"The little voice inside you that seems cannot be silenced, is meant to be heard."

If I didn't listen to my inner voice 12 years ago, I would have become a doctor.

Cool, huh? Who doesn't want to be a doctor? It is regarded as the "ultimate profession" by the folks in my tiny little town. It was so prestigious that SIXTEEN of my classmates in high school attended medical school - that is 1/4 of the students of the Science Program (IPA). If you're a doctor, guaranteed that everyone here will treat you like you're god.

I was "supposed" to be a "god" too. My parents sold one of our houses to finance my medical study in China. I had done all the tests required for a visa application. I polished my Chinese for 3 months straight. I was ready to go.

A week before the visa application deadline, I told my mom that I wanted to be a DESIGNER. The little voice within me told me that I would not enjoy the study AT ALL. "You hate memorising", it said. " And those medical books are brick-thick. Imagine having to memorise all of them". I was so uninterested I was sure to fail. That little voice told me something else: "You love DRAWING". And it was right. Since I was a kid, I love visual graphics and I think I'm quite talented on that as well. The voice told me to choose "the other way".

I told my parents that I changed my mind.

My parents were FURIOUS. They would only allow me to an art school ONLY if I could finance the study myself. 

I sent my application to an art school and was offered 100% scholarships.

In my second semester, my father had a stroke. We lost the breadwinner. The houses and cars are gone. My mother struggled to finance me and my sister. I kept winning scholarships each semester - something that rarely exists in medical school - to the point where I almost paid ZERO for my education. Fast forward 5 years later, I won ANOTHER scholarship to study design in Australia. I finished both schools on time. I've worked as a designer with various clients, local and overseas. With the money, I renovated my parents' house. I have the time to do my other hobby - which is writing - because as a designer, I can allocate plenty of free time. I won the Watty Awards in 2019.

In 2020, COVID shook all of us. If I was a doctor, I would have to work in a hospital and would have probably DIED by now. I wouldn't be able to work from home, something that I do now.

I didn't write this part to brag. What I truly want to say is, IF I ignored that little voice in me 12 years ago, I wouldn't enjoy the abundant life I have now. Thanks to its faint but persistent whisper, I become who I am today.

It is called "the whisper of the heart" for a reason: because it is truly coming from your heart. It voices the wish of your soul - the purest only thing that you want.

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