Is The Dog Still Alive?- Danny Raven Tan- Rachel Jung

I thought Tan’s journey as an artist was a straightforward and short road. Like, I thought that he dropped Building Estate Management when his father died and his mother got dementia, and then suddenly decided in a moment of epiphany that he should go pursue his dream and passions. But no, he actually went through multiple jobs and tasks and faced pancreatic cancer before he faced his father’s death and mother’s dementia.

To be an writer means to go pursue whatever idea you have because there might be someone else in the world who has the same idea and then it’s just a race of who polishes and establishes that idea into reality the fastest and the best. Also, artists of any type must be a “social whore”. Basically meaning that they must establish a connection with their consumers, fans, or sponsors because they are the source of money and work for the artist.

I did know about Tan’s cancer and his parents’ situation, but I didn’t realise how much of an impact it had on him and how he views the world, I guess. I think that because he faced cancer and has to deal with his mother’s dementia, he views life as fleeting and that people should do the things they want because chances are that the opportunity to do so may not arise again in the future.

Tan said, “Don’t care what other people think; just do it.” I think that is something important especially for young people who want to pursue an art but have no confidence. And I have no confidence. Like, at all. Thank you for these words, Mr Tan.

I think that not caring about what other people think can help in all situations. In class, if you stop worrying about what people might say about your work, you can go far, really show your true opinions, and be more free in your work.

Tan’s presentation was inspiring in the way that he tells us that every challenge we face, we will come out stronger than before. So, if we never try something, we’ll never fail or succeed. If we succeed, then great. If we fail, then we’ll learn something from the experience. So there’s no reason why we shouldn’t try our hand for something at least once.

I think that his presentation was detailed so I don’t have many questions to ask. And he told his life sort of like a novel, so it was very engaging and interesting. I feel that he answered everything during his presentation, and everyone else’s questions answered everything else. But there’s one question that I have because I didn’t hear this part correctly, or maybe I did and I refuse to believe: is the dog still alive?