Walking into the classroom, beyond the streamer laden doorframe lied a group of giggling girls in a circle, light lofi music filled the air, there was drawings of flowers on the whiteboards and a small table with a vase of pipe cleaner lilies and tulips and a small stuffed bunny. You could feel the girly, light and elegant ambiance the second you stepped in, staying true to their red and white garden party theme. Girls from different ages, courses, circles gathered for a night of meeting others who they have more in common with than they think. The night opened with a poem by the event’s director and opening remarks by the club president, Puteri Naqeesya, basically welcoming the guest and conveying the purpose of the event, which is to build community and spaces that are safe for women.

Then came the activities, the first activity for the night was human bingo. Readily made sheets of paper with boxes filled with relatable items like “can sing and dance” or “has slept through a lecture”. Girls scurrying over to others trying to fill as many boxes as possible, unwarrantly finding commonality as they do so. At one point, girls stopped trying to get bingo and instead started trying to fill up every box, trying to talk to as many people as possible. Then for the next game, every girl chose a flower petal at random, petals of pipe cleaner lilies and tulips that were seen on the way in. After choosing, each girl was instructed to find others that had the same type of petal that they did and form small groups. Then it was revealed that each petal belonged to one flower and flower stems were given to each group who then needed to work together to make the flower whole again. It was a lesson in teamwork and being able to rely on your fellow woman. A reminder that maybe we need each other more than ever. After these activities, there was a time break. An assortment of cream puffs, biscuits and doughnuts sat on the table while every girl tucked into the sweet treats. While pouring ice cold tea, girls sat in circles, talking and getting to know each other. There were cream puffs and conversation full of honesty, laughter and bonds being formed. 

The next activity was more personal and intimate. Each girl chose a piece of paper, each had a different question. From, what superpower you would want to what motivates you in your life or to describe an act of kindness that impacted you greatly or what you tell your teenage self or even how you recharge after a long day. Girls took turns sharing, being honest and true with their words. Some girls were shy but still spoke, knowing they were in a safe space. Others were sweet and truthful but every answer was accompanied by a round of applause and affirmations from the other girls, a true show of support. 

For the last activity to end the night, the girls were divided into groups once again and given a question prompt on current issues regarding the uptick in violence against women. The events director described the recent stabbing case in a local high school where a boy stabbed a girl to death because she had rejected him. The misogyny that every Malaysian girl was now facing in excess had to be combated and this STF’s way of doing so. After internal discussion, one representative from each group presented an answer, given the room to speak freely and express their thoughts, ideas and sometimes frustration at the current world, but still hopeful for the future. The questions bred an in depth discussion on ideas like who really has the most influence when educating young people on these topics or whether or not our education system has proven enough to stop gender based violence, on why individual girls are scared to speak up sometimes. Some girls shared personal experiences with misogyny and others shared their own upset, passionately explaining the things that should be done to better protect every girl. The activity successfully cultivated meaningful discussion and acknowledgment of what has been happening with our community.

Later, when asked what the inspiration behind the event was, the events director, Sofiya, explained it was the recent rise in gender based violence in Malaysia, such as the, and since people are actively talking about it it seemed like a good time to have an event catered to creating a safe space for women on campus. The activities sought to find the balance between speaking out and being in your comfort zone, allowing girls the room to speak out without feeling too uncomfortable to do so, linking it back to the theme of the night. She expressed her favourite game was the petal hunt, for which she had handmade all the pipecleaner flowers, a labour of love indeed. The president expressed how she wanted a community that feels like a sanctuary for women, and fostered that community on campus while allowing those same women to feel empowered and know they are not alone. Despite some downfalls during the event, both the president and event’s director are quite pleased that they have managed to cultivate openness and emotionality during the event, and the solidarity and support born from it. 

At a time where the world is a scary place for girls, She's The First gave girls a space to use their voices and feel at home. Maya Angelou once said each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women. When we think of women standing up for themselves or using their voices we always think it's in a protest, in an act of defiance, in rightful rage. But more often than not standing up for yourself as a woman is simpler. It's finding community, having compassion and comforting the women around you. 

