Hello chapter-twentyone readers, hello 2020 and hello Sydney once again.
We are halfway into February in a blink of an eye. And I am also halfway done with my Masters. Honestly, time always passes so fast. Maybe it's the stage of life that I am at now - mid twenties, where many things change with adulting. I guess the craziest thing about this period is how everyone who started off at the same starting line are now in different zones. I have friends who are still in their first job, and those who have made a complete career switch; I have friends who recently got engaged/married, and those who just broke up; I have friends who are still partying their nights away, and those who prefer to just laze at home. ... And in the midst of all these hullabaloo, you have me, who seems like I have my life together. But
really?
I read this somewhere before:
"Everyone in this world works based on their time zone.
People around you might seem to be ahead of you,
& some might seem to be behind you.
But everyone is running their own race, in their own time.
Do not envy them & do not mock them.
They are in their time zone, and you are in yours.
Life is about waiting for the right moment to act.
So, relax.
You’re not late.
You’re not early.
You are very much on time. "
But honestly speaking, I think this is one of those life advice that is easy to give but in reality very difficult to follow. I
know there is no need to compare. You might feel envious about someone else's life without realising how envious they are of yours. On most days, I understand this logic perfectly well and really feel pretty contented with my own life. But there are definitely those days where I overthink everything and feel like,
Shit, what on earth am I doing with my life?
I guess these thoughts just developed in my mind cause I was back home in Singapore for the past 2 months and met up with many friends. And cause my life right now is very off track from the majority of my friends, it feels... weird. Not like in a negative way, but not in a positive way either. Maybe just a neutral weird, if there is such a thing.
Someone asked me what I have been doing in the time that I was back in Singapore. I thought about it for a moment, and honestly, I didn't do anything exciting except to spend time with my family and friends. So all I manage to reply was,
"Nothing interesting." Then there was this brief 3 seconds silence followed by a
"For 2 months?" To which I replied,
"Yeah, I mostly just catch up with my family and friends." I will admit that I felt guilty for a moment. Guilty for just wasting my time away doing nothing that potentially value adds to myself. But it was merely for a moment. Because you know what? I believe the time you enjoy wasting is
not wasted time. I think everyone has different capabilities and life expectations. To be very honest, I think I like being ordinary, mediocre, average. You can say I'm unmotivated/not driven but I really don't need the exciting high flyer life. I just want a simple, normal life.
Anyway, back to the past 2 months. I feel like a lot has happened. Like, a lot. Apart from how there were 6 months of life happening updates from different friends, there is also the Australia bush fires and well of course, COVID-19. Simply speaking, COVID-19 is an epidemic similar to SARS. Just less deadly yet more infectious. Back in 2002/2003 when SARS occurred, I was in Primary 1/2 and honestly don't remember much. I doubt I would ever forget COVID-19 though, seeing how it's happening when I'm doing my Masters. Now that I have it penned down here, it will always be something that I will remember. There are 2 things that I probably will remember COVID-19 for:
One, an epidemic like COVID-19 truly brings out the best and worse in humans. On the good side, you see courage and selflessness in the frontline warriors (medical, security, whole of government etc). You see kindness in people giving out free surgical masks, setting up free hand sanitisers in lifts. You see bravery in those raising alarms about COVID-19 against political powers. Then on the ugly side, you have discrimination and blaming of frontline warriors, Chinese people etc. You have panic buying/hoarding and price gouging of surgical masks, hand sanitisers, food and daily necessities. You have circulation of fake news and suppression/cover-ups happening.
Two, my life science degree is more valuable than I give it credits for. Someone once told me that if you want to save lives, then go be a researcher. And I truly feel the weight of this message now. Most of those in my major don't end up becoming a scientist/researcher, and probably feel that our degree is pretty useless like I do. Until probably this moment when you realise how scientists are scrambling to develop diagnostic tests, drugs, vaccines. And also the moment when you realise you know what a virus outbreak is and know how to tell real and fake news apart. Knowledge truly is power.
Okay anyway, I kinda realise how this entry ended up being all serious with no "HAHAHAHA" literally appearing in any parts above. I'm currently staying home as much as possible cause I think it's socially responsible to just self-quarantine myself for a period since I just flew back to Sydney. Thank you for reading this post which is just full of random thoughts and feelings that really aren't all that interesting.
And no idea when I will return here again but I'll definitely be back. Till next time!
