Sometimes I wonder if I should have pursued a
profession closer to what I had studied, take my love
for writing and creativity to publish a book, or work
in an advertising agency or be a marketing guru. I
thought that having a corporate life would slowly take
that away from me but it doesn’t have to. What I did
realize is that creativity springs in all forms. To think
out of the box when I write an email to a client, or to
suggest a new way of making the company culture
better, or even in small ways at home like rearranging
furniture to create more space. We can always
deconstruct, construct and bring in something new.
Our friendships also grew stronger during study trips
and outings where Dr Yeoh made it possible. Whether
it was helping the Burmese community in KL, or our
hearts being touched bythe local communities in the
Philippines and Cambodia, we learnt more about
ourselves even as we learnt more about their situation.
It still brings me to tears when I think about a high
school we visited in Sagada , which we were told only
had one computer for a class of nineteen, only to find
they had prepared a table full of treats for our visit.
I learnt that giving is receiving. We had little pocket
money back then as students but everyone managed
to pull in some cash to donate to the school. In another 10 years’ time, when I look back at life – at
my hourglass – I hope each grain of sand is a fulfilled
one that carries the most memories it could hold, just
like my time at SASS. If we can’t make time stand still,
who said we have to stick to the same hour glass?
No matter if you are a first year or a final year student,
or looking for a career change, just pause. Travel.
Explore. Imagine. Taste the sand in your mouth.
You will find yourself a larger hourglass and continue
the life journey with a bigger heart, wider arms and
hopefully a heavier grain of sand.
We went places and special guests came to visit.
Once, we had a session with Lat, the Malaysian
cartoonist. It was a pleasant surprise for something I
thought I would only see on the shelves and I admired
how he expressed so much with so little ink. SASS
was a place to construct and deconstruct, to put
thoughts to action, and ideas to film, to explore on
foot and from within. I have countless memories, of
laughs, whispers, adventures, as well as friendships
that have lasted until this very day.
An outing
to a Burmese
community in Kuala
Lumpur (2008). ▶
53
▲ Listening to Lat! (2008)
Mindy graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts
majoring in Communication and Writing. She currently
works as a senior recruiter for a global beauty brand.
With student-travellers and student-guides from the University of the Philippines Baguio in
Sagada during ISO Baguio & Sagada study trip (2007). ▼
The curriculum taught me perseverance – there
were times when I had to get through challenging
topics and exams but I gained meaningful friendships
through it all. Thanks to coursework and assignment
deadlines where we had to pull together our brains
and help one another to digest information, reflect,
review and brainstorm new ideas. And yes, I was one
of those last-minute writers where inspiration flowed
at 4:00pm the day before assignments were due then
pulled an all-nighter, regardless if it was a 1000 or
2000 words essay. As the deadlines drew closer, it
became the center of our cafeteria conversations.