Both Ends

“My name is representative of who I am,” Fathin says. “I’m both ‘fat’ and ‘thin’, always at both ends of the spectrum, yet I feel like I am the least balanced person.” Down to earth and strong in her beliefs, Fathin doesn’t like to follow trends, and prefers recycling the clothes in her wardrobe instead of buying something new. “The world is already oversaturated with clothes; why do we need even more?” She describes her personal style as laid-back, and isn’t worried about what her colleagues or the people she meets think. Without fail, she makes an effort to inject her personality into her look of the day, even if she has to attend business-related events in her course of work. “I use lots of colours, and trainers always add a quirky vibe to my outfits, but I’m not sure if anyone in Finance is impressed by that.” Armed with wit and an enthusiasm for journalism, Fathin loves that her job allows her to meet a lot of different types of people, although she feels that the industry in Singapore can be somewhat limiting. “There’s no drama to write about!” When asked to advise anyone that is starting out at work, she insists that one should not be afraid to sound stupid. “I’ve realised that you’ve got to be shameless.” When the going gets tough, however, Fathin simply falls back on her personal motto: “Don’t worry about the things you can’t control — let it go!” She goes on to add that in order to successfully achieve a work-life balance, it is important to be efficient at work to avoid bringing work home. As such, Fathin is able to make the most of her free time, during which she watches films, cooks, and goes out to meet her friends. If given a choice to be in a different profession, however, she sees herself as a conservationist on an island. “A place where I could roam around in a bathing suit all day, every day.”