Reflections from Youth Corp talk

Yesterday I had the honour of following Kumaran to Pulau Ubin where he was giving a talk to the 2nd batch of youth corp volunteers.

During which I had the opportunity to meet 2 very wonderful people, David Hoe and Crystal Goh. They both shared their inspirational stories, which touched my core and got me thinking.

It reminded me of how fortunate we are as a society in Singapore. How fortunate I am to have actually gone through such a sound education system. How privileged we are to be able to travel, meet various groups of people and live in such a safe, efficient country.

Crystal Goh's talk reminded me of hope and that sometimes, the only things people have to hold on to is hope. And this hope is strong enough to pull anyone through the toughest moments.

David Hoe's talk showed me that simple ideas can make a difference in a large group of people. He reminded me of how different people come from different backgrounds and have different exposures. Hence everyone has a different set of beliefs. For example, if someone comes from a family where the highest qualification is that of secondary level, then perhaps even attending junior college is a big achievement. However, if someone comes from a family of doctors, than perhaps a university degree may not be a sufficient achievement for that person.

This is an important thought to have when guiding or educating young people from different backgrounds. We have to guide them to maximise their talents or develop on the interests they already have. And not always force them to go in the direction that is considered societal norm. Again it comes back to what is defined as success. Is success about having lots of money? Is it about being famous? Is it about having many posts? Or is it about simply being happy?

From his talk, I got reminded of how a seed of thought or ultimatum you plant within yourself can indeed grow to become a huge tree. And sometimes that is all that is needed to change someone's life.

Now standing here, I feel like more can be done. Especially when I meet such people, I feel like what we do is not enough......

Do support Crystal Goh's cause-
http://www.diamondsonthestreet.com/