Arkan stared at his laptop screen in frustration. The scholarship proposal he had worked on for an entire month had been rejected. The reason: "Academic performance does not meet the minimum requirement."
Not enough? He had pushed himself as hard as he could. A GPA of 3.2 while working part-time almost every day. And still, it wasn't enough.
Meanwhile, Rendra had just received a merit scholarship with a GPA of 3.4—a scholarship he didn't actually need, but one his parents told him to apply for "to boost his CV."
"Sometimes I wonder, what's the point of trying?" Arkan muttered to himself.
His phone buzzed. A message from the food stall where he worked:
"Mas Arkan, sorry. Next month we're cutting your shifts. Business has been slow."
Fewer shifts meant less money. Arkan quickly calculated in his head—rent, food, transportation, photocopying lecture materials. It wouldn't be enough.
On the other side of the city, Rendra was choosing a new car his father planned to buy him as a graduation gift. His life moved smoothly, without him having to worry about anything at all.