This is Roche(not his real name), a recently graduated student of a local polytechnic in Singapore. I have personally known him throughout my teenage years and he is one of my best friends. Smart, witty and driven, Roche has recently been awarded a gold medal in his polytechnic and will be receiving it at his school’s graduation ceremony in May. To win a gold medal is no easy task. You have to be the best in your course of study(highest GPA), and be accomplished in you co-curricular activities Roche has agreed to give an interview to us at ExternusNation to find out more about know more about what drives him and his hopes and aspiration in the future. We will also be asking about his goals and challenges that he has faced. We hope that maybe something valuable can come out of this interview.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
(I don’t want to be identified so I will try to write this as honestly as possible without revealing my personal identity) I am a home-grown Singaporean Chinese, been living in Singapore all my life. I have flowed through primary and secondary school, just finished with polytechnic and now awaiting to serve my country in NS. I don’t believe in describing myself. I love sitting in the backseat. I enjoy doing what I love. My friends have said that I have a weird personality and I do funny stuff but yet I am intelligent and wise that they come to me for advice.
What is your ambition with respect to your career and personal life?
My career ambition is to become a doctor. I love to help others and I get this unexplainable deep warmth in my heart when I try to help. It is difficult for me to see someone suffering and I have this strong urge to help that person or animal or at least try to lessen its pain or suffering. Additionally, I also see myself going on overseas expeditions such as those in the Red Cross or the Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF). I find that their humanitarian works in areas of armed conflict, natural disasters or epidemics are extremely noble. These men and women are unsung heroes to say the least. I once read an article about the ongoing Syrian civil war where doctors and nurses would risk their lives to continue running their clinics or aid the wounded rebels, often under fire or rocket bombardments. It would be an honor to be able to work alongside individuals like these.
However, the way of life of a special forces operator had a mysterious magnetic pull on me. I have been thinking about becoming a Pararescue Jumper (PJ) in the US air force(USAF). Pararescue jumpers are a USAF special operations rescue unit that are tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. They would risk their own lives and jump into the fray to rescue a fellow soldier. Their motto, ‘These things we do, that others may live,' really resonates with me. Is it even possible? A Singaporean boy becoming a PJ, a foreigner in a foreign army? Although, I have the support of my friends but I have not discussed with my parents but they seemed open to this idea. However, I am still searching for answers regarding recruitment and opportunities. It would be a hell-of-an-experience to test myself in the gruelling training course and join their elite ranks.
In my personal life, my ambition is to become a better man. It sounds simple but there are so little people who really look into and improve on themselves. I look up to men like Bruce Lee, Marcus Luttrell, Chris Kyle and Rocky Balboa. The characters that they embody and the philosophy they have, it speaks to me. Their life goals/purpose, extremely strong determination to succeed, confidence and courage to speak up but humility to listen to others and take their views into consideration; these are some attributes that I strongly admire. When I recall the past, I always have that feeling that I could have done this or that better; I did not have those attributes. Hence, I wanted to change myself and to develop these attributes in me.
How do you feel being awarded such a prestigious award?
It is a great feeling to have my hard work and determination being recognized by my school. It definitely propels me to move forward but it also opens up opportunities for me. This is not the end for me to stop working hard. This is only the beginning where I must prove my worth in the real world now.
Why did you choose to study at a polytechnic and not a junior college? Why did you choose the course you were in?
I chose to study in a polytechnic for many reasons. I am good at biology and my ambition is to become a doctor, so naturally, I chose to study a life sciences course. I also did not want to attend JC even though I had a good score. My secondary school teachers would ask me why when I was in secondary 4. The reason is that I wanted to have more time to pursue other things in life such as music and personal development. I don’t think I would be able to achieve so many other things if I were in JC.
What challenges have you faced so far?
Life is full of challenges, failures, goals, accomplishments. My life is no different. Studying for my diploma was challenging but it allowed me to grow and develop academically and mentally. There were a few difficulties in my personal life. I had a few depressing moments where I felt that everything was going wrong but I pushed forward. I think that social life and relationships are fun but sometimes things go miserably wrong. These trivial things are definitely not such a big deal but trying to study hard to score well while feeling miserable can be struggle.
