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I am Justin Chan, a student of Grade 9 at United World College of South East Asia, East Campus. I’m ethnically Chinese, was born in Shanghai, hold a Malaysian passport, live in Singapore and consider myself a global citizen.

This year, I’ve learnt a lot about myself as a learner and as a person. I’ve learnt about how I deal with stress and competition, especially through the Systems and Control course, in which I had to deal with a lot of coursework. This has taught me much about being more organised, but also being able to handle pressure better and being less emotional about dealing with stress. Another important skill I’ve learnt as part of dealing with stress is particularly dealing with exam stress. As this was the first school year in which I took a proper exam, I had to both reconsider my methods for studying for exams as well as for how seriously I would take these exams. This opportunity has given me a valuable experience for next year when I take my IGCSE Finals.

My greatest aspiration is to become a mathematician. Mathematics is a subject that I have a deep passion for, and I wish to be able to study it professionally and recreationally. Ever since I was young, I have tried to do much mathematics, and now, in Grade 9, I am starting to see my efforts come to fruition as I learn more and more. My plan is to take the advice of a mathematics professor I met during the course of my studies and remain curious to learn more, which will eventually lead to my success in this field.

And wallowing in it doesn’t help

Have you ever faced true hardship? How have your experiences, both good and bad, shaped you as a person? Here in UWCSEA, we lead incredibly privileged lives in a bubble shielded from the tragedies of the world – poverty, hunger, and war. And while we should be beyond grateful that we do not face suffering often, we must also admit that those who have survived hardship have developed incredible strength that we should both admire and learn from. In other words, difficult experiences can indeed make people much stronger and more able than they ever were before, bringing a more fulfilling and successful life to them. And no two examples stand stronger than that of artists Danny Raven Tan and Christina Lau – both having gone through tragedy and both having come out on the other side stronger than before.

NO – The Next Opportunity – Christina Lau

Christina Lau was a prison officer, living an outgoing, happy life, until 2005, when she was paralysed from the chest down following a terrible car accident in Malaysia. Having been a participant in sporting activities, and in a physically demanding job, she was devastated by the news that her paralysis would mean she could no longer walk. Spending more than 10 days in the ICU, she “sank into depression”, a depression born of her feelings of worthlessness and her fear of being a burden to her family who would now have to take care of her. But through her own personal strength and the support of her loved ones, she struggled to start over. She picked up mouth painting – despite having had no experience painting in her previous life – and this proved to be a hidden talent that she wasted no time in developing. Today, she is a gifted and certified mouth artist, participating in wheelchair table tennis, advocates for disabled rights and speaks to many about her experience and how she had grown as a result of it. With her motto of “you can if you want” and her high aspirations of playing olympic disabled table tennis, she is living proof of growing strength through hardship. Her decision to try something completely new as well as to use her experience as a talking point in her advocacy speaks much to this developed strength. Her example continues to inspire people everywhere to fight hardship, and to look at the word FAIL as the “First Attempt In Learning”, the word END as “Effort Never Dies”, and the word NO as “Next Opportunity”.

Christina Lau, Painting                                      An example of Christina’s work

From pancreatic cancer to dementia – Danny Raven Tan

In a small nook of Ang Mo Kio, one can find the Tiffin Gallery, hosted by Danny Raven Tan – a local Singaporean artist with an interesting story to tell. Danny graduated NUS with a degree in building estate management, which he used in his property development job. But his artistic mind which was as he says “created to create” was never satisfied with this type of work. He left it and worked intermittently in various other interesting jobs – working in the fashion industry, which he left, describing it as “too plastic”, applying for and shortlisted for a job at Versace shortly before Versace’s untimely death, and joining Singapore’s prestigious Lasalle College of the Arts. In 2010, Danny faced his first tribulation – he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. With his friends, and with his three key tenets of strength, faith and wisdom, Danny managed to push through this incredibly difficult time. Even now, after beating cancer, he looks physically diminished by his disease, but Danny refuses to capitulate, seeing his scars as his evidence of his survival, and absolutely refusing to “wallow in his own s***”. It was this attitude that has kept him going, his strong will allowing him to confront first his cancer, and now, his mother’s dementia. Aside from running the Tiffin Gallery – an intimate home gallery through which he displays his art – he also takes care of his mother in her deteriorating mental state, and advocates for greater awareness in the public sphere for dementia. The hardships he has faced and still faces now have both strengthened him and informed his art – art that speaks to various issues he feels passionately for. Truly, Danny’s scars represent the effects of hardship – permanent marks of both defect and survival.

