not. Repeat it again and again until it’s stuck in your mind that you might bring it to your sleep.
Back to the topic.
The subjects, that are being tested in Uni Halle Studienkolleg entrance exam depending on each course are:
  • M Kurs: German + Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology)
  • T Kurs: German + Math
  • G Kurs: Geman + English
  • W Kurs: German + Math
  • S Kurs: they aren’t offering S Kurs classes, sadly.
The German test includes: C-Test, Leseverstehen (reading), Schreiben (writing)

Writing The German Exam

In the German exam, most universities will give you these types of tests:
  •  C-Test,
  • grammar/Grammatik,
  • listening/Hörverstehen,
  • reading/Lesen,
  • writing/Schreiben.


 Before you start, please do take your time to read the instructions. They are as important as your answers, don’t ever belittling them.
Translations
Your entrance exam would only be scored, if you observe these instructions:
  • Helping aids (e.g. dictionaries, cell phones) and outside help is not allowed.
  • The use of pencil and (pen with) the color red is not allowed.
  • Tearing apart the clamped test documents is not permitted.
  • Please stop the test immediately as instructed by the examiner.

#1 C-Test (fill in the blanks) – 10 min ~ 45 min depending on the number of questions

In this certain exam, we have to fill in the blanks with the right words or even complete the word. Here, let me give one sample question.
Challenge: Could be the trickiest. You’ve got so so many possibilities and options to write yet the time is very short.
Hint: Your vocabulary and your grammatical skills are being tested in this exam. Both quality and quantity are important, think fast and correctly
Tips:
  • Get a good grip on grammatical structures and the detail like articles (der, die, das).
  • Read as many texts as possible, either from German news like Deutsche Welle, Deutsche Welle Top Thema, Die Zeit, and tagesschau.
  • Borrow German books from the libraries or buy books from Amazon kindle (kids books, preferably).
  • Read not only the news but also fictional stories like fables or children's stories. You can use an app like Beelinguapp. It's an app where you can read children's stories and even listen to audiobooks. 👶

#2 Grammartik (Grammar) – approx. 45 min

Not all universities include this one in their entrance exam questions. From all the ANP that I've written, only Uni Heidelberg includes Grammar. Others only bother to infuse the grammatical aspect with the C-Test. Download the sample questions of Uni Heidelberg here: http://www.isz.uni-heidelberg.de/e_pruef_et.html.


Challenge: no one knows which kind of question would come, could be this easy or even harder. If you look at the sample questions, you can see why haha. Sorry, I'm too lazy to screenshot the other questions lol, this one is the shortest.
Hint:  any type of grammatical problem could possibly come, depending on the required German level. (B1/B2/C1)
Tips: DO. PRACTICE. QUESTIONS. 💪💪


#3 Hörverstehen (listening) – approx. 30 minutes, excluding the listening time

This type of exam requires your good understanding and comprehend information from the speaker. On the contrary of some might think, just by having one pair of ears doesn’t mean we are automatically good at listening. Need practice, definitely, Though Uni Halle wouldn’t ask you to do this type of test, others might. Again, Uni Heidelberg for example is kind of extra so they include this one too. Download the sample questions of Uni Heidelberg here: http://www.isz.uni-heidelberg.de/e_pruef_et.html.
The technical aspects might differ from each Uni, but based on my experience writing ANP in Uni Heidelberg, it’s mainly like this.
The examiner will read one text comprising approx. 30 lines twice. In the first read, the students are allowed to take notes on a piece of paper. After that, the students will be given the question papers and are allowed to read the questions (and scribble the answers there) while waiting for the second read by the examiner. After the second read, the students are given time to write the answers completely.
Challenge: the examiner will read one German text in German, in a German pace of speaking (sometimes slower though).
Hint: try your best to adapt your ears into listening to the German people talking in their normal pace (which is, DAmN faST at first. But no worries as time goes, it'll be ok). 🙉
Tips:
  • Listen to lots of stuff in German EVERYDAY. Set 10-30 minutes from you 24 hours to actually listen.
  • Watch Netflix not only with German subs but German dubs.
  • Watch videos from German Youtubers! My personal favorites are Kurzgesagt, MaiLab, and Pocket Hazel. 
  • Listen to Podcasts in German, my favorites are Forschung Aktuell, DW Top Thema, tagesthemen, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten, and sometimes I do listen to Sternengeschichten. (I'm using Google podcast, FYI)
  • Sometimes after I listen to a podcast or video, I tend to re-tell the content's context with my own words with xxxtra personal thoughts and record it. In that way, the words wouldn’t just slide from our left to right ear, but we are forcing our brain to actually comprehend and grasp the information. By recording it, I could easily spot the mistakes that I made while speaking. Trust me guys, talking is different.

