I stood on the shoulders of giants

In My Words

"Don't ever lose faith in who you are, for that's what makes you different.
Don't try to turn yourself into someone everyone else is, for if that happens, the world is a poorer place."
- Sept 2005

Flying Fingers of

kelvin
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bloody stressed

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I don't usually bother to defend myself against groundless accusations, for I believe that others have their own opinion. And if their opinion sides with the flying daggers then I have nothing to say. But of late, it has emerged that people have been taken by surprise at my choice of summer plans.

It's a little odd to bring this up as I am seven weeks into my internship at The Straits Times, but I think I should say my piece.

I'll be the first to admit, that my failure to secure an internship with a law firm in the UK prompted me to consider other plans. It's not something that I am proud of, but it is something which I know has been planned for me. And every day I am in Singapore, I start to understand why I was meant to return this summer.

I refer not to the events of July 7 and July 21, but rather the events of every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday I have spent in Singapore. Every one of those days, I have been gainfully employed. I have spent time catching up and having bagloads of fun with the people who matter to me. I have been laughing and joking with my parents who I love so much. I have been nagging and jibing my sister who means so much to me. I have been able to share my happiness with people I know will be genuinely happy for me and all these make that initially reluctant trip back worthwhile.

And why The Straits Times? Writing for YouthInk was one of the best things that has happened to me in the past year. It has been one of my lifelong hopes that I will one day become a published writer of sorts, and nothing quite beats the feeling of being read by at least 800,000 pairs of eyes in Singapore. The words I use, the feelings I convey and the thoughts I share, with 800,000 Singaporeans. It is a feeling that few will understand.

I also know what it means to be grateful for kindness shown. The Straits Times has been very kind to me, and very sincere. Their recruitment policy of late has been narrowed down to their pool of scholars, and if you aren't a media student, chances are they won't take you as an intern. And so what right do I, a non-scholar and a non-media major, with next-to-none journalistic experience, have to expect The Straits Times to give me chances?

But they did. They arranged for an application to be completed internally. They arranged for my test package to be couriered to London and they arranged for me to take my assessments in London, at my own time and convenience. They bothered enough to leave instructions that my assessments were to be couriered back the moment I finished it. They spent an hour with me on the phone on more than one occasion explaining to me every detail that I wanted to know. They made me feel wanted.

How could I turn them down? All throughout the process, the editorial team at the Newsroom were emailing me asking me how the process was going, whether I needed any help, and they were looking forward to seeing me in the Newsroom.

How could I turn them down? They offered me the most flexible terms an intern can ask for. I was at liberty to choose when I wanted to start and for how long I wanted to remain. More importantly, they were offering me 12 weeks on the job as a journalist. In my mind, I believed that I could learn much more in these 12 weeks than I can learn in the short terms offered elsewhere.

How could I turn them down? The very first day I stepped into Newsroom, I began life as a journalist. Not an intern, a journalist. I was given no special treatment, I did no photocopying or errand running. I was given the passport to find my own stories and the powers of a media pass. I was not just an intern.

In these seven weeks, I have carved out a cover feature story, something an intern never gets to do. I fought for stories I wanted to write and I got them. I scooped every newspaper in Singapore to SPI and Pagoda Street. And I will continue to scoop every other form of media in Singapore to carry the stories I have lined up. All these while making Big Big World, In the Dotlight, INcredibles my very own.

I have learnt skills which I believe I can take with me throughout my life journey, whether I become a lawyer, a teacher or a journalist. I have learnt lessons only working can give you. I have been humbled and awoken. I have progressed.

I see why I was meant to come back. It may not be the glittery career I once craved, nor the high paying one. But I am part of something, a nobule in the lifeblood of something, that is the part of the everyday life of 3.5 million Singaporeans. I am part of their lives.

And for those who matter to me and know me well, I am happiest when I know I am part of their lives.

And every moment I am back here in Singapore, I know I am.

kelvin was inspired at 6:07 PM