What will you do?

This post is meant to be more interactive. I'd like to hear what you have been doing to make the most of your time! Simply comment with your own experience :)

One last week of lectures and we are done. The batch of 2010 will come to the end of their undergraduate journey. And off we are to the corporate world. The future seems uncertain. In fact, there was a period of time I felt like the future was scary. Sure, we have reached adulthood years ago but we still rely on our parents while we are still schooling. Upon graduation, it is expected that we have to earn our own keep, contribute to the household, plan for our future, pay bills, etc… More importantly, there is no direction! The educational system was structured and we can always measure our success and failure based on which stage and the type of schools we enter. The thing is, does it matter? Thinking too much will only create panic and does not create any real value. Here's what I propose -- Live while you're young.

We are approaching a new phase in life and before we do, we should make the most out of the situation. Find things that you want to do and actually do them. Here's a little guide on what you could do! :)

#1 Doing things that you actually enjoy

Singapore is a pragmatic society and everything comes down to the cost-benefit analysis. Screw that. You are in your final semester with only 3 weeks left. Find something you want to do if you had all the time in the world and just do it! If you think that you do not have much time now, you will have even lesser time in the future!

I started playing badminton since I was 13 and have been involved in all the school teams. However, time can be very unforgiving in SMU. However, I managed to squeeze in some time to play with my old TJ buddies and arranged an upcoming session with SMU students. Super excited :D



One of the perks of going on exchange is the luxury of time. I realized that I enjoy cooking but it is not much of an option here. However, if you make time for it, it will happen! To date I made maple baked chicken, mushroom and truffle cream soup, fried rice, fishball and vegetable soup, and instant noodles with egg (it counts right? :P).

Leonard prepares our maple baked chicken with Canadian maple syrup *drools*

#2 Keep learning

You're about to graduate and find the "perfect" job that you have always been preparing for. The courses that you take are meant to give you an edge in the field you want to enter. You passed on some interesting courses because it was not practical. Guess what, this is the time that it does not matter! Now, everything you do is because you simply want to. And that is extremely satisfying!

Over the last few weeks, I have been a diligent SMU student and read all my emails. There are a lot of talks that take place at SMU which are really good! (My NUS friend also exclaimed that we have much more talks with industry experts!) SMU has a whole range of talks now -- Marketing Excellence Series (marketing professionals), Wee Kim Wee CEO Talks (actual CEOs visit SMU to share their stories! Singtel's group CEO will be up next), Wee Kim Wee Lunchtime Talk, Distinguished Speaker Series, etc… However students do not always read all their mails and direct them to junk. And even if they are aware of such a talk, it is a common excuse that we have a meeting or class at that time. Here's the thing, the fastest way to learn is to attend these talks to learn about the different industries and understand how leaders think!

I attended L'Oreal Brandstorm finals with Wan Swen to support our juniors. It was a very insightful session as I learnt a lot about the brand, strategies and the judges themselves. (it was a plus that i won their Instagram contest haha)

      

 Met a SMU senior who is working in L'Oreal!     Wan Swen & I won the Instagram contest! :D

Team SMU @ L'Oreal Brandstorm Finals 2014 (contestants, seniors, alumnus! :D)

You have 3 weeks left. Do something, anything!

#3 Spend quality time with the people that matter

Grades are not indicative of a well lived life. 2048 and Angry bird high scores mean even less. Even if you're not graduating, the one lesson you should takeaway is to treasure the people around you. They support you while you study, take part in competitions and stand by your side when the going gets tough. Treasure these people by spending quality time with them. I met up with a few seniors and their schedule is always the same -- work, home, work, catch up with people. I am guessing they don't have much time, and hence while we have the luxury of time, we should spend more time with the people we love!

First family selfie during CNY this year! 

 The best man in my life :)

 I guess 2 is better than 1 :)

The Ho Family :)

Family time is happy time :) 

The only cousin who managed to pacify all the kids!

#4 A coffee or two

4 years in SMU has flown by and soon it will be harder to meet all these friends you've made! I made a little tradition of meeting different friends each week and I am really glad I did that. Not everything has to be about work. Sometimes we talk about life, sometimes we talk about society, sometimes we talk about the job market, well…. pretty much anything goes. These little breaks from school made the last semester extremely fulfilling! :)

One of my close friends and most passionate student in SMU :)

 HEE! :)

I'm glad I met you babe! :)

 I look cool like this. HAHA :P

Strategy team supper

Best friends of 10 years :D

#5 Plan for the future

With no structured programme in the professional world, it is up to us to decide what we want in life -- a good job, retirement by 45, 3 kids, big house, etc… And we need to make certain decisions in order to reach such goals. We live in the most expensive city in the world where ordinary houses cost around $500-600k. We need to make informed decisions on what to do with our income in order to reach those goals. The first decision that you need to make is to be aware of such a consideration and then keep a look out for opportunities to learn. There are websites that analyze how much money you need to buy a house and talks on how to manage your money. SMU EYE Investment organized a talk on the market outlook by UBS. Additionally NTU also organized a conference which was free for students. Not every opportunity is as useful but being in the know is the first step!

Yes, I am a business student. However, I really dislike finance related stuff and I have no clue about the stock market (I had to ask how to buy a stock ><). Furthermore, Finance 101 is barely sufficient for us to kick start our future financial planning. I have been reading and asking a lot in this area and I will be sharing my little bit of knowledge in this area soon.

NTU-IIC Financial Conference 2014

#6 Give back to the community

This is a personal choice, and ultimately it is up to you whether you would like to do the same. I feel extremely privileged to be in SMU. We have a lot of support in order to help us grow. Faculty members, staff, seniors, fellow students and alumnus form part of this support group. Office of Student Life supported my learning while giving back to the school. Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) provided free business building workshops where I met like minded individuals who became close friends. SMU alumni mentoring programme allowed me to connect with seniors in the marketing field to learn about the industry. Seniors gave advice on the different majors as well as their experience in SMU and their current company. All in all, I'm blessed.

I believe what goes around comes around. And the fact that we have so much support is because someone made an earlier decision to give back. I believe we can make the world a better place through the little things we do to give back.

This semester provided me with a few opportunities to give back to society and I feel grateful for their trust in me. Throughout the semester I acted as an advisor in a group of year 1s. We did a project together and they look up to me for what needs to be done. As seniors, we can share our experiences and tips to guide freshmen's growth. After all, we have benefited from seniors from one point or another.

Additionally, I am really excited to embark on 3 community related projects. Although I was the president of SICS and lead SMU Challenge, my volunteering experience has always been focused on the local community. With the blessing of a few individuals, I will be traveling to Cambodia and Indonesia as my first international outreach. Additionally, I will be organizing a social outreach in Singapore. If you're interested in doing something for the community, let me know! :)

#7 Do something wacky

This is something I am really excited about. It will take place next week. It is still a hush hush kinda thing. And if you want to be a part of it, please please join me! I will tell you all the details in person. It will be a once in a lifetime kind of experience :D