In the past, my society Singapore was a dubbed as a small fishing port that was primarily used for the trading of goods between buyers and sellers. No one would believe that this Kampong Island would eventually undergo a complete transformation to become a modern Asian metropolis today. Yet, this unbelievable rate of growth and development was not without its repercussions. Fortunately or unfortunately, it has shaped Singapore into a pragmatic society that puts emphasis on one’s credentials and academic achievements. Quoting from Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s book The Hard Truths, Singapore is like a hundred story building built on soft soils. The country needs the very best of its people to fuel its future economic growths and developments and hence people have to strive for their own social mobility.

  For Singapore’s new generation of leaders, we have to excel academically to earn ourselves a place in top varsities and ultimately obtain entry into our desired courses of study. But unfortunately, that breeds competition amongst us. In this pragmatic society, we are competing for opportunities, for grades, for scholarships or simply for pride. Almost everybody has the mantra that they can be better than anyone else. Yet unfortunately, some people lose sight of themselves in this never-ending competition. Some are involuntarily dragged into this marathon by peer pressure, only to find them panting and grasping for air before even reaching the checkpoints. Many students do not see the value in pragmatism but they are not protesting against it because they based it on the doctrine that they are supposed to do so. In this process, they lose sight of themselves and they discount themselves of the opportunities to develop their own areas of expertise. It is not unusual to hear students say that they study for the sake of studying and achieving good results to get into universities. I feel that this is very unfortunate because they do not experience the joy and happiness in their own actions and behaviour. How can one be motivated when they do not know why and what they are doing it for?

This is the specific aspect of my society that I want to change. I do not want the young generations to live in a cage and be tied down by social expectations, nor do I want them to be deprived of the chances to prove their true worth. I want the people in my society to be aware of their own area of expertise and share the common belief that the world needs them because one day, they will make the world a better place with their own area of expertise. In this pragmatic society, I want the young generations to still be able to have a dream that scares them, because that proves how big their dreams really are and how much they want to give back to the world we live in.

At this point in time, I have to emphasize that I am not anti-pragmatic. Broadly speaking, Singapore needs such a doctrine to progress. The educational system in Singapore need not change, but it should provide students with platforms and opportunities that enable them to prove their own worth to the world. This ‘worth’ may not necessarily be academically related, but it is definitely their own expertise that they are passionate in. Our young leaders need to be recognized and talents need to be discovered because the future of Singapore will no longer only rely on a steady economic growth, but also increasing acceptance to various disciplines, such as the arts, as it develops into a international multi-cultural hub. To me, I feel that the reason why young Singaporeans are prone to feeling lost in this pragmatic competition is because they lack the courage in finding the confidence for themselves through their own areas of expertise. To put it simply, they do not have the audacity to take the path less travelled to pursue their interests.

For myself, I aspire to become a pianist. As my fingers move over the black and white keys, I hope that the music I play will open up doors and minds. In this pragmatic society, the pursuit of performing arts music is almost impossible because of the lack of a culture, and possibly acceptance. To make things worst, I am not even a music student in mainstream education and I do not have the confidence to guarantee myself that I will become a pianist in the future. But this does not bother me. The only thing that matter to me is the true joy of playing the piano and finding my true self in this process. It is my source of confidence. I’ve never hesitated to play the piano in school openly because I want to inspire the others that they could do the same with their own passions. The journey of pursuing your passion and taking the path less travelled might be a lonely one at times, but it is meaningful because you are living a life that you love. By advocating for this dream and taking the path less travelled, I want to inspire the others that it is never too late to redefine the reason for your presence through your expertise that you are passionate about. Every single one of us has a reason to live on this planet and I want them to recognize this and have ownership over it. We are all in the same pragmatic society and the same educational system. There is no way to change this fact. But we always have a choice to make the best out of what we have and the only way to do it is to look beyond credentials, pursue something that you love, and make the world a better place because of your presence.