32 days

I don’t know where to even begin.

I raced at the Interstate Regatta yesterday, representing NSW. The women’s team had some crew changes and so they needed someone to row in the Women’s Single Scull and I was chosen. Initially I was reluctant to do it because I would be up against Australia’s best rower, Kim Brennan, and a few other Olympians and even an Olympic medallist. And then, I thought, there isn’t much opportunities like this that will come my way. Being possibly the only Singaporean ever to represent an Australian state in a major race, and racing with the World Champion, hey, WHY NOT? So I said yes, received the Team NSW kit which had some gear sponsored by Lululemon which were super pretty and put on my game face (and cap) and raced for NSW!

I came in 5th out of 6 boats, a bit far from the World Champion but hey, not everyday you get the bragging rights of racing next to her.

The Australian Champs came and went, which only means that the Asian Qualifiers are just around the corner- 32 days away to be exact. It is scary, it is going to be even scarier when I am in Korea knowing that THIS IS IT-  race that will determine if I make it to the Olympics or not. But hey, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I have 32 days to make sure that when I am at the starting blocks at that important race, I know that I’ve done all I can to prepare for it. 32 days to become the best version of myself.

I am super excited.

My new year resolution to enjoy every single moment of this journey has been one of the most successful resolutions I’ve ever made to date.

Even if the day involves a whole day of lying in bed (e.g. today- because it is the first Monday since the longest time I actually have no morning training), even if the day was awful (e.g. being stuck at the airport for 10 freaking hours- a story I will tell when the day comes), I love every bit of this journey that I am going through. I cannot express to you how much I love my life right now, and I’m saying this not for you to feel miserable about your life or for us to compare our lives (because I would feel the same way if we start comparing bank account balances). I am saying this because I made that life-changing decision to put my job aside and chase this crazy dream and it irks me when I hear stories about people hating their jobs but still doing it for years and years! So I’m saying this so that more people will start taking ownership of their lives, instead of letting it being dictated by somebody else!

The rule is simple, if something doesn’t make you happy, do something about it. We can’t afford to continue to live unhappily- what a waste of life to spend a day not enjoying what we do!

That fear that is stopping us from doing what we want to do, we gotta face it, accept it, and tell it to buzz off! Because there’s only so much time for us to do the things we want to do. It’s time to make full use of every single day that we have.

Oh and recently, I was awarded the SpexScholarship which will support my rowing career till the Asian Games 2018. This was amazing news for me because knowing that (finally) the financial issues that I’m constantly facing as an athlete has definitely lifted that burden off my shoulders. And this was the third year I tried applying for it. It was the same for the Peter Lim Scholarship which I received back in 2013. I was accepted only in my third attempt and the $10,000 which I received helped me survive in Sydney in preparation for the 2013 SEA Games- that game which changed my life forever (and I’m not even exaggerating when I said that!).

"It’s about letting the universe know what you want and working towards it while letting go of how it might come to pass." – Jim Carrey

32 days- LET’S DO THIS!