#4 Leseverstehen (reading) – approx. 10 min

This type of exam could be in different forms, could either be diagrams or texts along with questions to answer. The answer might be in the form of multiple-choice or short answers, depending on the Uni. Here in Uni Halle, for years, they haven’t been changing the format from multiple choice answers.

Challenge: lotsa (preferably scientific) words that we might not be used in our daily activities. 👽
Hint: In the case of describing graphs, understand the format, and memorize the Redewendung – the usual phrases used in describing graphs might help. In the case of reading short texts, you need to have as many vocabularies as possible and the ability to comprehend information from sentences fast and correctly.

Read more: https://deutschtraining.org/methodik/grafikbeschreibung/ | https://www.lehrerfreund.de/schule/1s/beispiel-beschreibung-diagramm-schaubild/4246
Tips: Read as many usual phrases (Redewendung, tbh don't know how to translate it in English) about describing graph texts as possible. The more you used to it, the better ad easier your brain will comprehend the info coming.

#5 Schreiben (writing) – approx. 10 ~ 45 min depending on the questions

Test-takers are required to write one text from a wide spectrum of options. Sometimes it might be describing graphs or certain pictures, sometimes could be writing recount letters like this one that Uni Halle had given in their entrance exam.
Challenge: for me personally, writing in different languages is not the same. Most of the time, I have the idea and I know what to write but I just don’t know HOW I could express my idea because of the lack of my vocabulary.
Hint: enrich your vocabulary along with German idioms and phrases. The examiner will look at how good you can actually express your idea with the words from your certain level e.g. the vocabulary for level C1 has a wider variety than the vocabulary for level B2. If the test requires you to have the ability of B2 students, don't use only vocabs from the B1 levels!
Tips:

  • Use suitable Nomen Verb Verbindung and Redewendungen (usual phrases, idk how to translate?) when describing graphs or tables. And yes, they are something you better memorize. They will give your exam paper kinda sparks and sparkles haha.
    (read more: https://www.grammatiktraining.de/nomenverb/grammatikliste-nomen-verb-verbindungen.html)
  • Memorize the format of writing a letter (formal and personal), observe which pronouns are suitable, and the time (past/present) too.
  • Avoid starting the sentence with the exact words. Example, "Ich bin am Wochenende nach Heidelberg gefahren. Ich habe Spass."
  • Write as many texts as possible and ask someone to actually correct and score it. Could be a friend, a senior, or a teacher. Without any feedback, for me, it's kind of hard to keep on the track as we keep going without knowing our mistakes. We learn from trials and failures, you know.


Writing the other Exam

Well, I’m not going to explain in detail because it clearly depends on whether which course you are going to take. Let me give you some examples from the Physics part of the M Kurs ANP Uni Halle.

Challenge: sometimes the number of materials are too much to comprehend, like Biology for example. Too many memorizations. 😤
Hint: the questions that came out aren’t actually in-depth questions and I'd rather say it's not really hard -- only the basic knowledge about certain subjects.
Tips:
  • STAY CALM, don't call 911 and panic.
  • Ask the seniors that have been accepted in the Studienkolleg you are applying to, their past experiences and ANP questions might be a huge help.
  • Use your time wisely. I know you want to learn 'em all, but you should also prioritize which ones are worth more of your time. Other than studying everything to answer the questions, make your study portion is foremost based on the questions that came in the exam.
  • Borrow books from the library or even from Amazon Kindle (the E-book version).
  • If you guys came from Indo, the materials are actually not far from that. I think SBMPTN questions are way harder. You might want to revise your highschool materials, but not all are relevant. Smh Indo questions are much more complicated. Learn from Youtube with the keyword '(the subject) Abitur' (FYI, Abitur is the Indo National Examination (UN) version in Germany)
  • Watch educational Youtube videos and look for resources on the Internet.
    My forever fave channel since pre-Studienkolleg days till the last end-of-the-semester exam is The Simpleclub!!! They have different channels for different subjects, for example, Biology and History. They are like the free German version of Ruangguru or even Crash Course. On the other side, my fave web of Physics materials is Leifi Physik.