Every time a woman is being more than what everyone else expects her to be, she is making a difference. The fact that there is a community like She’s The First created and formed just for the sake of women having community and women holding each other, whether it's holding them up for the other’s success or holding them in comfort while the other cries. It's enough. It will always be enough. 

Photo by Vharshaa

Illustration by Lim Zhen Ping

On 30 November 2025, AIESEC in Taylor’s University collaborated with Taylor’s Nature Club and Taylor’s Star Ambassadors to host the River Purification Workshop, a hands-on initiative that combined environmental action, community engagement, and youth empowerment. With support from Kelab Warisan Sungai Klang and the Leo Club of Victoria Heights, students stepped out to make a tangible impact on the Klang River while learning the science and significance of river conservation.
Photo by AIESEC in Taylor’s University.

Photo by AIESEC in Taylor’s University

Journey to Klang River
The day began at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus with registration and a casual meet-and-greet as students prepared for the workshop. Spirits were high as participants carpooled to the Klang River, excited for a rare opportunity to learn outside the classroom. 
Upon arrival, representatives from Kelab Warisan Sungai Klang welcomed the group and introduced the river’s rich heritage, its role in local communities, and its significance as part of the Royal Town. This session reminded participants that environmental conservation is deeply tied to culture, history, and identity.
Hands-On EM Mudball Workshop
The highlight of the morning was the Effective Microorganism (EM) mudball activity, where students were guided through the process of creating natural mudballs used for river purification. Facilitators explained how a simple mixture of water, brown sugar, and rice grains could develop into a powerful eco-tool once left to ferment for three months. During fermentation, beneficial microbes grow and produce enzymes capable of breaking down pollutants, improving water clarity, and restoring ecological balance. 

Photo by AIESEC in Taylor’s University

Students mixed ingredients with their hands, rolled the mud into shape, and worked together with plenty of laughter along the riverside. 

Photo by AIESEC in Taylor’s University

The moment they tossed the mudballs into the Klang River was both symbolic and impactful action toward rejuvenating a shared natural space.

Science Sidebar: How EM Mudballs Purify Rivers
EM mudballs introduce beneficial microorganisms into polluted water. These microbes consume organic waste, break down sludge, and neutralize harmful compounds. As enzymes produced during fermentation accelerate decomposition, oxygen levels improve and aquatic ecosystems regain balance. Over time, recurring mudball applications can significantly enhance water quality and river health.

Photo by AIESEC in Taylor’s University

Community Bonding
After the hands-on session, participants returned to Taylor’s University for a much-needed lunch break. Conversations flowed as students reflected on their first-time experience working with EM mudballs, discussed environmental issues, and bonded with peers from different clubs. The break provided a calm moment to digest not only the food, but the morning’s meaningful activities.

AIESEC Sharing Session and Leadership Remarks
The afternoon continued with an AIESEC sharing session led by Chean Forest Armamento as the emcee with help from AIESEC president Ananda Mulya Jaya. This session offered a deeper look into AIESEC’s ongoing initiatives and the values that guide their projects. Forest introduced ECHO, the initiative under which this workshop was organized, highlighting its commitment to SDG 13: Climate Action and its goal of empowering youth through practical environmental engagement. She also shared insights into Light a Refugee’s Dream (LARD), a project supporting refugee youth through mentorship and education, and Here 4 You (H4Y), a program focused on mental health awareness and student support. The session concluded with a short introduction to AIESEC’s Global Volunteer Program, encouraging participants to explore opportunities to serve communities abroad.

Club presidents Declan Chan Yew Xun of Taylor’s Star Ambassadors and Adeeb Naufal of Taylor’s Nature Club also shared thoughtful remarks. They emphasized the importance of youth leadership, cross-club collaboration, and the power of taking initiative in shaping a better environment and community. Their words reinforced the spirit of teamwork and collective change that defined the event.

