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Oh, Graduation!

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Graduation ceremony was about a month back,
but been too busy with Fide Fashion Weeks and work in general,
so here are the pics,
better late than never!

Ena's Graduation Ena's Graduation

On my way to the venue, at expo. Fringe all pinned up, prepped for the mortar board. Wearing Urban Decay’s makeup fix spray for the first time and it worked wonderfully well. Also sporting one of my current fave lip colour, Maybelline’s Coloursensational in Fuschia Flash. I got the lippy when I was in UK and I think they rebranded it as Bold and Matte series in Singapore. I had on a coat of nude colour as the base so that the colour will stand out better and last longer. 🙂
Ena's Graduation Ena's Graduation Ena's Graduation

First time in a mortarboard! Definitely a milestone in life.
Ena's Graduation

With cutie Shella.

Ena's Graduation

O hai.

Ena's Graduation

It’s me again!
Personally I feel that these western graduation gowns were made to fit the western physical frames better and generally just overwhelm the more petite asian frames. Thank God for heels so that I can bask in my Harry Potter moment, heh.Ena's Graduation Ena's Graduation

With Adeline, from Kizuna trip, who is blessed with long legs! See how it looks like the gown’s made for tall frames like hers? 😉Ena's Graduation Ena's Graduation

With Shi !Ena's Graduation Ena's Graduation

w Sifra and Ashley! Not quite sure why Sifra and I have a shocked expression, LOL.
Ena's Graduation Ena's Graduation

With Des, also from Kizuna trip, who was part of the duo who designed the collaterals and paraphernalia for Graduation! So proud of him!Ena's Graduation Ena's GraduationEna's Graduation Ena's Graduation

Ena's Graduation

With bestie, Bini! :*
We’ve been through 3 years of Lasalle together and
we always talk about how we want our future to be like and
so many dreams and ambitions we want to accomplish.
We’ll continue to hold each other accountable to our dreams and
become the capable women that we aspire to be! <3Ena's GraduationWith Christabelle who is always a ball of fun and never fails to bring the entire room laughter! 
 Ena's Graduation

w Ade, Alex and Shao Jie, graduating Kizuna peeps!
It’s amazing how months ago we were all huddling in the cold of Japan and
in a blink of an eye, we’ve graduated!
Ena's Graduation Ena's GraduationA piece of gold paper slot in between each of the graduands’ booklet, folded to be released at the end of the ceremony.
It symbolizes how we’re now ready to take flight.

Ena's Graduation
 Probably only in LASALLE where you get dance faculty graduands pirouetting on stage when collecting their certs
and a STOMP performance by juniors at the end of it.
Ena's Graduation
 With PriyaEna's Graduation

Our sweet and super patient finance tutor Lawrence who says he never misses a graduation to see his students graduate,
which is his source of pride and joy.

Ena's Graduation

With tutors Lawrence, GIlles and Ginette!

Ena's Graduation

With our class girls and Circe!
Ena's Graduation

Our studio / business management tutor, Gilles!
Thanks for being ever patient with us and giving us unending advice and guidance.
Ena's Graduation
 And Circe! <3
For HK trip which was definitely an eye opener for us,
for teaching us how to deal with drama in our lives with a good laugh,
for your generosity, your love for art and believe in feminine power whilst staying as a beautiful woman and wife,
thank you.:)Ena's Graduation

With Pris, who is a wonderful dear, despite dramas and the years in school, remains as sweet as ever.
Stay that way and never let anyone steal your spirit. <3
Ena's Graduation

With Shi again!
It’s always a joy to do grp work w her cause she’s super conscientious
and parties are always fun with her!
Her bf took this pic for us, might not be long before we attend someone’s banquet? 😛
Ena's Graduation

WIth Mum and Pop
Always grateful to them for being cool parents in supporting me to go Arts college and study Fashion
Even tho it’s pretty rad even for my generation.
Mostly for believing in me and giving me the right biblical values in life.
I thank God for my family everyday.
My sissys were at work so they missed my graduation, I still love you guys ya!
Thanks for doting on your youngest sis and I will be happy to be forever your younger/est sis. 🙂

Graduation day was definitely one of the happiest day of my life,
equal parts thankful and happy to have gone through a rigorous study
and emerged not only with a cert that’s accredited by Goldsmith uni
but also a stronger person in my mind and spirit
with a clearer vision of lives and life
and with many friendships which will surely stay with me in this lifetime

Most of all,
Thank you God.
<3

Business, Inspiring

3 things no one told you before graduation

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graduation

I’ve penned several notes about work post graduation but just have not gotten down to compiling them into a sensible post on the blog until now. I’m wary about posting things too personal on the internet in general, lest I look back in the future and cringe at my past self. A bigger reason is of course I worry, tho I’d like to think them as unfounded, about people reading what I write and judging me for it. Which leads me to digress – why am I, or I believe why are we humans so fearful for others’ judgement on us? It isn’t to say that others’ opinions of us will make us more or less of whom we already are, if that makes sense to you.

So anyway, lengthy introduction aside, if I have not already bored you away, here goes my list of 3 things no one told you before graduation:

1. Be certain of uncertainty.

You know how in school we always have that next thing to look forward to? The next semester, the next exam, the next academic year, the next grade, etc.

But when you come to the working world you’ll find that things aren’t as clear cut. There isn’t (for most people or for me at least) a certain bar that you need to meet and pass before you rise up and go on to the next stage or level. Sure, some routes are tried and tested, perhaps you have a manager above you and you have an idea of how long you’ve got to work before you’ll rise to his level. But in the world of business (yes, so if you belong to the public sector this might not be that relevant to you), there is no guarantee. In worse case scenarios the company might go down but in the best case scenarios you might be promoted and be placed in higher position/s that comes with responsibilities perhaps more than you can manage.

2.  If you have a choice with whom you can work with, then pick people you’re comfortable with. 

Some of you reading this might go, “Jia En/Ena, isn’t that a “duh/ needless to state opinion” ? Yes, to many it’s common sense, but sometimes in the hustle and bustle and the thick of working life, we forget things. We think that just cause we have goals to meet and benefits to gain from another party, we simply have to suck it up and work with people are simply plain bad. That’s not true.

To elaborate, I’d like to humbly suggest for you to choose to work with accountable and responsible people. If you’re the person in charge, then you’d better be accountable and responsible. Choose to work with people you like and likes you back. I can’t emphasize enough how this mutual good feeling of the other party contributes to the success of a project.

3. Chances are, you’re the only one who feels for your dreams and ambitions and the only one responsible to make them come true.

Yes, keeping in line with the idealistic self in me, and thankfully still am at the young but not so tender age of 23, I still believe in having dreams and ambitions and making them come true.

It’s true. When you’re working for someone else, you’re working and helping them make their dreams come true. Unless your dream is to see the team and company succeed, then it becomes your dream as well.

But what about your dreams and ambitions? The truth is, no one else but you will be responsible for making them come true. If you don’t work on making your dreams come true, chances are, no one else will.

I’ve had a wake up call just recently, on one of the past day this week. I love what I’m doing now but being realistic and wanting to get on faster in the professional life is pointing me to another direction in life that I’ve previously turned down. Anthony Robbins once said, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve gotten.” And thus, to get what you don’t have, you’ll have to do what you’ve never done. And that my friends, is my wake up call. I want so many things in life, and I know that I have the capability to do so, but I need to take that big step and do it.

Cheers, to life, to knowledge and taking action!

xo

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