From Architecture to Global Studies: Part 2

I needed time to discover what made my heart sing. For a year, I read books after books – about other people’s lives, about writing, about personal finance, about politics in Singapore, and about social issues. I realized that I liked to learn new things. If there were such a thing as a paid professional student, I’d fit snuggly in its shoes. I admired how the authors of those books commanded insight and eloquence. They combined their disciplines – politics, sociology, statistics, journalism - with good writing to frame how they see the world.

In order to get there, though, I needed to choose a new discipline. So research begins. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in the National University of Singapore offered a program that allows me to study multiple disciplines across the social sciences. The major, Global Studies (I like to call it the rojak major), is meant to expose students to a variety of issues and ways of thinking; to bridge disciplines that our education system has boxed up into majors. The program later lets me specialize in fields I develop an interest in – whether more in politics, or more in economics, or more in business. In sum, I get to read about many things.

This major trains me to think critically through the lens of politics, economics, and business. Hopefully, one day, I’d have my own informed perspectives in these areas, and I can participate in the conversation.

So, does politics or economics make my heart sing? Yes. I enjoy the study of power play and its relationship to the economy. These forces, to a large extent, govern our lives and I find satisfaction in understanding them. But honestly, I don’t love it as much as I loved architecture. There are days, when I’m writing longg essays, when I miss the color and dynamic of design. Nevertheless, I like seeing the world through the lens of politics and economics. I still got so much to learn. I had four years to learn the art of architecture; it’s only fair to give politics and economics another four years too right? Maybe I’d learn to love it as much.