Pheew.
That was a very long write. Payback for having 2 weeks not writing anything, sorry guys haha. Been quite busy with a couple of stuff currently. Keep on going, once you are preparing for ANP... It's not easy I know. But many survived, and you will too! Quitting is not an option, the only way is to go through. HAJAR! 💪💥

Well, I guess we'll meet again shortly for the second part of this post! Until then, stay healthy and energized. 😄

Love and light,
Sintya✌

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Changing Our Mindset Towards Change

بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم
Assalamu'alaikum

credit

Hello, Lieblings!
I hope everything is alright and may the sun shines in every direction you are taking.

I’m actually (still, duh) in my gap semester and had actually started to send university applications. The thing is, my friend, I was actually thrilled to read all of the modules that I need to prepare for uni. That means I need to do something about my ugly habit of binge-watching Netflix and to actually start studying. 🙉

I discussed Uni life to some of my pals and seniors to at least have some perspective or even to get a precaution of how should I construct an ideal learning plan. Well, guess what? The conclusion is actually: Versuch einfach zu uberleben. In short, stay alive. Dayyyum. For me, facing uni is a new thing, a new experience I’ve never felt before. And I won’t lie, I’m scared to death knowing I know nothing about it.

Yesterday, I actually spoke one and two things about the Neuroscience behind discomfort and fear with my dear friend, Dina. (Oh how I like discussions!) I really think it’s such an interesting thing to explore and decided to read more about it. According to Medical News Today, Neuroscience is the study of how the nervous system develops, its structure, and what it does. In a nutshell, learning the still-learning brain.

Well, I’m sorry (but not sorry) for unintentionally representing myself as a freak brainiac tho lol. Though this seems like a challenging topic, it's actually not hard to understand. I guess? It’s really important to know how our brains are hardwired so that you won’t be tricked (or fooled) by your brain anymore. Just like what it did to me.

Wha- wait, tricked?

I know it seems weird and at some point, even me and Dina thought our brain is like one particular another being that is glued to us and steer everything for the sake of us. Particularly, for things that we favor the most. Though maybe... not for the better us.

Is it starting to get complicated?
Do you feel like clicking that X button?
I won’t blame you anyway, because it’s your brain that is labeling this post as a threat to your relaxing time. Screaming, no no please no more heavy stuff to think about!!
Just kidding.

Understanding how our brain reacts to and processes to change could actually shift and evolve the way we think and approach it.

To complicate things even further (du-uh), Neuroscientists said that our brains are hardwired to do easy and well-habituated tasks as well as to fear change. Why? Our brains need a decent amount of energy to process change, as it ‘trigger’ the part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex – you know just that strict annoying friend that is responsible mainly for decision making.

Well, yea it requires so much energy indeed. Now you know why is it easier to say, ‘terserah’ – up to you, every time your gang asked you where and when to meet up? Yea, won’t blame you cuz it’s only your brain tirelessly searching for a good place with good price to eat on a Saturday night. Sorry. A 'lil bit sarcasm won’t hurt, eh?

On the other side, well-habituated tasks, things that we frequently do in our everyday life, are being stored in the basal ganglia. The one is responsible to store long-term memories. That lil friend that is moody, hates ugly things and making decisions depending on what had happened in the past. This buddy makes us behave the way we usually behave without us even thinking about it. The brain requires less energy for this to function.

Maybe we should actually think critically of whatever challenge and change we are facing. Change, or even the thought of it, puts our brains in a ‘threat state’ immediately. Thus making us feel uncomfortable and uneasy. Again, due to the amount of energy the brain uses while in that threat state. (Remember our old friend, the prefrontal cortex?)

In a nutshell, we don’t like change, because our brains are hardwired to dislike it. But that doesn’t mean we could do nothing about it.

The brain is a lazy old man in his late 80s, but it’s actually up to us to convince this lazy old man to actually do something and telling him this particular task is ALRIGHT. Rather to see changes as something scary, we should look at it as a challenging task to explore. Our perspective affects hugely to the way our brain labels some tasks.

As the default of our brain is actually protective, as Nicole Spectore wrote in NBC News, when we introduce a change of routine into our life, our brain is also on guard and ready to pounce, immediately considering the possible threat a change can carry.

Will this hurt me? What are the gain and losses when I do this task?