0 comments
Hello chapter-twentyone readers, hello 2020 and hello Sydney once again.
We are halfway into February in a blink of an eye. And I am also halfway done with my Masters. Honestly, time always passes so fast. Maybe it's the stage of life that I am at now - mid twenties, where many things change with adulting. I guess the craziest thing about this period is how everyone who started off at the same starting line are now in different zones. I have friends who are still in their first job, and those who have made a complete career switch; I have friends who recently got engaged/married, and those who just broke up; I have friends who are still partying their nights away, and those who prefer to just laze at home. ... And in the midst of all these hullabaloo, you have me, who seems like I have my life together. But
really?
I read this somewhere before:
"Everyone in this world works based on their time zone.
People around you might seem to be ahead of you,
& some might seem to be behind you.
But everyone is running their own race, in their own time.
Do not envy them & do not mock them.
They are in their time zone, and you are in yours.
Life is about waiting for the right moment to act.
So, relax.
You’re not late.
You’re not early.
You are very much on time. "
But honestly speaking, I think this is one of those life advice that is easy to give but in reality very difficult to follow. I
know there is no need to compare. You might feel envious about someone else's life without realising how envious they are of yours. On most days, I understand this logic perfectly well and really feel pretty contented with my own life. But there are definitely those days where I overthink everything and feel like,
Shit, what on earth am I doing with my life?
I guess these thoughts just developed in my mind cause I was back home in Singapore for the past 2 months and met up with many friends. And cause my life right now is very off track from the majority of my friends, it feels... weird. Not like in a negative way, but not in a positive way either. Maybe just a neutral weird, if there is such a thing.
Someone asked me what I have been doing in the time that I was back in Singapore. I thought about it for a moment, and honestly, I didn't do anything exciting except to spend time with my family and friends. So all I manage to reply was,
"Nothing interesting." Then there was this brief 3 seconds silence followed by a
"For 2 months?" To which I replied,
"Yeah, I mostly just catch up with my family and friends." I will admit that I felt guilty for a moment. Guilty for just wasting my time away doing nothing that potentially value adds to myself. But it was merely for a moment. Because you know what? I believe the time you enjoy wasting is
not wasted time. I think everyone has different capabilities and life expectations. To be very honest, I think I like being ordinary, mediocre, average. You can say I'm unmotivated/not driven but I really don't need the exciting high flyer life. I just want a simple, normal life.
Anyway, back to the past 2 months. I feel like a lot has happened. Like, a lot. Apart from how there were 6 months of life happening updates from different friends, there is also the Australia bush fires and well of course, COVID-19. Simply speaking, COVID-19 is an epidemic similar to SARS. Just less deadly yet more infectious. Back in 2002/2003 when SARS occurred, I was in Primary 1/2 and honestly don't remember much. I doubt I would ever forget COVID-19 though, seeing how it's happening when I'm doing my Masters. Now that I have it penned down here, it will always be something that I will remember. There are 2 things that I probably will remember COVID-19 for:
One, an epidemic like COVID-19 truly brings out the best and worse in humans. On the good side, you see courage and selflessness in the frontline warriors (medical, security, whole of government etc). You see kindness in people giving out free surgical masks, setting up free hand sanitisers in lifts. You see bravery in those raising alarms about COVID-19 against political powers. Then on the ugly side, you have discrimination and blaming of frontline warriors, Chinese people etc. You have panic buying/hoarding and price gouging of surgical masks, hand sanitisers, food and daily necessities. You have circulation of fake news and suppression/cover-ups happening.
Two, my life science degree is more valuable than I give it credits for. Someone once told me that if you want to save lives, then go be a researcher. And I truly feel the weight of this message now. Most of those in my major don't end up becoming a scientist/researcher, and probably feel that our degree is pretty useless like I do. Until probably this moment when you realise how scientists are scrambling to develop diagnostic tests, drugs, vaccines. And also the moment when you realise you know what a virus outbreak is and know how to tell real and fake news apart. Knowledge truly is power.
Okay anyway, I kinda realise how this entry ended up being all serious with no "HAHAHAHA" literally appearing in any parts above. I'm currently staying home as much as possible cause I think it's socially responsible to just self-quarantine myself for a period since I just flew back to Sydney. Thank you for reading this post which is just full of random thoughts and feelings that really aren't all that interesting.
And no idea when I will return here again but I'll definitely be back. Till next time!
0 comments
