10 min read

I really can’t wait for architecture school to begin. At this point, August 2nd has never been so close yet feel so far away. It has been on the cards since I was 15, to pursue Architecture. Despite having a brief phase of wanting to explore other interests, there is something about architecture that just piques my interest in a very special way. Like a moth drawn to a flame and this is a very, very special flame. 

And it only feels right to put in all my effort in this path to pursue my education now that I am finally here. Because I am pursuing what I love, it only backs the stance that I should give it everything. All my time and all my effort. The right foundation starts here at NUS Architecture.

However, I was presented with this awkward time frame before school starts:

End of Architecture Internship: 26 February 2021
Start of NUS Architecture: 2 August 2021

This was what I planned. 

Apply for a low-effort job so I could juggle drawing on the sideline (at this point, it was still the urban sketching in my sketchbook around Singapore) until mid-July and I would have half a month break to hang out with my friends before university begins.

This was what happened.

Went around Singapore to draw for half a month and used money from IPPT to pay for these trips and meals. Fasting month (Ramadhan) came in early-April and I started working retail at a clothing company then too. My break days were truly meant to catch a breath and I could only squeeze in the occasional meet-ups or drawing trips with my friends. 

Right now, mid-June, a month earlier than planned, I decided to give my week’s notice to my manager. It was never a ‘bad’ job, I have been wanting to work retail ever since my last bust-up with it when I was 16 (another time for this story). Besides, I felt working retail gave me this courage to just talk to people and be exposed to how a simple commodity like retail shops normally operate. Like a complicated, multi-tasking salesman. 

Sometimes that happens in my life. Actually it happens all the time. I plan for something and then I get humbled by what life brings. There are certain things where you simply cannot plan for and I love it. It feels like winning the lottery when it goes my way. But when it doesnt, change also brings me good opportunities. It gives me this feeling of reborn- a chance to close the current chapter and start anew.

What’s next? I have been working on the National Gallery drawing for a few weeks now on my break days and I really want to complete this and the Exploded Axonometric drawing by end of July. And everyday when I wake up early and draw, I know that I am making progress. Three hours on one pillar, another hour to draw the perfect door, it doesn’t matter. Because no matter how small this progress may be, I keep telling myself that with everything I do, every detail I spend hours on, is one step closer to completing it. And with completion of each artwork, I become a step closer to achieving my dream of becoming the best.

And that is enough motivation for me to quit my job and fully realise this for the next month.

On Friday, I was figuring out what to write for this blog entry. Does it have to be about a global issue? Or a heart-wrenching personal anecdote? In fact, I couldn’t find a certain topic to write about. But when I look each day closely, I realise that so much goes on in my life that are worth sharing. Sometimes it’s much easier to overlook these things just because they make up this flow in life. 

This week I drew and drew and drew on my break days and after shifts. While drawing, I found some new additions to my playlist, like Mockingbird by Eminem and Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis. I finally ‘reclaimed’ my foldable bicycle (not so foldable now given its rust) from my old house and gave it a fresh coat of paint- breathed new life into it. That bicycle means the world to me because I saved a dollar everyday in 2013 or 14. There’ll be enough time to share the full story one day.

Thanks for reading the second post for this blog.

BLOG ENTRY 002