Sometimes, though some things are good for our growth, we are afraid cuz we aren’t just used to it or simply because we are lacking information about it. Just like me taking that chance to compete in a storytelling competition back in middle school. SurPRISE!! 😙

At first, it was undoubtedly scary. I started to imagine horrible things, like what if I caught a heart attack in the middle of the show or what if I suddenly can’t speak anything due to stage-fright and what if I faint?! Such a drama queen, I know right.

But as time goes by and the more I practice, the more I'm informed of what are the right things to do, my brain starts to change the label of particular task from ‘possibly-life-threatening unidentified new thing’ to ‘something familiar’ that I actually enjoy of doing. The sentence practice makes perfect is not only a brainwashing motivation teachers and coaches used for hundreds of decades after all.

Every new start seems scary, wouldn’t lie. But once you dove deep down into it (re: berkecimpung, is that even a word) there is a huge possibility you will enjoy it. Just, start. It might seem challenging as there are always people that are better than you.

But, everything starts from zero. It’s hard, but we must accept the fact that we are all once a beginner. It’s absolutely fine to feel scared at some point and that doesn’t mean we couldn’t grow to be a better us, am I right, mate?

Just like me, feeling scared of getting into Uni.
Oh and no, this isn’t self-defense.
Just kidding.


Back when I was in high school, I was so scared that I’d fall behind my friends. I feel trapped as they were all such evil geniuses (no, not like that Thai movie) without even have to learn as much as I do. At least, that’s what I see. I feel so stressed out that self-proclaiming myself as the stupid one and could nothing about it. Well, things do look complicated when left unresolved. But then I found something on Pinterest that change my way of looking at things since then.

credit

Our brain is still learning how to learn up until this second. I strongly believe what we actually consume (re: information) could affect our ways of thinking. I recommend watching inspiring movies based on real-life (but not the Conjuring, thanks), documentaries, even study vlogs and study with me videos on Youtube. I haven’t found the research yet, but in my case, the more it is relatable to my everyday life, the more my brain is convinced to work harder as those goals don't seem unreachable. And sometimes, Ghibli movies! I recently watch Whisper of The Heart and damnnn it is so simple yet inspiring. Maybe that works for you too 😄

Our brain is a wonderfully intelligent organ that primitively reacts to change the same way it did hundreds of years ago. (Yep, good news Einstein is included.) We all have the same 24 hours a day and 365 days a year (except for Leap Years that consists of 366 days). But it's about what you do during those times that makes a difference. There is that X-Factor and amount of hard work that makes Einstein, Einstein. Mbak Najwa Shihab, Mbak Najwa Shihab. And us? Us.

Make every second count.

*screams* | credit
You and Seiji both are like unpolished gemstones in their natural state. You have to find the rough gems inside yourself and polish them. It takes time and effort. You can't expect perfection at the beginning. (Whisper of The Heart, 1995)


I'm no expert in this field, but this seems like an interesting subject to talk about. Might be wrong on this and that, just tell me if I made some errors! I dedicate this post actually for my little sister that is currently fighting the demons of laziness to prepare for her upcoming senior year of high school. If you are facing similar adversities, I know you are going to excel in this. Though it such a pain in the ass. You are brilliant and you are can be anyone you wanted to be 😊

In the meantime, I want to thank you for giving me the chance to share my thoughts... with you! This blog is only an analog form of my brain – my brain dump. From me, for me. That’s why I’m thrilled every time an unexpected someone sent me an unexpected heartwarming message of how my random, unstructured posts affect them. I mean, what did I do to receive such a huge honor T^T Could never thank you enough.

Stay safe and healthy friends. May you have the ability to face every challenge with kindness and your heart be filled with bravery and courage.

Love and light,
Sintya✌


If this post sparks your interest, let me recommend you some fruitful articles worth your time:
Resources:

Saturday, June 6, 2020

Surviving Indecisive Uni Decisions

بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم
Assalamu'alaikum

credit

Hallo, Lieblings!

How have you been?

Lately, I’ve been busying myself with my university applications – things that actually bother people in the same high school year as I did 2 years ago if you are wondering. But that doesn’t really matter anyway. Back then I was actually didn’t get the hype of all my friends being indecisive of their choices and so-called path of life. Time flies really fast, man. I remembered the first day of Studienkolleg was driving me insane and suddenly this particular indecisive stress floods my mind.

