Rolling On

Tell us more about yourself and what you do for work.
My name is Eunice, and I work as a journalist at CNA. I’ve been working tirelessly for the whole month, so I’ve taken the day off to relax and catch-up on some reading.

What desk are you a part of at CNA?
I write for CNA Today, which is the weekend version of CNA. I write stories about social issues.

Some of the stuff I’ve recently written about are young adults who have gone no contact with their parents, the last kampong in Singapore, and Singapore’s falling literacy rates in English.

That’s interesting! Now we must ask you more about your outfit because we love the whole grunge look you’ve got going on!
Yeah, I like punk, emo, and goth styles. I just bought these pants online actually, and my top was thrifted from a shop in Peninsula Plaza. I was writing a piece on thrifting, and as I was writing and researching for the story, I bought this shirt!

How did you discover your style?
When I was a teenager, I listened to a lot of emo and punk music. I really identified not only with the style, but also with their non-conformist beliefs about being different from society and always challenging the status quo. This mindset and aesthetic really appealed to me, so I adopted this look and started experimenting more when I was 12 or 13.

What about your haircut? What inspired this particular look?
I actually had a different hairstyle for eight years—a one-sided punk look shaved like Cyberpunk 2077, but about three months ago, I felt like I needed a change, so I decided to o for this mullet style. It’s still not long enough at the back though, so I’m still growing that out.

It’s really interesting that you have such an anarchist style but are working for state media. How do you balance this contrast?
I guess I still need to eat at the end of the day, right? (laughs) But actually, I’ve always wanted to become a journalist. In some of my stories, I try to challenge existing narratives. I previously freelanced for Rice Media and wrote some stories about aromantics—people who have little to no romantic attraction towards others. And in my recent CNA story about cutting off ties with parents, I did try to challenge the notions of filial piety. But of course, in state media, you can’t really go too far with the things you say.

Yeah, there’s always a fine balance to toe in this aspect in the public sphere. One last question: what are your hopes or resolutions this year?
I want to travel more. I went to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia last year and experienced a very different lifestyle, and realised how much I’m living in a bubble in Singapore. There are such limited experiences we can go through, and people we can meet here, and don’t even get me started on the dating scene here—I just can’t stand it in Singapore!

So now that I’ve rediscovered the value of travelling, I really want to get out more and travel to different countries, even lesser-known places in the world. This year, I’m going to Armenia and Georgia.

Since I like to tell stories, another goal I have is to start using my camera more to make short documentaries or vlogs about my travel experiences. I also want to do more authentic travelling and not follow a tour group anymore. I found this website called Worldpackers where you can stay at people’s houses all over the world for free in exchange for helping out with the chores or volunteering with them—it’s something I want to try out this year!