Travelling to fuel the soul

Photo: Eng Beng

It has been a long while since I last updated! 

I was on the road for the past 3 months, where I travelled from Japan to Taiwan and Korea. I didn’t get the chance to go overseas when I was in school, so this was the longest I was away from home. Not exactly a big deal, but it was a bold decision I made when I left my corporate job and decided to pursue photography full-time. 

For the past three months, I walked through local neighbourhoods, experienced different cultures, ate all sorts of food, met new people and gain experiences that I would never have gotten from just reading websites or books. 

But what made the trip really special was the people I met, interviewed and photographed for the project, “For the Love of It”. It allowed me to meet people from all walks of life and brought me to places that I never thought I would visit, like Long Dong 龍洞, a rock climbing venue in Taipei - I’m not athletic at all, so I would never have imagined myself scrambling through rocks or even be in such a place. 

I’ve heard and read a lot of success stories on Facebook when I was an employee, it was inspiring, and I would feel motivated for that moment, but that motivation never stuck around for long. Maybe it was because I never truly understood.

This time was different. Meeting real people, speaking to them and listening to their success stories wasn’t just inspiring. I could understand their struggles; I could relate to the sacrifices they made; but most importantly, I could feel their excitement, energy and joy when they spoke about their jobs - how all the sacrifices they made were worth it, and the sheer determination to achieve their next goal was written all over their faces.

Maybe it made a difference to hear these stories from the horses’ mouth, but I knew it was more than that - to be currently in the shoes of these people who were in a similar situation as me when they started out created a powerful connection between me and them. 

There were once nobodies, but are doing well now, are happy with their lives, and have become an inspiration to people like myself. 

Not much has changed in Singapore over the last few months, and many people I know are still going about their daily routine as usual. But something within me has changed. I've become more focused, driven and optimistic about what I can achieve as an individual. Achieving a big dream does not mean you have to take big strides. Take small steps every day and celebrate every milestone, no matter how small. These stepping stones will eventually get you to where you want to be. 

I'm glad this trip happened, and I'm looking forward to more soul-fuelling adventures to come.