Restarting the Engine

A casual chat with a friend recently led to the revival of my LinkedIn account. 

Not something I thought would happen after failing to transition into a new industry that I was aiming for with my Masters in Science Communication back in 2018, and certainly far from my considerations after moving halfway around the world to a vastly different setting from my birthplace last year.

When I was still in the education service, as fulfilling as it had been, I eventually came to an understanding of what I do not want and what I do want out of my career. Unfortunately, the list of do-nots was disproportionately longer than the dos in my role as a teacher. So I left. 

I was optimistic about my "new" prospects in what I considered to be a niche industry for which I had deep passion for. Until I simply was, not. Around the same time, the husband began his research into migrating to a more preferable, desirable country. The whole notion of landing a "sustainability focused, financially rewarding, energetically flowy" career was just, shelved.

Honestly thought I read enough self-help materials to realize the dangers of attaching my sense of identity to work. However, beyond that, I truly believe I have so much more to give and offer than just being a housewife. Thus I promptly got into action when the said friend mentioned the availability of remote roles on LinkedIn!

 

The engine has successfully restarted. 

Well, at least I am pleased and confident enough to share my latest sample work as a freelance writer on Stoicism. Coincidentally, a philosophy that resonated with me after learning about Marcus Aurelius. Even more serendipitous that I just finished his Meditations! Intrigued? Read my introduction to a book on this timeless philosophy.. (although it is targeted at youngsters, I truly think Stoicism is for everybody!)

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Introduction

External things are not the problem. It’s your assessment of them. Which you can erase right now. -Marcus Aurelius

I stumbled upon the above quote in the aftermath of uncertainties brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Life is an ever-changing landscape that shaped our roller-coaster journey through which we navigate essentially alone. The pandemic with its enforced isolation had brought out the uglier side of humanity. It was against such a depressive backdrop that this little bit of Stoic philosophy stood out for me like a beacon of clarity and wisdom.

Discovering Stoicism: A Turning Point

Imagine it is 2020. The coronavirus is spreading to all parts of the world. We are isolated. The news that we get each day consists of which new country has it landed in, the number of infected people, the shortage of supplies, the difficulties, the inconveniences. The death toll. My mind is clouded with anxiety, frustration, and helplessness. I go through the mechanics of the day like a zombie. But when I read this quote, it shone through the darkness like a torch of a thousand suns. Indeed we have the power to erase the actual problem.

A Personal Odyssey: Applying Stoic Principles

From the genius of Marcus Aurelius, I studied other key figures of Stoicism including Zeno of Citium, Seneca and Epicetus. Each ancient had me delved ever deeper into Stoic philosophy and I found myself embracing the concept of identifying what lies within my sphere of control and letting go of all that lies without. It has transformed not just my perspective but my very approach to living.   

The Essence of Stoicism

Stoicism may seem like an abstract philosophy but to put it plainly, it is a way of life. The core of which is the pursuit of eudaimonia - a state of “flourishing" that is the result of living in accordance with nature and virtue (Pigliucci, 2024). When one practices this diligently, it is equivalent to gaining a superpower that helps one to stay strong and calm when the going gets tough.

The Relevance of Stoicism To Young People

As a secondary school teacher for more than a decade, I have witnessed first-hand the many challenges and difficulties faced by young people. From academic struggles and social pressures to mental health issues and family problems, youngsters can use all the help they can get to navigate all kinds of situations and overcome obstacles. I wish I had discovered Stoicism earlier so that more of my students could have benefited from my knowledge of Stoicism. It is evident to me that its core principles offer a crucial guiding light in chaotic times, a roadmap for them to navigate life’s tumultuous seas of the growing up years.

Walking the Stoic Path: A Call to Action

Here let me formally invite you to discover for yourself the timeless wisdom of Stoicism. It is the wish of all teachers for our students, young people who will be the leaders of tomorrow, to achieve their fullest potential. The Stoic Path can guide and lead you on a journey of powerful transformation if you weave its principles into the fabric of your life. May this exploration be your source of inspiration and empowerment, guiding you through the vicissitudes of puberty and beyond with courage and grace.

how about a journey down down down under?

A friend who has been helping me keep a lookout for sustainability related jobs forwarded the Antarctic Sabbatical link to me. A special program organised by Airbnb and Ocean Conservancy. I have to say it both excites and scares me a little. I mean what an opportunity this will be! It will certainly be a great stepping stone into the industry I have so much interest in. But I am one of those who would rather die of heat than cold and the idea of working in such extreme conditions is daunting. 

Well, you will never know till you try right? So I gamely took up my friend's challenge/recommendation and applied for it! I definitely meet all of the basic requirements and I also needed to pen a less than 500 words essay about why I want to be part of this program to investigate the presence of microplastics on the most isolated continent on Earth. 

I spent quite some time crafting it so have decided to post it here although I have also just received confirmation that I had not been selected for the program. I am kinda glad for that. 🤣

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For an ordinary someone from a tiny country located close to the equator, the South Pole in Antarctica feels as unattainable as space travel. I am certainly not immune to the beauty of Antarctica – magnificent glaciers, mysterious icebergs and that vastness of ice and snow. But being familiar with its reputation as being extremely remote and harsh, I have never considered the possibility of setting foot on the continent, until now.