Purpose & Impact: Beyond the Riverbank
This workshop was more than just a river purification. It was a hands-on demonstration of how environmental action, learning, and community collaboration can come together to create meaningful impact. Students not only contributed to the purification and restoration of the Klang River, but also gained practical knowledge, built new connections, and strengthened their understanding of sustainability. As part of the ECHO initiative, the event empowered participants to take climate action, encouraged active citizenship, and showcased how simple, collective steps, such as shaping and tossing mudballs, can breathe new life into nature.

We cleaned, we learned, and we proved that even the smallest actions can ripple into significant change. 

Photo by AIESEC in Taylor’s University

Follow the Organisers
AIESEC (@aiesecinmalaysia)
Taylor’s Nature Club (@t_natureclub)
Taylor’s Star Ambassadors (@tlsc.star)

Illustration by Lizzie (@ooutofhere)

There’s a certain sigh that escapes when the lecturer recites the words “This will be a group project”. It's a sigh that carries equal parts of dread and hope in most people — dread because you know the inevitability of what’s coming, threaded with a sliver of hope, thinking maybe, just maybe, this time will be different.

Group projects are messy, not just because of the assignments themselves — though that is one aspect of it, but because of the people. Whether for better or worse, everyone carries invisible baggage into the group, whether it’s part-time jobs, family responsibilities, or personal struggles — struggles you wouldn’t necessarily share with a stranger. Others simply… don’t care as much. 

There’s always a catalogue of group project stories that sound like myths and legends but somehow keep happening every semester. If you’ve been around long enough, you’ve probably heard the tales. For instance, the ones who always seem to have the most creative excuses ready to avoid doing any work. Or the classic meltdown where a project spirals so badly that everyone is ready to file a complete report with evidence for peer evaluation day.

Then there are the classic tales: we all know the one who’s so eager to volunteer as leader and then disappears without a trace in an instant, or the infamous language barrier, or the group mate who vanishes completely throughout the whole assignment — till you begin to question if something had happened to them, but miraculously, only shows up on presentation day. No matter how hard you try to talk to them, somehow it's a struggle to get them to answer you, let alone get their part done. If it is done, it's done without any effort whatsoever, plagiarised or most likely entirely generated with AI. Some remain utterly silent, you never hear their voice once, not even through the group chat. There are those who are only there to cause more trouble than their worth, whether it's arguing against every point you try to make, disagreeing with the whole group or just being downright rude. Somehow, no matter the semester, the ending is always the same: a last-minute scramble, a heroic few holding the line, and the tale passed down to the next batch. They sound outrageous, but if you’ve ever survived a group project, you know these stories are part of the collective lore.

Here’s the thing I’ve realised: as unfair and exhausting as these projects are, they leave an imprint. You remember the sting of staying up all night fixing someone else’s slides or work, from minor adjustments to completely redoing their entire part. However, you also remember the unexpected kindness of a teammate who is there every step of the way, who helps you out when everything crumbles apart.

But then, there are those once-in-a-lifetime group projects — the rare ones where everything clicks, everyone pulls their weight, laughter fills the room, those laughters turning into friendships no matter how short-lived or lifelong; and for a moment, you feel a sliver of hope in teamwork and in humanity. That's why, as much as I dreaded hearing the words “group work”, I sometimes wish we had more of them. I would have gotten to know more incredible people and collected more memories to carry with me. 

Group projects aren't all just about the assignment. They teach you the hard lessons of patience and resilience, and empathy. They remind us that not everyone moves at the same pace, that effort looks different for different people, and that sometimes, it’s not always fair. So yes — group works are a series of unfortunate events. But they’re also a series of very human ones. And maybe that’s why we remember them so vividly, long after the assignments have been forgotten.

Illustration by Joey (@joeyy.lws)

Stars are formed by the collapse of a nebula, whereby a core is then produced, which would accumulate enough mass to generate pressure and high temperature. In consequence, nuclear fusion begins, where hydrogen atoms combine to form helium, releasing immense energy and becoming a true star.

