Hello peers! I'm not too sure how to go about writing this but I hope I am going in the right direction.
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years" -Abraham Lincoln; this is certainly what I believe in and I hope to lead a well-lived life.
The most fundamental form of life in my years is relationship. Since a tender age, I was taught the importance of (maintaining) relationships - kinship, friendship, romantic relationships etc. as this was imbued in me through the close-knitted and warm family that I grew up in. In our free time, my family enjoys having sumptuous meals together, be it local hawker delights or fine cuisines at restaurants; we enjoy the simplicity of sitting down for a meal and having a hearty chat. Over the years, they have grown to become my pillar of support in life and thus I have developed into a family-oriented individual. However, I can never neglect my supportive and life-long friends that I have come across in my life thus far. From late night suppers to playing of sports to birthday celebrations to casual chats over meals, my friends are certainly a part of my life; They have seen me teared during my darkest moments or laugh at every little thing. I feel that my friends are such a blessing and a joyful bunch to be with. Being someone who cherishes my family and friends, I place them of priority in my life and am always readily available for them when the need arises.
Besides my dear family and friends, many other people make up and occupy the life of my life. Throughout my part-time jobs stint and management of events during my academic career, I have had the privilege to interact and liaise with people from different professions and positions and I began to realise my liking for mingling with them and drawing life-long lessons from the talks with them, which also presented me with self discovery opportunities.
Having worked as a retail assistant for the first time at Ralph Lauren for a mere one and a half months, it made me took value in small gestures from customers , for example when they say "Thank you, Joanne", I know that I have served well and they took the effort to notice my name. This has moulded me into someone who better appreciates seemingly insignificant but thoughtful actions from people around me. In spite of aching feet and tiredness from the hectic schedule, I took pride in serving my customers professionally and that was when I realised that I like to provide service to people, with a smile, may I add. In addition, working as a coordinator at A* Consultants and being the logistics head of NUS Science Faculty Dinner and Dance Committee made me recognised that I take pleasure in the absolute satisfaction derived from successful and effective liaisons with corporate partners. Well, I like to serve and liaise.
The many different people in my life have impacted on me with different intensities but one thing for sure, without them, self discovery would not have been as successful. As an individual who is always on the journey of self discovery, I like to seek solitude at times and reflect upon the happenings around me, how I fared as a friend/family member/student, anyhow just typically reflect upon life. Sometimes I enjoy the peace from solitary while at other times, I prefer to work in a team and derive joy from interacting with people from all walks of life by listening to their fascinating life stories. To me, a 'self' certainly comprises of many different facets.
"There is a popular belief amongst anthropologists that you have to immerse yourself in an unfamiliar world in order to truly understand your own" -The Nanny Diaries; this is undoubtedly a quote that I will always hold in my mind through my life-long journey of self-discovery, so I will always be prepared to step up to challenges and find myself in the unfamiliar world because in this competitive society, I feel the urge to take charge of my life. Maybe it is time to step into another industry/field and perhaps, I will uncover a new self or perhaps I should say, a new facet of myself(:
(: with love.