A selection from Danny Raven                              Danny Raven Tan, in the Tiffin Gallery                                 Tan’s collection “The Gods are Crying”

Hardship in the Bubble

Difficulties will always find us in life, and there is not much we can do to avoid them. But to be dismayed by them when they do come is to admit defeat. Instead, what we must do is to learn from the examples of both Danny and Christina in their survival of hardship, and their use of their hardship to strengthen them as people. The common denominators of both their stories include can-do attitudes, a willingness to explore and try new things, refusal to allow oneself to wallow in self-pity, and the support of loved ones. These are all key factors in facing hardship with the grace and grit that both Danny and Christina have shown. Further, it is important that we not only view our trials as issues to be resolved, but as teachable moments from which much can be drawn. Danny and Christina both had developed new outlooks on their lives from their hardship, and it is in doing so that they have become the people they are today. So when hardships truly come, we should strive to emulate Danny and Christina’s examples – and through these hardships, grow stronger.

Today, we had the pleasure of experiencing Christina Lau’s talk. Here are some brief reflections and takeaways:

When asked whether she would choose to go back in time and prevent her accident from happening, she did not give a direct yes or no answer. This was quite interesting to me – after all, it seems obvious that one would wish to prevent their accident. However, it seems that she was unwilling to do so, simply because of how much of her life has been shaped by the accident – her mouth painting, her participation in the paralympics etc. It seems that for people in unusual circumstances, an optimistic embracing of their challenges is the best way to move forward. I would be interested to see whether this trend occurs in other people in similar situations and whether we could apply this to our own lives – to embrace challenge and difficulty as part of us as a means of dealing with it.

One of my interests throughout these talks have been about the support structures around people in hardship. In Christina’s case, she talked about the encouragement of her love ones during her time of hardship. She discussed both the physical and mental support they provided. Looking back now, I would have been interested to know more details of how they dealt with it – from what she said, they too were quite shocked with the entire issue and the ability to support someone through it after such a surprise should not be dismissed. I wonder how people can deal with shock when trying to support others through tough times – whether we can channel that empathy towards helping them as opposed to simply falling into a depression on the issue.

Another interesting aspect of her life story is of her moving into mouth painting. She had never been an artsy person before the accident, yet circumstances forced her towards joining the mouth painting association. These types of drastic changes to people’s lives can often lead to the discovery of new talents. I think it is important for us to put ourselves to changes and be willing to explore, as often we can uncover hidden aspects of ourselves, and her life story is an important example of this. At the same time, one need not wholly discard their old identity – after all, she still participates in sports, just adapting to it in a new way by trying wheelchair table tennis.

Overall, Christina Lau had an encouraging story to share to wrap up a fortnight of brilliant speakers.

North: This session helped advance my understanding of the writing process. While I had thought of writing as a purely artistic process, his talk had demonstrated the very key and logical science of writing.

South: I made connections with the way that the writing process should take a long time and requires much thinking.

East: This session inspired me to write more. I’ve wanted to start a private blog for a long time and this is the push that has been required to get me to write it.

West: I am unsure as to how this type of formulaic writing can remain interesting for readers.