Stars have a lot in common with us, even more than you think. Other than the existence of the same elements in stars as in our bodies, their process of formation and the benefits they give can also be metaphorically aligned to our daily lives. 

Carl Sagan is famous for his statement, “We are made of star stuff.” It highlights the carbon in our muscles, iron in our blood and most of the other elements in our body were created in stars. 

Its formation creates stardust around it, which in time, creates planets and ultimately life. An example is the Sun and the rest of the solar system, including Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Apart from that, other stars are also formed in the expanse of our galaxy which we know as the Milky Way. 

From here, we learn that due to the Sun, Earth was formed along the way. On it, various species are made living including us. 

In Islam, Surah Tariq (means Star)  (86:6-7) says ‘Humans are created from water that comes from steel-like dust.’ In the process of nuclear fusion, ‘steel-like dust’ is formed,  which is also what we know as stardust. In Christianity, Genesis (2:7) says ‘The LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground.’ With scientific proof, the ground (earth) is made from stardust. In Hinduism, it is taught that all life springs from the same root, suggesting that humans and the cosmos are not entirely separated. 

Why do we say “I can see stars” when we hit our head? Perhaps some of the stardust that was in us trickled out. 

2. Stars are formed depending on the precise balance between the inward force of gravity and the outward force of pressure (from nuclear fusion). The balance can also be known as hydrostatic equilibrium.

Once hydrostatic equilibrium is achieved, a star takes shape gradually over millions of years, with the ability to remain stable in size, and shine steadily for billions of years. 

The balance that’s needed for the stars to be formed can be metaphorically applied to us. For instance:

Balance between positivity and negativity: 

You might think: isn't being positive good, no matter how overly positive? 

Positivity brings hope and happiness, but being overly positive will make you ignore your instinctive feelings, like anger, sadness and fear. Covering these feelings with optimism is not so much as being positive, rather, you’re forcing your feelings to be shut; as if you don’t permit yourself to feel angry, sad or fearful.  

True balance lies in acknowledging these feelings and making something positive out of them. This creates wisdom as you become more grounded, realistic and compassionate to your true feelings, both negative and positive ones. That said, it’s also never good to be overly negative. 

It doesn’t work if you tell yourself that everything will be okay when you think it’s not. But accepting that it will be hard, and saying “I will do my best” is a whole new mindset that deserves to take credit. 

Nonetheless, that’s only a page from stacks of novels. 

When we play games, eat ice cream, run a marathon, do work, binge watching a tv show, there's always a time to stop. 

When we don't realize how far off we've gone, physical and mental damage could be done. Like stars, a collapse in the hydrostatic balance can either result in the end of their life phase, or a new phase. Such as, a neutron star, and eventually, a black hole; both of which are the 2 most dense substances in space, and dangerous; not only to themselves, but to their surroundings as well. 

That said, one uncommon thing between us and the stars is that we can go back to being healthy if we really want to.

“Everything about neutron stars is extreme,” says James Lattimer, a professor at Stony Brook University. “It goes to the point of almost being ridiculous” (Sundermier, 2017, para. 11).

Yin Yang, the well-known term of harmonization, fits well in this case. 

“Yin in its highest form is freezing while yang in its highest form is boiling. The chilliness comes from heaven while the warmness comes from the earth. The interaction of these two establishes he (harmony), so it gives birth to things. Perhaps this is the law of everything yet there is no form being seen” (Wang, 2006, para. 1).

‘So it gives birth to things.’ This can be fairly applied to the formation of stars. A well-balanced force between the inward force of gravity and outward force of nuclear fusion creates stars and consequently, the explosion that emits stardust becomes planets, such as Earth, our  borrowed home. All the same,  we can achieve things beyond our expectations with balance. 

Doctors treat sick patients, lawyers help struggling clients, teachers educate children so that they can find jobs and in turn help others; singers help to inspire people, cleaners help to keep a clean environment for our comfort, you name it.

