At age 3, my dad told me I bopped to Michael Jackson & subtly head bang to ACDC. I picked up the piano, hated it cos the teacher smacked my fingers & thought I was dumb. I moved on to the organ, would excel in it & won competitions.
At age 6, I found love in drums. People commented that it’s an instrument for boys. But I went ahead anyway. At age 11, I was one of the youngest at that time to attain the Grade 8 certification for drums.
At age 10, I found love in violin. Some teachers told me a drummer can never be a violinist. But I went ahead anyway & managed to pass my highest grade violin exam without a teacher.
At age 15, I joined the percussion section in Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Basically all the noisy instruments you can think of – crash cymbals, bass drum, timpani, weird creaky frog croaking instruments. People told me it’s not made for young girls because of the size & weight of the instruments. But I went ahead anyway and had the opportunity to learn and perform w/ world class musicians.
At age 17, I was the head of my school orchestra. Under my leadership & guidance, I changed things around & for the first time, we were invited to perform for the Malaysian Prime Minister.
At age 18, I succumbed to Asian parents pressure & left my dreams to be an accountant. I hated life & turned depressed. I was no longer the happy person & contemplated suicide.
At age 21, I quit the accounting world to pursue my artistic dream. I was jobless. My family & relatives were telling me to get a real job, & that “I will never make it in this industry”. They told me to go back to accounting. But I went ahead w/ my heart.
At age 24, I left everything I have except my resume, & flew to Melbourne. With all the rejection, I decided to produce my own work & would later be fully sponsored by the Australian Gov’t to stage it at Melbourne International Fringe Festival, the biggest indie art festival. I acted in various films & started training in kungfu, dreaming to work with JACKIE CHAN 1 DAY!
No matter how many NO’s you get, the only YES you need is from yourself.
