Being able to compete in an international contest is truly a meaningful accomplishment for Cella. Yolanda Marcela Binambuni (19), an English student at Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus), wrote an essay entitled ‘Hustle Culture, Burnout Generation, and Its Effect for Future Civilization,’ at the 2021 International Essay Competition.

Cella used the hustle topic, a workaholic trend, as the title of her essay. She explained several workaholics who prioritize their work over everything, and who feel useless unless they use their time and energy to generate wages.

“This mindset is a result of capitalism in the modern world. This workaholic trend is getting more toxic and unhealthier as the hustle culture normalizes and promotes inhumane workforces,” she revealed.

Her essay, mainly targeted at youths, was done by Cella in 5 days. Cella, born on June 24, 2002, in Semarang, hoped that she could convey her essay’s meaning to inform the young generation regarding the toxicity of the hustle culture. Thus, the youths could understand the importance of life balance and how their lives do not only revolve around working life.

“Even I used to be a workaholic, so I could understand what my friends are feeling as many workaholics do not realize that they are trapped in the hustle culture,” Cella explained.

Cella managed to be in 4th place at the 2021 International Essay Competition hosted by UNS Surakarta which was participated by 89 participants from three different countries. Each participant was obliged to write a 3000-word essay bearing the theme ‘Living in a Good and Global Civilization’.

Cella, a member of the Humanities Faculty Student Executives, also has 4 side jobs, one of which is an English tutor for children under the age of nine. Despite being busy with various activities, Cella claimed that it was easy to manage her time. Therefore, she does not have to abandon her studies.

“I indeed am good when it comes to time management. However, upon writing that essay, I realized that I was also trapped in the hustle culture like many people were. As of right now, I am still considering quitting one of my side jobs this July,” she concluded (Humas Udinus/Haris. Foto: Dok. Pribadi)

Name :

Yolanda Marcela Binambuni – Mahasiswi S1 Bahasa Inggris Udinus