Page 37 - Final Project.indd

Starting something from a scratch makes you feel
less adequate than the people around you. Worse
still, I’m a year and a half behind on university
classes. Self-doubt is inevitable at this point in time;
I kept convincing myself that maybe I’m delusional
about not liking engineering. Why can’t I just
perceive cooking as a hobby?

The spark that started Nebula was that my urge
of wanting to make a career out of cooking kept
haunting me till months later, even with all the
obstacles I was facing from different life aspects;
whether family, socially or even when it comes to
Nebula’s launching phase, I still felt like I wanted
to continue on with it; it was more of an emotional
trigger than a decision.

Reactions

My mother was shocked at the fact that I’d take
such a hasty decision, based on love for cooking.
Dealing with her was relatively simple, as I found
a compromise by telling her that I won’t let my
passion for cooking affect my grades. My father,
on the other hand, objected, as he was convinced
that this is a job unfit for a man. “How on Earth will
I tell everyone that he left engineering to go make
cinnamon rolls?” My father always said. Over time,
their actions evolved from objections to attempts
of slowing me down and stopping me in every way
humanely possible from achieving what I want. They
even cut down my pocket money.

My colleagues, thought at first that it was just a
hobby. Once they thought of it as a serious career
path, they started seeing me as a second-class
citizen, according to the shortsighted social scope
they were looking through, as if it was a disgrace.
My friends were shocked as well, and started
wondering about the wasted resources dedicated
for the certificate that I may not use often in the
future. Wasteful as it may seem, my ultimate fear is
that I may graduate to become a corporate worker
who gets stuck in the corporate business for life;
this would be the true waste form my perspective.

Advice

If you are ever put in my shoes, don’t over plan. It
will only hinder your process. Once you think about
changing your career, do it. Have a sketch for what
you want, do your research but don’t spend too
much time running it through your head.

I have always been seen as the odd guy out,
but that is not necessarily a bad thing because I
truly am different. It’s neutral but I know I’m not
ordinary and I don’t really want to be an ordinary
guy, I merely want to reach my goal, and as Ellen
DeGeneres says while acting Dorey in Finding
Nemo, just keep swimming…

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