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Gen Y Speaks: Don’t be afraid to meander and change your goals

For most Singaporeans, the PSLE signals the start of the rest of their life. Get good results and you can get into a good secondary school. Then a junior college, university, and a stable job. That was my planned trajectory, though it never panned out that way, as my goals changed. I think you should not be afraid to deviate from your goals if they turn out to be not what you want.

Don’t be afraid to wander. Don’t be afraid if circumstances take you on a different path than you originally intended. You never know where it might take you, writes the author.

Don’t be afraid to wander. Don’t be afraid if circumstances take you on a different path than you originally intended. You never know where it might take you, writes the author.

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My heart was racing. Goosebumps were rising on my arms. I could not focus.

I was sitting in an assembly hall full of Primary Six students before the release of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results.

But I was not 12 years old. That happened last year.

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One and a half decades after receiving my own PSLE grades, I found myself back in the school I had attended from Primary Two to Four, covering the release of the results for TODAY.

All my long-gone anxieties came flooding back like it was just yesterday — a strange feeling, to say the least.

That got me reminiscing about all the major decisions I made that brought me to where I am today.

For most Singaporeans, the PSLE signals the start of the rest of their life.

Get good results and you can get into a good secondary school. Then a junior college, university, and a stable job.

Or at least that was my planned trajectory.

This must also be on many a parent’s or child’s mind now, given that Secondary One posting results were just released last week and the students will be starting a new chapter in their life in a few days time.

Since young, I always thought I would go down that one path, and did not even entertain the idea of deviating from it.

But when I reached Secondary Four, I found myself growing less keen on going to a junior college.

The other option for me was polytechnic, which was a less popular choice back then than it is now.

My parents were quite staunchly against it too, thinking — as most do — that junior college gives you a better chance of making it to a local university.

In the end, I did well enough in the GCE ‘O’ Levels to make it to junior college, but decided to enrol in a polytechnic after persuading my parents that it would not ruin my future.

Still, my meandering did not stop there. I originally tried my hand at business administration, thinking in typical Singaporean fashion that it would give me a secure future.

I did not enjoy it, and ended up switching to a communications course after one and a half years of trying my best to reconcile my hatred for economics and, well, having to do well in it.

Being two years older than most of my new classmates in the communications course did not bother me one bit.

Ultimately, I ended up in university on a scholarship studying a course I enjoyed. Despite the multiple unplanned deviations, I had reached a point of life that I was satisfied and happy with.

I admit that I have advantages in life that many (both in Singapore and around the world) do not — a supportive family, a stable home, and food on the table every day.

And since I have these advantages, why not try to spread my wings? You never know what you might hit.

Everyone has different goals that can change depending on circumstances and age.

When you’re 12 years old, you might want to become a world-famous surgeon. When you’re 16, you might decide that becoming a librarian is what you want instead. When you’re 25 (or, as we say, suffering a quarter-life crisis), you might decide to become a journalist.

It is definitely all right to be set on one goal from the start too. In fact, more props to you for knowing what you want.

But I think you should not be afraid to deviate from your goals if they turn out to be not what you want.

I see this happening more often these days.

Some of my friends and colleagues similarly chose to meander.

One wanted to go into photography or design, then studied marketing in university before deciding to become a police officer.

Another was on track to become a teacher, then chose to go into linguistics and the media field.

With the Internet and smartphones, youths have the resources to explore and they know they have more opportunities ahead.

Of course, with such rapid changes taking place in today’s world, it might be hard to decide what to do. When do you know your decision is right?

Well, no one can be sure.

PSLE is not unimportant, but let it not be the primary (no pun intended) force driving everything else. Even though times are changing, many societal norms remain stuck in place.

In academics-driven Singapore, the mindset of having one straight path to success still prevails today.

But that is an outdated way of thinking.

Don’t be afraid to wander. Don’t be afraid if circumstances take you on a different path than you originally intended. You never know where it might take you.

If it takes you back to a primary school assembly hall with butterflies in your stomach, then that’s fine too.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Louisa Tang is a TODAY reporter who covers health, security and environmental issues. 

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