I was in this phase of self-abuse in primary and secondary school. It started as a fun thing to do in primary 5 but it became serious in secondary school. I thought it was manly to be able to be crazy enough to cut myself and endure the pain. In secondary school, I used it as a form of self-punishment. I would keep a penknife in my pencil case and if I didn’t score well enough for a test or had a bad grade, I would cut myself as a form of punishment because I let myself down. I had this mentality that I must study hard and have a perfect score for no apparent reason. I also used this as a form of “relief”, I was having relationship issues with that unstable hormonal imbalances, I would cut myself because a girl didn’t appreciate what I did for her. It was so bad at one time, that the whole of my left forearm were covered with self-inflicted wounds. In sec 4, I realize this was childish and so I just threw that penknife into my classroom dustbin and I promised myself not to do it again. Do not self-abuse, kids. You think it may relieve you or solve your problems but it doesn’t. There are so many other ways to help yourself. Read motivational blogs.
Making conversation is my biggest weakness. I am an introvert by natural and I don’t like networking or socializing. However, I realized that interaction with the people that matters to you is essential. They may be your lecturers, teachers, superiors, friends or love interests; whoever they may be, they are important in my life. When I was young, I found myself at a disadvantage. Even though I might be love and be extremely curious about a topic that I was learning in school, I would be so afraid of asking the teacher. Presentations were terrifying too even though I might be well-versed with my topics. This was even worse when I am talking to girls I am interested in; I would stutter or there would be awkward silences when talking to girls that I like. Being unable to make conversation with ease limits me in every aspect of my life: gaining knowledge, relationships or opportunities in business or academics. I had to changed it. What helped me was reading on online guides to conversation or watching videos on youtube like RSD or Mad Men’s Don Draper. These things helped me a great deal and I think I can hold a decent conversation with anyone now, provided that I am willing to…
Other than that, my personal life is quite normal. I try not to let my emotions gain control over me but sometimes it just overwhelms me. In facing each challenges, I think it is important to know that this pain will not last, do your best and try to overcome/succeed. Do not find an excuse to give up but find an excuse to win.
What inspires you?
Great writers or thinkers such as Marcus Aurelius, Nelson Mandela or Theodore Roosevelt inspires me. Their life and writings about their thoughts and reflections gives a great example for me to guide my own life by. I love quotes like "The chain on anyone of my people are the chains on all of them. The chains on all of my people, are the chains on me." by Nelson Mandela. It tells me that even though we might be accomplished as a person, it means little when the people around are lacking behind. So I made a goal to try to always support and encourage everyone I know and never to have negative intents towards anybody.
Special Operations Forces (SOF) motivates me too. Do not quote me, I have never been in the SOF. I’m just a wheelchair operator who reads about them but these are my thoughts. Soldiers in the SOF are lean and mean but their greatest strength is not their physical ability. It is their indomitable will. In their training, they were taught never to give up, never to surrender. Being pushed past their physical limit in their training but still being expected to thrive in such situation, it is never an easy road being in the SOF and that makes my heart bulge. I wish I will have an opportunity to join such a team in the future to challenge myself and know the absolute limits of my body and mind. Best of all, being able to serve and protect the people you love is a great honor. Looking at war through the eyes of SOF operators or even just soldiers brings another perspective. It is clear to them and misunderstood by most of everyone else that they fight war out of love and not hatred. People think that all soldiers kill because they hate the enemy. They kill because they love their family and country and these enemies want to destroy what they love. They push themselves to their absolute limit because they want to be the best protector of their family or country and never want to see them hurt. It is greatly admirable that they sacrifice. Some sacrifice all but all sacrifice some. It is no different for any soldier defending their country.
What/who motivated you to do well?
To be honest, I motivate myself because I feel that I should always improve in everything that I can do. It is my chosen life goals and ambitions that propel me forward. I think it is important to find/choose our own great purpose in life and to pursue it relentlessly. My simple objective in life is to be happy, fulfilled in my work, serve others and to mentor people to be great or successful.
However, I have to give thanks to my family, my parents and my sisters who are extremely supportive of me in whichever path I chose to take and always give their wise advice to this young boy. I am immensely grateful for that. Having a great set of friends to cheer you on helps immensely too.
What is the secret of your success? Are there any significant turning points that have made a big difference in your life?
