It’s been 30 years on earth, officially =)
I reflect every now and then, but this is an exceptionally great time to do a self reflection.
Looking back my life, I am grateful that I have a wonderful run so far. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good, I’m already very fortunate compared to a lot people in this world. My only memories about childhood and teenage time were mainly books and academic achievements. It was less exciting than what my other friends had, I was never rebellious and always followed rules. Other people would think that I was born talented, the right explanation is I was just super hard-working! If you didn’t see me in school, you would find me at tuition center or home, every day including holidays. Hence the first conclusion about my younger time (0-20): was okay. I didn’t remember feeling lonely, I was like an animal inside a zoo, living life as it was arranged without questioning what else could it be.
I was missing out big time.
20+ onward was where the real excitements kicked in! I moved to Singapore in 2007 (when I was 20) for tertiary studies, my whole monotonous life changed drastically. The animal is now out to the wilderness! It was the first time I learned about socializing ?? I didn’t even know how to make friends until I was in university. I did have friends before that but it’s not like I know how to approach others / hangout together, how to take care of others etc. I was very naive and unsophisticated – I didn’t know why people love fashions and shopping, why people are crazy about 6 packs, what people do in night clubs.
I was 6 years old
Moving away from my hometown to Singapore was a big turning point.
It was the first time I was exposed to a totally different kind of culture, and I had the freedom to pick and choose whatever life I want to live. No more rules. Not in the zoo anymore. I grew up in a very humble background, my pocket money was only RM20 (~SGD9 at that time) per week when I was already 18-19 years old. Imagine that kind of culture shock I had when I came to Singapore! Everything here was fascinating!
I learned a lot more things beyond textbooks.
I was still a poor student on bursary and loans, I was always on a tight budget during university days. How tight? SGD600 as pocket money for a semester (4 months). Every cent was big for me, I gave excuses when friends asked to hangout just to save up my super limited money. A SGD5 Subway sandwich was a luxury to me, how to go out at all? That’s why even until today I still live a very minimal lifestyle, regardless how much I earn these days.
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However the learning for me was, if we make decision purely because of money, we would make very poor decision. In hindsight, I should figure out how to make more money in universities (I did take up part time jobs but it was very low pay); not just how to save. I still missed out a lot because I didn’t have the money, for example that’s the actual reason I didn’t choose to go for overseas exchange program. My parents fought a lot at home because of money, sometimes even for small amount like a ringgit extra on vegetables. I vowed to myself one day, I would make enough money to support myself and my family. In my future family, money would never be a topic to quarrel over.
With my only pet, a rabbit when I was 9 years old. I had long hair!
With a hefty loan of -40k SGD in my bank account, I graduated anyway.
Upon graduation I was lucky to land on a job with a prestigious investment bank, until today I’m still very grateful for it. Money aside, I picked up a lot more things that would shape my future. My life had just started! I finally got to enjoy life, spent time with friends and family (no need to make up excuses anymore), no more missing out! It was awesome, it was so good! Adulthood was a totally new territory to me, but I caught up much faster than I thought. The once obedient animal overwhelmed with wilderness is now well-trained on survival skills in the world out there.
My personal growth was exponential in the past 6-7 years. I started reading English books, in 4-5 years I read ~200 books and they really helped me a lot in terms of mental growth. I traveled a lot, till date I have been to 29 countries. I made a lot more friends, at last I learned how to take care of others. My career in the bank was rolling fast, thanks to all the support from my management and colleagues. Of course there were down times too, but I learned that everything happens for a reason or lesson, sometimes we might not see the reason why now, but one day in future we would appreciate it. In short, conclusion for 20s was: wonderful!
30 is the new beginning.
Moving on to new chapter in life, I feel confident that I could take on any new challenges and survive through them. I have all the resources I need to maneuver through my life; if lack of any, I know I have the ability to pick up new skills. Watch out folks! This animal is roaring now ?
On next few posts, I would share more about what I learned as life lessons. Stay tuned!
The future is going to be even better