In a world
Built, shaped, designed for men:
Smart, brave, bold, curious, thinking men
And beautiful, soft, loyal women;
I thought a ring around my finger,
Or wrinkles around my eyes
Would be dues worth paying,
The cost of wanting
To be seen as something more
Than a trophy to win,
A match to be made,
A prize to catch.

I thought age and title
Would bring me the thing I craved the most:
To meet the world as I am
On my own two feet. …

Yesterday, I ventured outside my home for the first time in awhile (excluding grocery shopping) to attempt to work in a new location.

I wasn’t the only one who had that brilliant idea. Turns out, after yet another lockdown was recently lifted, the whole city seemed to be trying to get somewhere.

After being stuck for 45 minutes trying to get to a place just 15 minutes away, I gave up and went home, grumbling to myself about Malaysian traffic, and dreading things going back to “normal”.

Living in a pandemic for the past year has been difficult, yes. More…

A little over a year ago, I wrote an article on Medium titled “Why My Divorce Was the Best Thing to Happen to Me”. It was a cathartic piece — a way for me to tell my side of the story, a year after the divorce. Between the time the decree nisi was issued by the court and the time I wrote that article, I kept my story largely private — to give myself time to heal, and to reflect.

My intention for writing was to share what I had learned: that by not dealing with my own unresolved issues…

Before graduating from university, I’d held nine jobs, including as a library assistant, furniture salesperson, Starbucks barista, event promoter, social media content creator, freelance content writer, baker, editorial assistant, and intern.

After graduating at 21, in the last ten years I’ve held various roles from corporate finance to communications, marketing, sales — and even to a cook — across seven different companies (including spending three years freelancing while pursuing an MBA).

For a long time, I questioned my career trajectory, and downplayed the number of jobs I’ve held. …

2020 has been a year of loss. We’ve lost people we love, dreams, plans, a sense of control, and routines. We’ve learned what we can survive without — and what we can’t. In January this year, I couldn’t have imagined how the year would turn out. I was getting ready to co-purchase a house in Finland in February. I could not have envisioned that I would be getting on a plane in May and moving back to Malaysia.

Starting the year in a job that paid well, with colleagues and a boss I respected and liked working with, I couldn’t…

Few scenarios grip our attention as dramatically as the life-and-death experiences that U.S. Navy SEALs face in their line of duty. During my time at business school, I had the opportunity to examine case studies of leadership where SEALs had to act decisively and autonomously to diffuse a crisis or risk harming civilians or their team. This piqued my interest to understand what makes SEALs so effective and efficient in what they do. Curious to learn more, I read Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s book, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win.

Right after my MBA, I moved…

Why are we so busy in our journey to pursue success? And what does it means to live with purpose, instead of pursuing self-achievement?

The Allure of Busyness

A few months ago, I read In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed by Carl Honoré.

…the Slow philosophy can be summed up in a single word: balance. Be fast when it makes sense to be fast, and be slow when slowness is called for. Seek to live at what musicians call the tempo guisto — the right speed.

Carl Honoré

In addition to reading that book, over the past few months I have…

Last week, I was reminded that growing is sometimes uncomfortable and painful.

In the physical world, we need to stretch our muscles and push them to their limit for them to grow. Growing emotionally is the same too.

In the past week, difference circumstances that have presented opportunities for growth also touched a few raw nerves. I felt unstable and shaky, like trying a new yoga pose for the first time. I knew I wasn’t good at dealing with these particular issues. But at the same time, I wanted to get better. …