In Germany, we are not limited to choose any university of our liking. Say it 2, 5, or even 20. You can actually apply to as much uni as you want. However I came to realize that the more options you have, the more decision you have to make, thus the more exhausted your brain will be. I don’t know if this is a normal thing to experience or is it me that overthink. I feel like this is a VERY big deal for me as this is the place I’m going to be attached to for the next 3 years. Yes, three. Officially you only need 3 years to get your Bachelor degree  -- if possible.

I explored, researched, let that thousands of tabs in the browser tab until indefinite time range, let my laptop in the sleeping mode for several days, asked as many people possible, made connections with people from that particular university, and received good and the not-so-good feedback. All of this experience gave me thrills of excitement and fear at the same time. 

I’m scared of going forward, fearing I wouldn’t choose the right path. But the entrance door has been shut closed. There is no way back.


I was actually looking for any enlightenment possible until I came across one particular podcast on TED Talks Daily – a mind shifter talk from an Emergency Room (ER) doctor named dr. Darria Long. She talked about changing mindset from ‘crazy mode’ to ‘ready mode’.  My head is crazy noisy right now. Especially at the time being really indecisive.

In a nutshell, dr. Darria talked about the trinity:
  1. Relentlessly triage,
  2. Design for crazy,
  3. Get out of your head.
Let me explain.

1. Relentlessly triage

Meaning to decree challenges based on its urgencies. We all sometimes tend to respond to all of the challenges the same way. Individuals who couldn't differentiate threat and non-threat thus reacting the same way through every challenge has doubled the level of stress hormone. You can't do it all at once and you don't have to, because we triage.

There are some circumstances that force us to throw some work out of the list – things that are beyond our capability, things that we must move on from, even if it’s gut-wrenching. In the Emergency Room (ER) dr. Daria mentioned that the doctors there are being trained to ‘mengikhlaskan’ or let it be. If you wanted to do everything -- even things that aren't worth fighting for anymore -- then you’ll have no energy to dwell with the real majors. 

2. Design for crazy

Half of handling the crazy is how you prepared for it. How can we prepare, so that the task will be easier to do? Plan, automate, decrease temptations!

3. Get out of your head

Meaning we have to shove away all of that internal screams and temptations to walk away. FACE IT. This particular part, I don’t actually want to summarize it. As it’s indeed a meaningful story. Here is what I kind of paraphrased while listening to the talk.

One day, a woman came to the ER for labor and I realize that the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck, not once, but twice. I was the only doctor available. I am indeed scared, but I couldn't let it de-rail me. We all get scared and nervous but it is what you do next that matters. That first feeling isn't the problem, it could be an important sign, the problem is when it derail us.

In ‘crazy mode’ our internal monolog started to catastrophize thus making us start to get that tunnel vision. We couldn't finish anything that way. Now, how to get out of our own head then? I tend to actively put the focus on someone else. I see myself in the arena — what do they need? what do they fear? and how can I help?

Research shows that when you prime your brain with what essentially compassion we disrupt that tunnel vision and internal monologue thus broaden your perception so your brain could actually take in more information – making you see more possibilities and make a better decision. Just try it! Know that your internal monolog can derail you. If you get out of your own head, you get on your way.

I didn't focus on what I feared, but on the mother and the baby. On things, they needed me to do. So I got the cord off and the strong cries of a newborn drowned out the sirens and beep in the ER. When I walked out of the room and saw some of my other patients in the ER, I came to realize something. Despite some of their own problems that had brought them to the ER, they've all come together to root for the baby and share the joy.

When you go from crazy mode to ready mode, others notice. They actually want to do it, they just don't know how they just need one example — which could be you.


This made me realize, hey, scary things that have been told as ‘testimonies’ before might be happening to some people. For example in my case, low probabilities of finishing the Bachelor in time, failure in exams, high standardized professors, highly competitive environment, and the list goes on.

But they are them and you are you. It’s kind of unfair for me to judge my self-worth based on other people’s experiences. Like what I did a couple days earlier. I was really scared hearing some people’s stories, but then a good friend of mine, Dila, told me: “Kalo ga ambil cuma karena takut gagal ngga cucok sih kayaknya.” – “If you didn’t take the chance just because you’re afraid of failure... it’s not cool.”

You know that particular time when you know what you need to be doing or thinking about, but need someone to confirm your thoughts? Yeup. Thanks dil, HAHA.

