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Monday, September 6, 2010
1:38 AM

The Apple glass retail store post was a small hint to what I'm about to share with all of you.

I've been doing some self-searching since the end of the qualifying exams. During that period of one week off, I've been doing research on universities and courses and all those kind of stuff. I'm still doing it now, because there is just so much information and a never-ending list of things you need to find out.

My starting point was the "built environment" (environmental engineering, civil engineering, architecture, etc.) and I haven't deviated from it since. I've cancelled off environmental engineering from my list because I cannot stand chemistry. There were a lot of self-questioning and soul-searching throughout the process, but I finally decided on architecture OR civil engineering (just a few days ago).

Let me tell you what I've considered doing before. I've considered becoming a vet because I love animals (mammals, to be more specific), but I can't handle blood. I even remember visiting the Singapore zoo in 2008 and contemplating how amazing it would be to work as a zookeeper. It should be really fun, but it's probably more suited as a hobby rather than a career.

A few weeks ago I thought about industrial design. It's basically product designing. Inspiration came from Jonathan Ive, who is an English designer and the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple. He is the principal designer of most of Apple's products (iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad). But who am I kidding? I will never come up with "the next big thing".

I do like designing. And maths. And pretty things. And a little bit of physics. So why not architecture? I do love pretty buildings and pretty interior. Dad has all these books on interior design and I love them. I'd never realised that until a few weeks ago.

But here's the thing: architecture and civil engineering are almost similar things. Only architecture has more "designing" and civil engineering has more "calculating". I've been facing this dilemma for weeks now and I still haven't decided. As of now, I'm more towards architecture, because I can picture myself enjoying designing rather than doing calculations in the future. But... I don't know.

To see whether architecture is the right one for me, I've started watching a UK series supposedly on Discovery Channel called "Grand Designs". Every episode focuses on a different house building or restoration project and they show you the engineering and architecture behind it. It's really cool and I love it. I'm pretty convinced that I will enjoy studying it.

I'm doing and preparing everything on my own. The other day I've printed some course information for mum and dad, and briefly talked about it with dad. He seems happy about it, but I'm not so sure. I think he's kind of worried about me not being able to find a job or something like that. According to him, being an architect is really stressful (with all those deadlines, you're bound to force-squeeze your creative juices) and he gave me a couple of real life case studies of people he personally knows who USED to be architects. I guess he has a point there, but is there really a job out there that is not stressful, dad? That's what I told him. He even suggested becoming a lawyer...

"What about a lawyer? Your English is really good. Don't let it go to waste."
"Lawyers are supposed to be mean... and cunning... and mean."
"There are lawyers that don't need to be mean."
"Lawyers are supposed to be fast-thinking."
"You're saying you're dumb?"
"Yeah."

Haha. Anyway, I'm pretty sure architecture is what I want right now. My parents will support me, I'm sure. I told a few people about this earlier... Ket, Fu and Fun. They are really supportive so I need to be confident about it myself. I'm on my way!

Well, I hope you guys find what's right for you too. It's not easy, but always start with what you like (don't go for the money first, unless you really have no interests at all). Good luck! I am really thankful. Now I gotta start working hard for my Physics and Maths!

Goodnight!

UPDATE: I realise I keep on contradicting myself on whether I've made a final decision or not. Truth is, I know I want architecture, but I feel like civil engineering will help too. A double degree sounds crazy, but I've seen some universities offering courses combining the two elements together. Sounds good, but we'll see!