What is Happiness?

Okay, looks like I haven't been blogging much again. I just didn't have time to do it lor. The next 3 weeks is gonna be hell for me. All the projects, assignments, test, presentations will all happen together. It's gonna be pretty shiong.

That got me thinking. In a high stress society such as ours, where people everyday are rushing to and from work. Where people constantly need to struggle in the rat race, to earn more money to survive, where is the happiness?

Given the busy and stressful lifestyle of Singaporeans, it's no wonder we are 90 out of 151 in happiness index among countries. And it shows! I mean, I take public transport all the time, go out to shopping malls, walk around, you can see it. Everybody is almost like zombies, morning go to work in a herd, all on their smartphones, don't talk to anybody, evening is the same shit. And did you notice? Nobody smiles at anyone. Ever. Unless you are personal friends. Smiling should be a KPI! Like GDP or some shit.

Isn't there something that has gone fundamentally wrong with our society? Have we become too focus on "success" and "riches" and material wealth, that we are slowly forgetting how to be human? And I don't say that as an innocent bystander either. In fact, I am just as much a part of it, but I am clearly cognizant and aware of the fact that this is going on. Why are people not caring enough about this or doing something about it?

The zombie apocalypse is already upon us.

What got me thinking about all this? Well, my best friend said to me awhile back, that since we are young now, it feels almost necessary, for us to do something big. Something crazy. Something that only can be done now, lest we regret not trying in the future. He was talking along the lines of doing a startup, but we can extrapolate that into anything crazy really. Basically, you are young only once, do something.

This idea, is particularly important to me at this stage, because I am graduating soon. I need to consider what I want to do with my life going forward. There are no more institutions I can piggyback on and delay making decisions, I have done that long enough. Primary school, go secondary school, after that JC, then Uni. Such a natural yet boring and typical progression. No need to think much about what I need to do. Just follow. But all that is over! From here on out, it's like entirely up to me.

There are a couple of routes I am considering. Firstly, is of course to stay the well beaten institutional path, and get a normal job to farm cash. Already got that covered. Working for the government is like the best way to do that. Secondly, go join some startup instead, and be inspired by an entrepreneurial founder, so that I may do the same in future. But the pay is peanuts, so probably no. Thirdly, is to outright just go start something. But in order to do that, I need capital, and great partners. None of which I have at the moment. Lastly, which I am still considering strongly, is to go take up a job and work in a foreign country. I'm looking at Japan right now.

Japan is like my unofficial motherland. Like my mecca of sorts. It had a lot of influence on me in my youth. I'm so totally in love with their culture, with their products, their music, their people. Yet, I can't speak a word of Japanese, and have never been there. Funny right? That's seriously the only thing holding me back. The fear of having to wander and navigate in an unknown place and not speaking their language. But honestly I think it's not so bad? Especially if it's an international company that hires a lot of foreign people anyway. I'm sure there are arrangements to sort stuff out eventually. Yet, there is still this fear, and not knowing anyone there....

Which brings me to my last conundrum. Grad trip. I would like to go to Japan if possible, but my family members ain't free during June. And embarrassingly enough, I have no close friends in school. Those that I know, are not planning to go, or have plans of their own that would be awkward for me to ask to tag along. Sad. So I pose this question here... If anyone can see this... Would you be willing to join me, or let me join you on your Grad Trip plans? I actually don't mind any country at this point.


A pretty apt song: