Commemorations

Best decision ever:
Going to Mexico for an exchange programme. I like immersing myself in another culture but I don’t think I’m well-travelled, so that was an opportunity for me to see a place and culture that I’d otherwise never be able to experience.

What’s something that’s different between Mexico and Singapore?
The people there are a lot warmer and more expressive, and we used lot of kisses for greetings. My love language is physical touch, so it made sense that I like communicating that way. It felt natural whereas over here in Singapore, people are a bit more reserved.

Is there a meaning behind your tattoo?
The one on my finger was inspired by old Aztec gods. I thought that Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent and god of wisdom, was pretty cool, so I decided to get that inked to commemorate the experience. I have a couple of tattoos, and they’re all signifiers of a period of my life that I want to remember. It might be a certain revelation or a change in philosophy towards life, and I like to commemorate that with ink.

A quote or philosophy that I live by:
I have a French quote tattooed on my back that says “this is what I’m here for”. My philosophy’s that there’s a purpose for every experience that I’m going through at every place and point of my life.

What’s the nicest thing someone has done for you?
When I was in Mexico, I had a lot of help getting around. A restaurant manager got his assistant to take his car to send me to an art gallery that I wanted to visit, because it was late and he didn’t want me to go alone. At the gallery itself, the female gallery assistant also insisted that she send me back even though it wasn’t on the way, because she didn’t trust any of the guys. Although I wasn’t going to meet them again, they didn’t expect anything from me, and the fact that they were willing to go out of the way for a stranger was amazing.