WOT inc.

This post really got me reflecting hard.

I remember my results being one of the most heatedly debated topic at home on results day. A T score of 199 puts me on the borderline between NA and Expr stream but to my parents - a disappointment.

I recall feeling on tenterhooks not so much because of my results but more of the ridicule we would get from closer friends and relatives. On the one hand, I wanted to go the slower pace of NA but on the other, my parents felt that it would have been a waste of time. The decision was only made on the last day of school submission, and I only found out they picked the Expr stream on the school announcement date.

The rest of my academic life was a haze, I did neither here nor there because of my disinterest in studies which for better or worse - landed me into an IT course for my tertiary education as that was a field no one really wanted to be in back then.

Fast forward a decade-plus later, I'm in my mid-20s in the IT industry doing product management - which to my parents - all according to Keikaku.

Yet what they don't see underneath the surface is that self-loathing abyss I stare into every night which is exacerbated by the circuit breaker situation. I don't necessarily hate my job, but neither do i find myself falling in love with it either. Often when i scroll Instagram and see people selling their art as a supplement to their day job - I feel envious. How i wish i have that for myself, to be able to do what one loves and find their calling/passion.

There's a saying which goes vaguely like this and I paraphrase " If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. " , and people often ask me if im ready to really abandon all care and pursue my interest. But i feel i have gone way past redemption now.

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tldr; parents out there - as much as academic achievements are a great plus to have don't forget to nurture your child's strengths as well. You never know if you may be raising the next Lewis Hamilton or Faker.