Playing the Game: Existential Authenticity in A System You Cannot Escape
Since young, I loved to run. When 10-year-old me first learnt about the Singapore Sports School, it was a no-brainer to commit 6 years to living on campus, training every day on weekdays, even during holidays. But most people then—and even now, but I believe less so—said that “In Singapore, there’s no future in sports”. […]
Money vs. Meaning: Living on My Own Terms in Singapore’s Rat Race
Most of my friends secured jobs before graduation and began working immediately afterwards. Although I felt the pressure to do the same, it did not sit right with me to do so. I wanted to discover a path on my own terms. For one, I was scared to enter the “real world.” I did not […]
“Kiasu” is “Kiasi”: Existential Therapy and Death Anxiety in Singapore
Many Singaporeans and I are compelled to recite a cultural script that prescribes a standard life trajectory: one pursues a university education, finds a job and a partner, marries, applies for government housing, has kids, and works till retirement. This script is not unique to Singapore, though, it manifests in forms idiosyncratic to Singapore’s culture. […]
Friends at a Distance: Social Strangers, Existential Companions
What does it mean to be a friend, much less a good friend? Not that I’m not surrounded by good friends, but I’ve noticed my incapacity to be truly vulnerable with them, even the closest ones. It’s hard to reveal my inner concerns without being prompted first. In this sense, my unsatisfied cravings for intimacy […]
Existential Therapy: Finding the Light in the Darkness
You may be thinking, from what I know about existential therapy, it sounds negative, dark, heavy, pessimistic and/or depressing. I’m not sure if it will make my life more depressed and anxious than I already am. It’s true that existential psychology acknowledges the inherent suffering in human existence, but this is not a call to […]
Becoming Human: The Ceaseless Pursuit of Authenticity
The Singaporean Student: Robot or Human? I recall vividly—I was 18, when I experienced a meltdown while studying alone in a classroom for my International Baccalaureate exam. I desperately held back my tears, mind dizzy, short of breath, and asked myself: “Why the f*** am I doing this to myself?” That moment was the height […]