Design for crazy! Rather than giving up your targets and ambitions of reaching your ‘end game’, what can you do now to lower the possibility of failing in the future? Which steps do you need to take if you want your pinnacle to be at a particular height? The output is the game changer I suppose.

Let’s say we all know that Harvard University is one of the best schools in the whole wide world for almost all majors. But, does that apply when you wanted to be a wizard? Well, you need to go to Hogwarts for that, dude. Though you may be the smartest geek in Harvard and probably founded a multi-billon company, does that doesn’t make you be able to reach your dream of becoming a wizard.

Going to Harvard may be tempting. Knowing the prestige, the networking, the smarties of the smarts are there, and the data-based testimonies!! But again we have to triage correctly. Is this what we need to do in order to get our willing output of being a wizard? Again, our targetted ‘end game’ plays a gigantic role in our decision. Let me ask you a question, who do you picture yourself to be in 4 or maybe 5 years from now? Does that decision make you closer, to who you wanted to be?

At some point, we might want to choose a path that has a higher probability of survival rate (at Harvard you won’t have to be struck by lightning bolts during Quidditch, facing evil Death Eaters, or died instantly because someone said Avada Kedavra to you, duh). But even real data-based probability may not apply to everyone, including us.

There is still that X-Factors we may have that others don’t and vice versa. At the end of the day, how we value our worthiness towards any particular decision depends on how well we walked through the fire – how we cope with the challenges. The limit of others might be yours if you looked at it the same way as they did. But let me remind you that you are still capable into turn it into a challenge instead.

It’s in our hands to see fire as a life-threatening being or as the beginning of life. 
Brave yourself to try. Face it. Adapt to the odds. Survive.

You know, sometimes it's not you that overthink the probabilities, but it's you that let fear controls your decision. Take the chance, HAJAR RASA TAKUT!

I really hope that you’ll soon receive that ‘aha-moment’ in whatever hardships or indecisive situations you are facing right now. Please, please for my Uni applications too haha, hope it all works out. In the meantime, stay healthy and productive!!
“The thing about growing up with Fred and George," said Ginny thoughtfully, "is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve.” (J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

Love and light,
Sintya✌

Saturday, May 30, 2020

101 Series: Alur Pendaftaran Studienkolleg (pt. 2)

بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم
Assalamu'alaikum

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Hallo, Lieblings!

How ya doin'?
If you have noticed I may pause talking about Germany stuff for the whole Ramadan, because of one and two things. However now let's continue our unfinished talk last week in my previous 101 Series post, 101 Series: Studienkolleg In General. Today I wanted to share with you guys about one of the most malesin parts to think about when applying, the timeline. I'm the type of person that would be easily overwhelmed by too much information and needed more time to process them.

I would actually like to talk mainly in Bahasa (again) because this is more of Indo-related procedures. I hope you don't mind!



Seperti yang sudah aku bahas di post sebelumnya, ada 2 cara mendaftar ke Studienkolleg, yaitu langsung kirim berkas ke Univesitas yang dituju (direkt) dan lewat Uni Assist. Untuk mempermudah teman-teman memvisualisasikan alur pendaftaran Studienkolleg, kita bahas pakai contoh kasus, ya.

KASUS: Nobita adalah lulusan SMA di Indonesia yang ingin mendaftar jurusan Biologi di Kota Halle (Saale). Ia perlu sertifikat Studienkolleg karena ijazah yang dimiliki tidak diakui oleh pemerintah Jerman, maka Ia pun mendaftar di Studienkolleg (Studkol) jurusan M-Kurs.

  1. Pertama, Nobita harus mencari informasi di website Studienkolleg Halle. 
  2. Untuk mendaftar Studienkolleg lewat Uni Halle, Nobita harus mengirim berkas lewat Uni Assist. (more info: https://www.studienkolleg.uni-halle.de/51052_1482743/)
  3. Nobita harus membuat akun di Uni Assist, meng-upload data yang dibutuhkan, dan mengisi formulir data diri. Formulir yang sudah diisi nantinya harus di print dan dikirimkan ke alamat Uni Assist di Jerman. Karena pengiriman Indonesia-Jerman cukup lama, maka waktu pengiriman juga harus dipertimbangkan.
  4. Setelah semua data dan dokumen diterima oleh Uni Assist, apabila semua oke, Nobita akan mendapatkan surat undangan (Zulassung) untuk mengikuti  atau ujian masuk Studienkolleg Halle. (Aufnahmeprüfung/ANP). 
  5. Nobita melampirkan surat undangan ujian (Zulassung) di Studienkolleg Halle untuk mengajukan visa studi di Kedutaan Jerman di Jakarta.
  6. Setelah 1-2 bulan tergantung antrian, Nobita mendapatkan visanya dan siap berangkat ke Jerman.
  7. Nobita datang di hari ujian dengan membawa Zulassung. Apabila diterima, Nobita akan belajar selama 1 tahun disana.

