You-Want's Life

The potential and impact of leveraging journalism in advocacy have no limit.  From picking the right stories to tell to transcending passion in changemaking or challenging perceptions that lie comfortably within social norms through our output - the value exists in creating avenues that expand perspectives and unlock further potential in our audience's own awareness journey. The work is intricate, exhausting and more often than not, the direct impact is difficult to trace and measure. Yet, Charisma Movement (CM) has grown exponentially to embrace journalism- tapping into strong partnerships, diversifying the way we engage with the public and executing projects that were deemed undoable to many.  When I first joined the Journalism Department in Term 22/23, it was out of sheer interest to explore how exactly words and curation of online reading resources can play a role in making advocacy a more accessible concept to youths. I was curious about issues relevant to the Malaysian c...

In so many ways, I think this poetry collection was born from a different space. In the past, my poems had always been written at the exact points in time when certain feelings were experienced the most intensely. Fresh and timely were all the words that came within the curiosity, anxiety, and excitement that danced in my head. I would scribble away on packed trains, wake up in the middle of the night and drop everything at work to have my words or ideas recorded, as soon as a wave of emotions hit me. Over the past year, my approach to writing poetry has evolved to be more inquisitive in a retrospective lens. All past moments or events that were ever replayed in my head get sieved through my current perspectives. To my surprise, I was then able to better decipher the root causes of concern, evaluate the outcomes, and assess my reactions and feelings towards them. Perhaps, I simply had had more time in the wee hours to think about my life, or maybe I had grown to manage my emotions bett...