Studies & NS

When I failed my O-Levels

The day had finally come when all Secondary 4 students eagerly awaited the outcome of their O-Level results.  When my friends were called upon to get their result slips one-by-one, they were either...

Studies & NS

What’s next after Os? A letter to my 16-year-old self

Dear Sam, Congrats, I guess! All those months of hard work have unfortunately not given you what you wanted but hey, at least it’s time to close this chapter. As people were cheering and comparing...

Friendship

The girl who just wanted to fit in

I came to Singapore way back when I was just 11 or 12 years old. I stepped into this country as a shy, timid and fearful girl. I was terrified to speak to anyone because of the fear that I would be...

Post-secondary

Pregnant at 18, I had an abortion before my A-levels

I was from an all-girls school. And like any teenage girl undergoing puberty, I was desperate for love and attention from boys. There was a boys’ school just across the road from mine, and many...

National Service

Struggling to get used to NS life?

Under the Enlistment Act, I was due to enlist on July, 5 2019. Unlike my peers, I was actually looking forward to enlisting as I wanted a career in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). I had heard...

Secondary

A letter to my fellow O-Level peers

It never made sense to me why many stories in the Bible always revolved around battles. Surely, God wasn’t advocating war? Furthermore, how would stories of combat, rocks and slings find its...

National Service

I faced down five weeks of depression in NS

In 2018, I struggled with depression for five weeks. As a National Serviceman, I was transitioning from an old camp to a new camp. Things were run differently, and having to adapt to the new...

Secondary

Struggling with my mental health through my O-Levels, I expected the worst

As I prepared for my O-Levels last year, I went through an extremely difficult time. There were many problems and misunderstandings that arose within my friendships due to the state of my mental...

Post-secondary

Living with migraines during my A-Level year

Ever since I was in Primary 6, I’ve been getting headaches at quite a high frequency. Having no idea what was causing it at that time, my parents were extremely worried. The headaches got so bad...