sometimes the world looks like what you want it to be.
sometimes, not all times.. sometimes life is shit, and there is no way rose-tinted glasses will make it appear better.
but other times, a lot of it has to do with perspective. and this perspective shapes your reflex - be it fight or flight, action or inaction - being submissive, subversive or aggressive.
your perspective is not static, nor set in stone from the day you start having a character. it is shaped by experience. daily experiences, worldly experiences, once-in-a-lifetime experiences and epiphanies, all dynamically and serendipitiously melding an individual point de vue.
writing this at the beginning of 2014 (ok a week has officially past) and at the end of my SEP, I can definitively say that post-exchange me's perspective has benefited from the view outside my comfort zone, and the multitude of people globally i've met in this brief period. Here's a list:
1. there is always more than one set way of doing things.
don't discourage yourself because you think something is stupid or sounds stupid. someone has done it and gained more than you from doing so. case in point - education in CELSA vs. NUS FASS
2. your environment shapes your perspective.
when you are feeling down/ stressed out, its time for a change of environment. meet different people in different situations, from different backgrounds. don't wait for people to tell you what you want to hear, LOOK for it. there are so many people out there; one of them is bound to give u the advice you want even if 99 of your closest circle has not. (god bless them) don't just not listen to the latter, find that one pearl who speaks otherwise (and then follow up with them instead).
3. be active.
or in any case, dont be lazy. adventure is out there!
4. be proud of what you do.
pick something and stick to it. lead it.
5. you won't die from eating food that has been on the floor for more than 5 seconds.
over this sep i have had some very unhealthy eating habits, not just diet-wise, and am still alive. just would like to say that in france, the baguette can touch any surface and still be considered just as delicious as it was freshly-baked. challenge your body.
6. be kind to foreigners/ internationals in sg.
lord knows what kind of struggles outsiders go through.
