BEYOND TANGIBLE SKILLS
Even with my certainty, it wasn’t smooth sailing during the three-year course, especially during the times my GPA dipped, and I was reminded that I needed to get my grades up.
But those periods of self-doubt showed me what it meant to be accountable for my choices and their possible consequences.
It also prompted deeper reflection of my skills and the career I wanted, making me realise I hadn’t really thought about the purpose of going to university aside from fulfilling my parents’ wishes. So I took a gap year after polytechnic.
When I landed a spot in a local university eventually, I opted out of Honours year despite the probability of obtaining a second upper based on my grades. I didn’t see its purpose in pursuing a journalism career, and I was done with letting conventional measures of success shape my life.
Polytechnic life had revealed a version of success that worked for me. The culture was creative, chaotic, unconventional, but it was also supportive and helped me see that weaknesses can be turned into strengths in the right environment.
My traits that made secondary school a chore, such as being easily bored and a disdain for rigidity, were encouraged. My obsession with popular culture wasn’t seen as time wasted online, but relevant to myriad school projects.
And despite their initial reservations, my parents grew to appreciate the value of polytechnic education – and letting me make major decisions – when they saw how much I’d learnt and that I truly enjoyed school.
My time in polytechnic showed me what happens when I listen to my instincts about my own life. It taught me resilience, resourcefulness and street smarts, time and expectation management, how to think out of the box, adapt when things didn’t go according to plan, and be an excellent generalist.
It also set the benchmark for the top criteria I look for in a career and workplace environment: Somewhere I can be myself. And more than a decade after graduating from polytechnic, I have it now.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with any specific path after secondary school, as long as you own the choice. Two or three years can be a painfully long time to live out someone else’s dream.
But knowing what to choose first requires an abundance of self-knowledge, from being aware of your passions to how you learn, and the willingness to explore various options, whether through career exploration programmes or doing your own research.
Despite everything I’ve gained by choosing a polytechnic, it was only the second-best decision I made at 17. The best decision was choosing to trust myself.
Grace Yeoh is a senior journalist with CNA.