10 min read

This week started off on such a high note and it gradually tapered into this slow week, which sadly happens but I just have to pick myself up and constantly remind myself on those days to DO MORE.

To know why Monday was the best Monday I’ve had in awhile, you would have to understand that I was out cycling on Sunday (the night before). What was meant to be a 4pm meetup eventually became a 6pm one and that explains why everything else was delayed afterwards. A good 30km from Pasir Ris to Marina Barrage then back with minimal rest, although I should definitely sneak in a meal halfway next time.

Surprisingly I woke up Monday fine- no sore legs. Because I have to wake up around 6ish to 6.30am for morning prayers, I usually plan to sleep by midnight in order to get 6.5hours of sleep which feels ‘just nice’ for my body to function perfectly the next day. If I need more rest, I nap for another hour after prayers but usually, I try to get out of my bed and start my day fresh. On this note, I realised Singapore receives much lesser daytime (7am – 7pm) than cities like New York (around 5.30am – 8.30pm) which might somewhat appear disadvantageous to productivity because I have lesser hours in the day to ‘live’. I mean, it feels natural to sleep or rest or stop work-related things once the sun has set.

Nonetheless, I try to maximise the hours of daytime that I have. 

So on that Monday, I visited the AMPED Trampoline Park at River Valley. It was an oddly-located/looking building with several office tenants, a Trampoline Park and a bar/grocery shop/cafe squeezed into one unit. Now this was only my second time at a Trampoline Park- my first one was to Yio Chu Kang’s Katapult park in 2017, with Brandon, squeezed two hours after school and just before football training. Rushed everywhere but it was brilliant. But sadly, I woke up with a sore back for the entire week afterwards.

That one was pure jumping. No flips, no nothing. Just two guys, jumping. 

This time was different. I just wanted to flip and finally experience the adrenaline and see for myself how upside down the world could be. For obvious reasons, I haven’t tried flipping because of the fear of landing on my neck or back and/or 1001 other logical reasons. I mean, I don’t have to stick the landing, I just wanted to do ONE flip in the air. 

It only hit me how old I was when I reached the trampoline park- only to see other jumpers to be either a parent accompanying their kid or a barely 10 year old kid. It was one of those- wow, I feel old moments. I’ll be 21 this year and should be doing way bigger things like focusing on studies/career/future/adult stuff. But on the other hand, if I could only flip now then so be it, I can learn it today and then my life starts from here. 

So I flipped. 

HUGE shoutout to the instructor there who taught me and also my guts for trying. 

And I flipped and flipped and flipped.

It felt so real, just jumping and even trying to record a flip, I couldn’t capture the energy or the joy afterwards that I didn’t snap my neck in video. The video looked like a mess- just one quick spiral. Not including here but in my monthly short film SOON.

Then I got curious and wanted to do a backflip. So I tried and landed wrongly so it stung my neck for the next ten minutes (SUPER OW) which I spent taking time lapses of other people jumping around. But I realised why that backflip was much harder to pull off. The motion itself felt totally different than of a front flip- or a front-flip-land-on-back/legs-motion. 

But the biggest takeaway I had from that hour of jumping was that I feel and I am a different person than who I was a few years ago. Though I may be more reserved, I feel that I have taken more risks that have pushed my boundaries even further. Which is definitely a good change in life. 

2016: I quit my first retail job after ONE day because I was embarrassed by a mistake I made.
2021: I worked retail for 3 months after my internship and while waiting for school to start.

2016: Have never watched a horror film.
2017: Watched my first horror film in the cinema.
2021: Watched my fifth horror film in the cinema.

2017: I wouldn’t dare to do a flip.
2021: I flipped.

Change is undoubtedly part of our lives as we grow older. Being stagnant in a comfortable spot, although may seem peaceful, is nothing compared to the feeling I get when I chase my dreams or push myself further everyday. No matter how good it feels to be in a safe spot, I have to constantly remind myself that I am not making progress by staying put. Little do I know, this act of stepping out of my comfort zone will breathe a new layer into my life- a layer that presents countless more opportunities for me to explore even further.

It might have just been one flip. But it certainly reminded me of the fears that I used to keep and overcoming it metaphorically represents this change in the way I view things now as compared to back in 2017. I am no longer that timid person afraid of trying something new just because of an injury. I understand that people constantly get injured when doing flips but by following the right technique, I can turn a ‘reckless’ act into a ‘risky’ one. 

It just feels nice to know that my outlook towards life has changed over the years. It presents growth in the way I think, the way I feel about particular issues and it certainly has made me into the person I am today. This week’s blog seems a little reflective because definitely, I did something that might have seem like a small thing to do, but 2015 me was hands down scared to death at the idea of flipping when writing it in this brown book called my bucket list.


This coming week has been planned with many, many activities and meeting up with old friends. Hopefully with all this, I still get to stick with my timeline to complete my drawing by the 20th. Also the weather has surprisingly been down the past few days- constant thunderstorms and freaky weather. The wind was so strong I thought there was someone knocking on my window when it rained. Also tonight is the Euro finals between England and Italy. Really want to watch it but it being 0300 SGT, it might totally mess my sleep schedule. But somethings just cant be missed. Maybe this will be one of them.

Thank you for reading my seventh blog post. 

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