Perfect Imperfections
It’s one more month till the year-end, but our cover star Datin Dian Lee’s interview has put me in a reflective mode. Do you remember what it’s like to be in your 20s? Her story will make you reminisce about your own experience—looking back, you think you knew what you’re doing, but in actuality, you’re dealing with a lot of insecurities as you try to find out who you really are. I once came across these poignant words: ‘Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.” I learned this late, and only started being more comfortable in my own skin, and at peace with who I really am, towards the tail-end of my 30s. It’s a fact that girls and boys are raised differently. From young, boys are taught to be brave and to rough it out in the playground while girls are raised to be perfect and act like a lady. This has hardwired women to play it safe, and to always get it right or go bust. Therefore as adults, they tend to gravitate towards careers and professions they know they’re going to be great in, whereas men don’t overthink things when considering to take on a new role or negotiating a raise. In her line of work, Resha Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code, noticed a big difference between boys and girls. When struggling with an assignment, the boys will say, “Professor, there is something wrong with my code.” In contrast, the girls will say, “Professor, there is something wrong with me.” So during her speech at Tedtalks, Resha couldn’t be more right when she said, “I need each of you to tell every young woman you know to be comfortable with imperfection.” Imagine the freedom of being unshackled from this self-limiting thought! Imagine unleashing the power that has always been within you. I may not have a daughter, but I can still encourage other young women under my care and those I meet, to embrace their imperfections and own their power, and then watch them bloom. — Elizabeth Soong Managing Editor