Sand: Danny’s life story has clarified to me that thinking like a writer requires the constant reexamination of one’s own perspectives and stories. By sharing his constant reflections through the mediums of photography, film and art he has shown very clearly what it means to reflect and has demonstrated both the skill of his use of his medium as well as his audacity in the examination of what has been for him a difficult life.

Shoreline: Danny’s life story has changed my thinking on what it means to live and die. His candid and unapologetic view of life and death is impressive in the face of his story and demonstrates the wisdom gained only through hardship. From hearing his story, I was originally expecting to be hearing from a hyper-optimist, one for whom survival is a focal point, whereas Danny was very willing to delve into the deeper and often darker points of his life.

Ship: For me, it is his view of dementia that will stay with me. Having heard much of this disease I had come in with many preconceived notions, most of which viewed the disease as a terrifying unknown. His presentation of his own relationship with his mother has spoken of a much more nuanced understanding of dementia, even going so far as to call it a “friend” and enjoying some aspects of his mother’s changed personality. It is this type of positive outlook in the face of what I once considered anathema that will most assuredly stay with me in the days to come.

Marc Nair spoke to us today. He provided us some interesting insight and a lot of good humour with his poetry-filled presentation. Here are 5 interesting questions that his talk raised, at least for me:

1. How does one “write against” a deeply ingrained culture?
2. How can one productively spark debate and discussion on issues in a non aggressive manner through writing?
3. How can we ensure the survival of the arts in Singapore in particular and the world in general?
4. What role does writing have to play, even for the non-writer?
5. How do you convey your honest feelings in an entertaining manner?

Guidebook

Checklist

Quote: “It’s important that when we create a design layout that we let the elements breathe.”

One of the largest issues I have when doing creative work is trying to cram too much information in. I want everything to come into play. The problem with this is in cramming I’m actually doing less – whereas when I’m making designs more minimalist it begins to look better.

ATLs:

In terms of ATLs, I think I have demonstrated that I am at a clear standard for all 3. My overall self management has been very good during this project when contrasted to the previous – this lead to me being finished with a design I was happy about before the final week, which I left for reflection. Communication wise, I’ve also worked well in talking to my client to ensure that my piece was up to his standards at all times. My design also expresses his various information well – and thus communicates to the world who my client is. Collaboration was also a big factor in this project, with the various sharing of our project in its various stages that allowed for us to work with others in improvement of the overall standard of design. What was so great about this was that everyone was able to share with each other and both gain and provide advice, and this collaboration was one of the aspects that went well in my project. Next time, I want to go even further in terms of communication – because while I did discuss with the client well, there weren’t too many opportunities for this which meant that in the end it did not work perfectly.

Today’s talk by Steve Dawson was quite the experience. The most noticeable thing immediately is the discrepancy between how I found him portrayed online and how he actually is. Perhaps it was just my own personal bias, but having seen him online as a sports reporter meant that I brought into the talk many preconceived notions – that he would talk about the important narratives of sports, why sports news is important etc. It turns out that Steve Dawson did not harp on the way I expected – instead, he presented a well informed talk on the skills on interviewing.

The skills taught were useful, but more useful to me was the forceful realisation that I needed to reexamine my own biases and preconceived notions if I were to garner useful information over the next week. To truly gain an appreciation of these various stories, I’ll have to prepare a lot better next time. Down here in addition are the maxims of interviewing he discussed:

1. Ask open ended questions
2. Set the answer free
   1. “How does it feel…” questions are good
3. Don’t interrupt
4. Be a single shooter
   1. Don’t ask double barrelled questions
5. Listen to the answer
   1. EVEN if you have a voice recorder
   2. Follow up questions are important

Here is the Discussion

I think one issue not properly elaborated on was that technology itself wasn’t what could be good or bad for humans, but the issue of human use of that technology and application of technologies in human pursuits.

Quote from Post: “I think Replika has the potential to teach us to become better friends because it can teach people to listen to each other as well as Replika did people would be better friends.”

New Question: Why is there fear around humans spending time with technology (considering this in the abstract)?