There are no secret to my success. Success is achieved by the determined. The talented and gifted may win at first but ultimately, the guy with the biggest determination to succeed will win. I know that it sucks badly to stay up all night to study for that test, work long hours or endure so much pain to keep up the pace for your 2.4km run but think about all that you will achieve at the end of it. If you want to succeed, you have to want success as badly as you need to breathe. Success begins with your mindset. You may love success but never be afraid to lose. That fear will stop you from achieving your greatest. All great things are hard to achieve, but even in failing, it is great. Do not think that there is only either win all or lose all, there is always something in the middle that is still admirable and satisfactory but always aim for the best.
There was an extremely significant turning point that made me want to change myself totally. It happened first semester of year 2. I was chasing this girl who was in the same course as me. She was cute, pretty, smart, and intelligent and every positive adjective you can say about her. Well, because love makes a man forget all logic and wisdom, especially crushes, yaaaaaeeeee? Well, after many attempts to win her heart, she still wouldn't give me a chance. She rejected me in the worst possible way (that I feel), by being soft and apologetic. Unfortunately, I still didn't take the hint that I wasn't her kind of guy because I didn’t understand what was going on. Sometimes I will look back and I would feel sorry for younger self. I was heartbroken back then. If there was a competition for beta-ness, I would be the world champion, there is no contest. However, the lucky stars aligned on that day, the god of aesthetics, glorious, fair and almighty Zyzz, blessed me with a friend who shared with me a pirated ebook, "No More Mr Nice Guy". But seriously, this book, I tell you, was the most significant turning point in my short 20 years of living.
The book describes the Nice Guy Syndrome, where males are passive-aggressive; they would do things for the women in their lives, women like the mothers, sisters, spouses, girlfriend, colleagues or even just friends, and secretly want them to return the favors that the men have done for their women. It made me realize how much of a nice guy I was (as defined and described in this book). The book describes the unhealthy consequences of being a nice guy in relationships, work and in terms of personal happiness. His sound logical approach to explaining the ‘Nice Guy' syndrome and the solutions to end it definitely hooked me into changing my life for the better. I started looking for man role models to follow such as Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) and Bruce Lee, so that I can learn from their character and actions to make myself a better man. Looking back now, I have really changed significantly from a soft unsure kid to a man that is confident and mature enough, (almost) ready to take on the world.
There are 2 quotes that I remind myself daily. They remind me of my goals and to live life to the fullest:
"The things we do, so that others may live." - Pararescue's creed
My dream is to be a pararescue jumper or doctor, so this keeps me motivated. It touches me dearly that there are people in the world that would do everything, even risk their lives, to try and save another person's life or alleviate their pain and suffering. Who would have imagined? The one of the world's toughest and deadliest soldiers having a soft compassionate side to them. But compassion is one of the noblest virtues anybody can exemplify. If you ever idolise superheroes like Superman and/or The Avengers, these guys are the real-life heroes; soldiers, doctors, nurses. They might never have a selfish thought for themselves before trying to help others. I admire that greatly and I want to be a part of that.
"Life isn't about how hard you hit but how much you can get hit and keep forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward." - Rocky Balboa
This quote reminds me of my own struggles and that I should always have the will to push forward. It tells me that no matter how great your achievements are, you should always improve and go beyond. I do not like to compare myself with others for there is no other greater competition than with the person I see in the mirror, the perfect person I imagine myself to be. On the other hand, if you asked me, “Is achieving a gold or silver medal prize in your course a great achievement? You are the top student of your course, how do you feel?” Sure, I would feel proud, but this isn't a great achievement to me. How does being a top student help the world? It has nothing to do with any contributions to society, it only signifies a potential that I will contribute greatly to society. I will never be satisfied with what I have presently. So, wait for me to achieve something great, then I will brag about it.
End of Interview.
Now that's the end of the interview. Roche showed great determination and a strong belief in himself when facing challenges or chasing after his goals, be it professional or personal. However, he only became the person he is today because he puts himself out of his comfort zone and starts to practice and learn from his mistakes.
I hope you have taken something good away from this. I did not attempt to shorten or edit it because I wanted it to be read as intended by Roche.
See you in the next post.
Omega out.
Omega out.