Now

What I’m up to

Working part-time at SMU. Considering whether I should conclude my writing on a Great British June.1 And I’ve yet to finish my writing on my trip to the American West Coast. Planning events for SMU Apolitical Society.2Find us on Instagram or LinkedIn. If you’re a fellow SMU student, check your emails for our upcoming events. Preparing for an exchange semester. Working through my reading list, for books and articles. Volunteering.3See Infinite Debt. Writing and mailing postcards.4If you want one mailed to you, text me! Trying to recognize reality and glancing into the abyss. Collecting sayings like “when you are in a hole, stop digging”. Thinking about how I’m not a lottery ticket.

Others

Books: Goodreads. Articles: Readwise.
Movies: Letterboxd. Music: Spotify.

A quote:

For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.

Romans 7:15 (NKJV)

An excerpt:

50 years ago, our challenges seemed insurmountable. As a small country, we could easily have flickered and faded into the darkness of history. But our pioneers were made of stern stuff, they were galvanised. Many born elsewhere but deciding to make Singapore their home and their lifelong passion. They dug in their heels and built a nation together. 50 years on, our challenges are still formidable but they are far from insurmountable. Those people who feel daunted and think Singapore’s best days are behind us, they are wrong. Our best days will always be ahead of us, provided we continue to have a strong team, a team of lions and the lion-hearted, leaders and the people. We have had such a good team so far, started with Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his colleagues, together with the pioneer generation, who built Singapore and made sure that Singapore would thrive beyond them. They handed over to Mr Goh Chok Tong and the second generation of Singaporeans 25 years ago now.

Our generation inherited Singapore from them and together, we took Singapore further forward to reach SG50. In the last ten years, we have written perhaps, another chapter of the Singapore story. If you have been following my National Day Rallies, you will know what we have done together. […]

We said we would transform Marina Bay, and we did. This was Marina Bay in 2005 with Marina South still empty land and at my rally that year, I promised you that by our Jubilee year, Marina Bay would be special and this is Marina Bay today. We did this together. We had a vision, we believed in it, and together, we realised our dreams.

In the last ten years, we built on what we inherited. We put brick on brick, we climbed step by step, we kept Singapore special, delivered results for Singaporeans. How did we do that? Mr Lee and his team planned beyond their terms, beyond their lifetimes. They nurtured the next generation of leaders and the next generation of Singaporeans. They taught their successors to do the same and this is what my team and I have sought to do for the last ten years. We have served you to the best of our ability, you have got to know us well, we have walked this SG50 journey together with you. My team and I take very seriously our responsibility to make sure that Singapore lasts beyond us.

PM Lee Hsien Loong in National Day Rally 2015

And a song:

For the Spotify version, click here.

Last updated:
17 July 2024

This page is inspired by Derek Sivers.

Footnotes
  • 1
    And I’ve yet to finish my writing on my trip to the American West Coast.
  • 2
    Find us on Instagram or LinkedIn. If you’re a fellow SMU student, check your emails for our upcoming events.
  • 3
  • 4
    If you want one mailed to you, text me!