I have a wanderlust which sees me travelling out of my little red dot at least twice a year. Surprising to most of my peers, I have a preference for roughing it out while trekking in Nepal and Bhutan – two destinations on my bucket list – compared to luxurious vacations in Europe. If I am selected for this expedition, Antarctica will become the third place I never knew was on my bucket list until I was made aware of this sabbatical. I love the outdoors and being surrounded by nature. Having spent most of my life in sunny, warm and developed Singapore where the closest I can get to nature is a rustic island named Pulau Ubin, Antarctica will be a drastic but an exciting change of environment for me to reconnect with nature. Perhaps that is exactly what I need, a 360 degrees switch to experience nature in a different and deeper way.

Besides riding snowmobiles and seeing penguins in their natural habitats, what excites me the most about the expedition is the opportunity to apply my training in Science Communication and contribute to scientific research that will make a positive difference for our planet. I am that friend whom others refrain from using plastic when I am present. I am often the odd one out rejecting plastics and bringing out my personal reusable items at a social gathering. Some times my friends ask me for opinions and insights relating to environmental issues. In fact I would not have found out about this expedition if not for a friend who knows just how concerned I am about the plastic problem plaguing our planet right now. Being an avid diver, I have seen first hand the negative impact humans have on our oceans. But one can only do so many clean-up dives and I know I can contribute much much more. This expedition feels right up my alley.

There had been times when I felt one individual’s effort cannot make a difference to the humongous crisis of plastic we face right now, but I now truly believe every small action by any individual in the right direction steer us closer towards the path to sustainability. I have always try to lead by example; I hope this will be the most impactful example I can show the world. Finally, this might be my only chance to see a whale up close and personal!

My comfort zone

I think it started when I joined Dance Synergy in my uni days. The awfully shy and quiet girl took the plunge and signed up to potentially embarrass herself on stage. Maybe it was because no audition was required but I really do not know what made me do it, I did not even had a friend to attend the first session with. But there was no turning back from then.

Dancing liberated me in so many ways and taking that first step out of my then comfort zone seemingly destroyed the entire concept of comfort zone for me. It seems nothing became too scary or out of the norm for me. I travelled alone, became a The Little Gym instructor, drove in Europe, picked up pole dancing and performed in public places, slept in an airport, tried cliff diving, went sky diving, juggled work and studies to earn a Master's, cycled to work, roughed it out in Nepal, Bhutan and India, swam with tiger sharks without a cage, broke my own iron bowl to become a certified yoga instructor, started learning a new language at nearly 40....

I considered myself to be fairly adventurous and pretty adaptable. I dislike routines and enjoy making small changes such as taking a different route to a regular place or answering friends' query on what to eat with "surprise me!" and accepting invitations to events spontaneously. It has been a very long time since I thought of myself as stuck in my comfort zone.

Until I was in Jai's yoga class.

I have been practising yoga for about 10 years and am definitely more stretched and flexible than when I first started because I strive to be so. During my YICC, I was also more at ease in achieving most of the poses compared to the rest of my coursemates. No, I am probably nowhere near the standard of yoga gurus or professional yogis but I would not think that I am stuck in my yoga comfort zone.

Until Jai instructed us to do Chaturanga in reverse, challenged us to perfect the basic Utkatasana (chair pose), guided us to perform Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations) with Kumbhaka. My limbs were shaking, my steady breath was quickening and it was definitely fear I felt when my lungs screamed for oxygen, reminding me of the time I was at Tulamben. Jai could see we were all struggling and he pep-talked us to constantly confront our limits, to go further and not stay in our comfort zones because yoga is more than just the poses.

Wow. At that instant, I realised I do have my own comfort zone and I was very reluctant to step out of it. What he was asking us to do was really difficult and practically impossible for me to do and made me want to just give up and go straight to Savasana. I realised that precisely because of all the seemingly "uncomfortable" things that I had done in the past 20 years, I conjured up this false belief that I do not have a comfort zone when nothing is further from the truth. Once again, yoga helped me learn more about myself.

Then it was not hard to see the boundary of my comfort zone in other aspects - career, relationships - it is a revelation. And after I recovered from the initial shock of the discovery, I learnt it is not a bad thing to be in your comfort zone. It is an essential personal safe place for each of us to retreat to when the world gets too much to handle.

I am thankful for my comfort zone which, well, has expanded quite a bit with every "uncomfortable" thing I did achieved. I am probably still not ready (physically and mentally) to accomplish all that Jai expects of us but I am pretty certain that the competitive edge in me will not allow me to just settle. But it is good to be able to acknowledge to myself that I do have a comfort zone and have a clearer idea of where my limitations lie so rather than trying to eliminate it I can further expand it.

A Bucket Full of Science [2016]

Decided to link some of my old blog posts for one of my Masters module here. I quite like those articles of mine =P was a little worried that they might not be online anymore but it appears that the blog is still alive for the current students so hooray!! so should I "transport" those posts to my own blog instead??

Some of the latest articles look pretty interesting too (want to clarify if Frozen's Elsa is related to Rapunzel? Analyze their eye colours!) looks like I will be spending some time reading them...

Anyway here are the 5 science-related posts I wrote in 2016. I was the very first student of the class to get the ball rolling on the blog. Lecturer praised me on my "courage" but I really just had inspiration to write so I wrote! Really wishing I have as much inspiration and motivation to write this article on cars that had been on the back-burner since March.............