Universitas di Jerman umumnya membuka pendaftaran baik untuk program S1 dan Studienkolleg 2 kali dalam setahun, yakni saat Wintersemester dan Sommersemester. Untuk Studienkolleg umumnya Wintersemester dimulai sekitar bulan Oktober awal dan pendaftaran  dibuka mulai awal bulan April hingga akhir bulan Mei. Sedangkan untuk Sommersemester dimulai pada pertengahan bulan April dan pendaftarannya dibuka dari awal bulan Desember sampai pertengahan Januari.

Beberapa Studienkolleg bisa jadi memiliki peraturan mereka masing-masing dalam urusan pendaftaran, jadi lebih baik bertanya langsung semisal ada pertanyaan terkait pendaftaran disana. Syukur syukur kalau ada kakak tingkat yang pernah sekolah disana jadi bisa tanya langsung. Grup Facebook Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia (PPI) Jerman juga aktif, jadi sering sering aja tanya disana meskipun sekadar untuk sharing.

Sebenarnya menurutku pribadi, segala urusan pendaftaran dan administrasi memang terlihat ribet dan malesin at the first glance, tapi sebenarnya nih kalau dijalanin aja ngga kerasa kok. Soalnya, mau ngga mau harus tetep maju ya kan ya 🙈

Jujur, dulu aku orangnya penakut banget. Takut tanya, takut berpendapat, takut berbicara depan umum, banyak takut takutnya lah bikin gemes sendiri aja haha. Tapi karena disini aku 'dipaksa oleh keadaan' untuk melewati comfort zone yang udah aku buat sendiri... Rasanya emang ngga nyaman, tapi ada random quote di Pinterest tanpa nama once said,

Everything you ever wanted is on the otherside of fear.

Daripada kejar kejaran sama rasa tidak nyaman karena takut itu,
why not beat the monster so it wont haunt you ever again?

 I'll end the post here though, mungkin salah satu post ku yang terpendek kali ya? Haha. Terimakasii sudah menyempatkan baca, semoga sehat selalu teman teman. Stay safe at home!😊

Love and light,
Sintya 💖

Friday, May 15, 2020

Inferiority Complex, A Game Changer

بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم
Assalamu'alaikum

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Hello, Lieblings!
How are you doing today?
Despite our current adversity and keeping up adapting with the new normal, I hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe at home. For those who are observing Ramadhan, I hope you are maximizing the last couple of days of Ramadhan. May Allah bless us with unconditional peace and tranquility.
After all this time being forced to stay at home and be left with so much time in your hands – does your mind start to get tangled? So many ideas may be overflowing inside our heads, suddenly our creative sides boost, and at some point, we realize that we got so much potential within us.
But then on the way of looking for some inspirations from other people to execute the ideas, we tend to... you know it. Compare. Too much comparison may actually make us having something psychologists call ‘inferiority complex’. Personally, I consider this as an alien word to me until a couple days ago a dear friend of mine brought this topic up. (Special credit goes to Rifka!💖)

So what does inferiority complex even mean?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, an inferiority complex means a feeling that you are not as good, as intelligent, as attractive, etc as other people.
Still feel it’s an alien term by now? 👽
I wouldn’t lie, sometimes the roughest, judgemental, and meanest person to myself... is me all along. Every time my mind came up with a kind-of brilliant idea, there is a monkey voice on the back of my mind saying things like,

