Dear...

  Dear future self,               How are you? Please tell me you are already married to SUGA from BTS. Hahahaha just kidding. Or am I? (insert nervous laughter). Jokes aside, I’m writing this to you to remind you of certain things from the past so that you don’t repeat the same mistakes in the future. I cannot change the past, so the only thing I can do is try to change my future.               Firstly, stop being lazy. Just stop. Remember when you did all your assignments last minute? With the memory of a goldfish, I know you probably don’t. Start your assignments early. Finish your work before watching anime. Draw more and practice drawing in digital platforms. I know you are probably playing game now, and procrastinating. STOP! STOP IT. Go do your work so you can sleep knowing you did something productive today.               Next, do not be scared to try new things. I know that you are constantly putting off certain things because you fear what others would say. No matter how much

  Dear Malaysians,               How was your Teh Tarik today? Did you get stuck in traffic when going to work or school? Did you wake up at an ungodly hour just to avoid traffic jam? If yes, then our lives are not that different. It is not a surprise since we live in a collectivistic country. Collectivism is the belief that the interest of the group prevails over the interest of the individual (Scott, 2018, para. 14). This is probably the reason why we are acting the same way since there is a lack of individualism which is the belief that the interests of the individual prevail over the interests of the group (Scott, 2018, para. 15).               Is it bad that our country is a collectivistic one? Not really. As a collectivistic individual, we tend to prioritise our community more than ourselves. For example, we are more likely to take care of our parents when they grow old and sacrifice our own needs compared with individualistic people. We tend to think about the society and the gr