This could be the start, of something new…
Hi there ~
A brief introduction about myself, I am a Singaporean born and raised millennial, so there would be some “Singlish” used to better portray my thoughts and feelings.
I tend to be quite a forgetful person or also known to have STM (Short-Term Memory), so I do sometimes forget the things that I had a Eureka moment about or some promises that I have made to myself in the past. Therefore, the posts here would serve as a reminder for myself of the details and learning points that I have experienced before. Preventing myself from making the same mistakes and to align me back to the goals that I have, if I ever stray too far.
I turned 20 recently, for myself and most of my peers, hitting the big 2 is seen as the transition period of going into adulthood, which many of us feel “sian” about. Mostly because we realise we would have to head into the workforce soon, probably get a 9–5 corporate desk job and slog the rest of our lives out (seems pretty boring).
But the following structure has been integrated into our mindsets ever since we were young, go to Kindergarten > Primary School > Secondary School > ITE/Polytechnic/JC > University > Good-Paying Stable Job > Retire > Die.
I come from a lower-end of a middle-income family in Singapore, we are comfortable living in an HDB with a family car, a total income of ~$7k (after CPF) a month. My mum only finished her Secondary School education and has been working ever since, my dad had finished up to ITE before coming out to work.
They worked hard to give us the education opportunities they never had and tried to give us whatever we wanted, that they could afford. So I could only imagine their disappointment when I finished my Polytechnic Diploma and told them that I had decided to take a gap year before continuing my studies at University (AKA not following Singapore’s studying structure).
I had initially been scared to tell them about my thinking process (because we are a family that doesn’t really talk about heart-to-heart issues) and also because I knew that whatever they said could constrict my vision. So I held it off until I made the official move (rejecting offered positions) before telling them so that they couldn’t influence my decision.
I wanted to take this time to gain industry experiences, save a little, and allow myself to take a step back to think about my next steps.
But I don’t have a diary nor do I have experience in writing much (I study IT FYI, we didn’t really need good journalling skills), so if you are reading this and have some writing pointers for me, do feel free to let me know.
If not, here’s to the start of my reflection process of the past few months in 2020, and to the rest of my future.
