Coming Home

We heard you got your first tattoo—what does it represent?
I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I think that many people—and I was one of them—need to have a meaning to justify doing something. My tattoo is based off a poem that I wrote for myself last year during the Circuit Breaker period. It reflects my general outlook in life. I found an artist that I resonated with and realised that I just wanted to have a tattoo and that it was not that I needed a meaning for it, but that I did not know what design I wanted for it. I’d rather get the tattoo now than when I’m 50 years old and only have perhaps about ten years to enjoy it.

How did you get into the hobby of longboarding?
During the Circuit Breaker period, my friends were teaching me how to ride a bicycle and one of them, who has been longboarding for many years, brought his longboard over. I tried longboarding and realised that I liked it better than learning how to ride a bicycle. I eventually got my own longboard because I’m interested in the sport and I enjoy it. It gets you active. 

What’s the thing that you enjoy the most about longboarding?
Freedom, maybe? When you cruise, it’s very freeing and it relieves stress. You can also do tricks on the longboard, whether you want to do the flips or the dances that are more feminine.  I think there’s a lot of flexibility in the sport.

I like the camaraderie of the longboarding community. At the start, I didn’t know anyone in the community. I randomly went to Marina Bay Sands and started joining in with others and making friends. There’s this group called the Long Board Girls Crew Singapore (@LGCSG) on Instagram. They are a group of girls who meet on the last weekend of every month to longboard together. Longboarding and skateboarding can be very scary to women initially, because it’s like a men’s or boy’s sport. So I think it’s great that there’s this group of women who support each other. 

What’s the most cherished item in your wardrobe?
Something that crossed my mind straightaway is everything that my Grandma has knitted because it’s handmade. My Grandma knits a lot. From young, we would receive things like tops and jackets from her. I can’t really wear them out much in Singapore because it’s so hot. Sometimes I will, but I will get very sweaty after that. I’m very close to my grandparents.

What’s something that you’ve learnt from your grandparents or something that they do that you’ve carried on till today?
The importance of family, because my extended family meets at my grandparents’ place every weekday for dinner. Having grown up seeing my extended family every single day, I feel the importance of strong family support. I think that this is something that I will carry with me, even if my grandparents are not around anymore.