The closest star, the Sun, provides energy and light for plants, so that photosynthesis can occur. Oxygen will be released in return, providing the ecosystem around it, including us with energy. Moreover, it gives light so that we can see in the day and the heat prevents significant drops in temperature, ensuring all living things are able to survive. 

Other than that, the Sun reflects its light off the moon’s surface, which then illuminates the dark night with moonlight. In other words, the moon does not shine if it weren’t for the Sun. 

Not only does the Sun shine during the day to help the plants to grow and give us energy; but it also shines for the moon at night. Without the Sun’s light, the night would’ve been an endless darkness. 

In other words, we should help others shine, just like the Sun helping the world to survive. 

Stars have been around for a long time. For all we know, some stars that we see today are the same ones that have been shining since the age of dinosaurs. Carl Sagan also mentioned that there are more stars than grains of sands in all of the Earth’s beaches. 

Though there are more of them than what meets the eye, each of the stars is beautiful simply because of their existence. This goes to say that each of us are beautiful. Even though some shine brighter than you do, that doesn’t mean some planets don’t see you at all. 

credits:@@muthiahhsh

The bouquets are there, the teddies are there, and the parents couldn’t be prouder, but the air feels heavy with hugs that you do not want to let go. Photographers are capturing moments to hold onto forever since memories are the only thing left to hold on. If your graduation feels heavy, it only means that you have known true friendship.

Graduation celebrates your perseverance throughout your student journey. Yet, it never prepares you for the delicate goodbyes to the friendships that carried you through. The thrill of rushing to your friends after class and grabbing lunch with them, surviving group assignments and exam season preparations were manageable because you had each other all along. The kind of friendship where you found each other in the unknown, far from home, still feels like yesterday. Now the hugs do not feel enough, as if you’re trying to hold onto more than just the moment. Bittersweet in its own way, we all knew what we were signing up for.

Amid the celebration, you catch yourself in another lens, still staring at the assignments, and still confused at the requirements. But somehow, you have learned to embrace confusion instead of fearing it. It feels like a triumph to look back at the quiet struggles you overcame just to keep pushing through. Graduation proves how consistency pays off. Sometimes, all you can do is help yourself and build resilience until confusion feels more like growth than failure. In the end, you find a friend in yourself too, another version of yourself that you’re carrying  forward.

However, while some wished that they had someone to say goodbye to, your friends are calling you back for one last group picture. Soaking in the moment, you realise that it is time to let go. The hardest goodbye is not knowing if your paths will ever cross again but even your city will miss them with  you.

 You do not graduate from friendship, but rather graduate with it. Graduation is not an end, but a beginning. Once you’ve learned what a beautiful friendship is, you’ll carry it into everything that comes next, both with others and with yourself.

In the end, when words fail, a goodbye speaks in its own quiet language.

 

Credits: @amjarchives_

When was the last time you ended a message without an emoji? A smiley face softens a blunt “okay,” a crying-laughing emoji conveys amusement better than “lol,” and a simple ❤️ can speak louder than words. Emojis have become a universal shorthand for emotions — a kind of digital body language.

But emojis aren’t just a modern invention tied to our smartphones. In fact, their story stretches back over a century, weaving through typewriters, Japanese pop culture, pixel art, and eventually into the palm of our hands. Let’s take a journey into the surprising history of how humans brought warmth into typography.

The earliest known “emoticons” didn’t come from Silicon Valley, but from the pages of a satirical magazine called Puck in 1881. It published four “typographical art” faces: joy, melancholy, indifference, and astonishment. Each was created using simple punctuation marks — combinations of parentheses, dashes, and colons.

Though primitive, these faces marked the first time people realized text could be stretched beyond words to suggest tone and feeling. Imagine readers in the late 19th century tilting their heads and chuckling at the novelty of a sideways smile — the ancestor of today’s 🙂.

 

Illustration: @kyliee.y