“Ohahah are you sure you are worthy of doing it?”
“Hmm I think you really lack skills at this matter, you have no chance,”
“Du-uh there are so many talented other people doing it already, your idea is no good at all.”
“Are you reALLY sure you wouldn’t be inconsistent?”
Yeah, monkey voice because 1) It’s annoying, 2) I can hear the monkey voice saying unnecessary trash featuring its high-pitched laugh, feeling good that I am slowly drifting away. Sometimes it gets so noisy here inside. The feeling of wanting to sleep to make the voices inside me stop saying unwanted things is unbearable. 🐵
Then, I remember listening to an audiobook version of Oprah Winfrey’s The Wisdom of Sundays a couple months ago. A book about Oprah’s spiritual journey and her wisdom towards perceiving what she believes about the soul and the spirit. It’s blatantly a shift-turner book that made me want to repeatedly listen to it. Long story short, this book is full of ‘aha moments’. What I find unique about this audiobook is that, rather than to ‘read’ the printed version of the book as a monologue, Oprah made it as a compilation of meaningful conversation with the guests – some, from her Super Soul Sunday show.
If anyone of you thinks this one is a doctrine of any certain religion, the answer is no. Rather than as what people may consider as religious, it’s more 'spiritual'. The idea of the book is getting wisdom from various (AMAZING) people with their inspirational perspectives towards love, life, mindfulness, fighting ego, grace, and gratitude, etc. Beautifully written words from Oprah that actually enrich your mind and soul I’d say.
In one of the chapters, Oprah talks with one of the guests, Michael A. Singer that is well known for his book titled The Untethered Soul. In a nutshell, he talks about this what I called the noisy ‘monkey voice’. There are actually a few lines of his book that are being discussed that I kept in my mental-brain notes until this point – though I sometimes forget. Should better keep it in Google Keep.
“People go through so many changes in the name of ‘trying to find myself’. They want to discover which of these voices, which of these aspects of their personality, is who they really are. The answer is simple: none of them.” (Michael A. Singer)
I was like. Dayumm.
Basically what Mr. Singer writes is that we are not our minds. To be happier, we should be conscious and aware of our role as only the listener, the observer of our mind. Those belittling, toxic thoughts? Dear, believe me, they are not you. Though those thoughts are out there, it’s your choice to listen to it or not.
As thought-provoking as it should be, he continues with a line that I keep close to my heart.
“In order to be who you are, you must let go of who you think you are.” (Michael A. Singer)
When I think of it, sometimes I’m being overly harsh and mean to myself. Covering the real painful words through shades of (toxic) motivation. Though I’m still dwelling with it and oh God, it is sure a hell of a ride. Cause, believe me, words that are spoken are not easy to put into action.
I was flabbergasted with the Instagram stories from an entrepreneur named Uma Hapsari, the founder of Amazara. Here is the paraphrased version of it,
“Ask yourself, are the judgment and fears are worth it to be heard and eventually stop you for reaching your dreams? For voicing the voice that you have, things that you need to say, to help other people who may need your help? If it’s not, maybe it’s time for us to let that aside and to rather focus on what we can actually contribute.”
We tend to blame society for giving irrelevant opinions and demotivating advice though in reality, it’s what we chose to consume all along. After all this time we busy ourselves seeking for who we are and what we believe, without realizing that the stars are actually within us.
(Oop what a very poetic paragraph I should be proud of.)

 Hesitating to apply for a scholarship? Hey, trying is never a mistake. Been wanting to write a novel? Write it now! Start a Youtube channel? Podcast? Bullet journalling? No doubt, you'll get a handle of it. Learn to illustrate or to write typographies? I can't understand why haven't you even start yet as I see so much potential hidden in you. 🙇
Now, I want you to name the most beautiful places on Earth you could think about at the moment. You may mention Bora Bora in French Polynesia, Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia, Zakynthos Island in Greece, Niagara Falls in Canada (yeah as you can see I have an abnormal relationship with anywhere watery). And I’d never lie, those places ARE undoubtedly breathtaking and exhilarating.
But you know what, every time you are feeling not good enough towards yourself, I want you to Google picture those beautiful places and ponder about what God says in the Qur’an Surah At-Tin verse 4 (95:4).
source: quran.com
Of all those seemingly the most beautiful and flawless places on Earth, even God says that we are the best of creations. As a reminder foremost to myself, let’s step by step accept who we actually are with all of the flaws while being more aware of the voices inside our head. In order to heal, we need time and that's normal! We are in this together and I believe, we could get the hang of it. ✌
You are you, and no other. And that is what makes you special.
Need more evidence to prove that you are ‘that’ precious?
I don’t think so.
Here is a little gift just for you to end this rough week, well done! I hope you have a blast today and find this post somewhat beneficial. 😊

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Love and light,
Sintya🌹

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