avatarAshley

Summarize

About Me — Ashley

Musician, dancer, generalist, lifelong student and so much more. Also, I’m finally posting a proper ‘About me’ story.

Source — Girl Silouette Profile picture, also my display picture

After 2 weeks or so of ruminating (endlessly editing) over this story plus the writing break I’ve been taking (kinda, I still think about writing and ideas whenever it comes to mind), I’m finally putting this out! Yes, gonna put this intro in here to commemorate so I can look back. Also kinda hoping this would help start my writing momentum. Okay, let’s go!

General about me

INFP describes my personality type pretty well. But if you’re an astrology person, I’m a Taurus born in May. My birthday aligns with Korea’s children’s day. And if you didn’t know, now you also know Adele and Superman, Henry Cavil’s birthday!

I know my birthday coincides with Korea’s children’s day because my friend from Korea back in secondary school used to remind me of this all the time. Also, can’t remember how I found out about Adele’s birthday, but it was probably done with a Google search out of curiosity or by chance. I definitely did not Google famous birthdays for this article for other names to include that did not make it (okay, but I did thought it’d be cool to include Superman, though).

It also doesn’t help that I look younger than my age. My friends and I still joke about buying clothes from the kids’ section or being eligible for rides (yes I am!) and kids’ meals (when I should’ve ordered it that one time when I was asked, so I could save money…).

So my birth date matches me…pretty well I’d say!

I’m 4’10 (1.45m), sometimes 4’11 (1.47m) — though not sure if it’s my spine or the digital measuring scale. And Yes, I still often feel like the kid in the room among adults, even/especially at 22.

I’m 22 and currently residing in Singapore. My family and I frequently travel to Malaysia to visit my maternal side of the family. I’ve visited 2 other countries around Asia for a school and a family trip, and have had (probably still kinda do) dreams of living in Australia because of my love for animals — except the giant spiders I’ve heard of. But otherwise, PLEASE TAKE ME THERE!).

I remember telling my mom I’d wish to migrate to another country for a year or two at least, just to experience life outside of Singapore.

I also wish to visit many places in Europe (well, it’s Europe, you know why), especially the ones with rich music history like Austria, ltaly, Germany, France and so on. Also Taiwan for their famous street FOOOOD, and sooo many other countries.

I’d love to have my family (mom, dad, and one younger bro) with me for all of these places as well. My mom would love them all so much. Not sure about the two dudes, but I’d still love to bring them along for the family trip.

Studies/Career stuff

I’m currently doing my undergraduate bachelor’s degree in music. Specifically, classical music performance as a piano major. I’m in my last year in college, and I’ll be graduating in July 2023! I love playing other genres as well as I do dabble in pop and jazz (cries in jazz is so difficult to play) as well.

I started off self-taught. Because well, lessons are expensive. I worked hard for the money and paid for lessons (still am) once I turned 16 and started working after I took my ‘O’ levels. I later decided to pursue it full-time because I was relentless in my pursuit and hard work, so I figured I won’t have a problem working hard for it.

Also, I really wanna be good at playing the piano. Kinda like virtuosic, to be exact. I know I started late, so virtuosity is even harder, but it’s a goal of mine that I’m willing to take a lifetime to learn and take steps towards that. More on my piano journey here.

If you’re a musician/music lover too, I’d love for us to connect even more! :)

But besides piano stuffs, I’ve also done music production, songwriting, music arrangement and stuffs like that. I think they’re all pretty cool, though I realised I still come back to the piano more.

I never imagined I’ll become a piano teacher cause I never wanted to be in a classroom my whole life. But now I teach piano privately to little kids. I love interacting with kids and I now try my best to learn how to teach music to them. It’s not my dream job, but it’s a ‘good enough’ job to me.

I’ve explored different career paths thus far. Roles like:

  • film composer’s assistant (I wanted to compose music for films)
  • administrator in music school (I wanted to own one at some point)
  • veterinary assistant (I wanted to be a vet)
  • journalist/podcaster/writer — yeap, all in one role. More on this later (just cause I have writing and audio production skills, so why not?)

But I do think these experiences have been really cool to me, and this combination of skills (however basic or not), knowledge and experiences makes me unique.

It feels like I say this all the time on one of my own Substack publications, but I love making lists, and you’ll see several lists in this story as well.

Onto the cooler section where I show off cool stuff

Some cool things I’ve done before. Some of which I’ve said somewhere in some of my stories and I can’t remember which, mostly from roles I’ve explored.

  • Written music for two scenes in a local feature film (not out yet)
  • Worked on the music and sound design for several short films
  • Wrote songs and recorded demos with artists
  • Did the sound effects for a local exhibition (displayed in one of the malls in the central of Singapore)
  • Conducted a student symphony orchestra
  • Attended two film premieres in total
  • got a role as a podcast producer and produced two podcast episodes
  • interviewed a few local musicians (singer songwriters, music producers)
  • Covered and published articles about 2 events as a journalist
  • Met and interviewed a former NASA astronaut for an event and episode
  • Written 3 articles for a local magazine
  • Been an extra (as a passerby, LOL) in two scenes of a short film — idk, seems pretty cool to me. It was part of the job cause the company worked on film too. I just happened to be there.

All of these were from 2 internship roles, one as a film composer assistant and another as a podcast producer/writer/journalist). I’ve attended one film premiere for each.

On Medium,

  • I’ve interviewed and connected with many writers all over the world and even made some international friends! I even got to interview and connect with writers whose works I’ve always admired.
  • Been invited to become an editor more than once (how cool! And yes, it’s a brag (so humble). Thank you, you know who you are!)

Cool things that has happened to me:

  • Does Adam Grant liking my tweet count? Emilie Wapnick liked my tweet too. The one with the multipotentialite quiz result.
  • Dushka Zapata, one of my favourite writers I discovered on Quora, liked and replied to my tweets cause I tweeted about loving the work she publishes.
  • Oh, a big one. I can’t forget that The Script’s official band account and Glen Power (their drummer) follow me on my personal Twitter account (yes, these are all verified accounts and it’s legit!). This was after I liked a tweet or two posted by Glen on either his, or the band’s account before I received the two notifications. I’ve never screenshotted SO quickly and excitedly.

My many hobbies and interests

A part of me that I take pride in is being a scanner/generalist/jack of all trades, and I’ve grown to love that topic a lot since I’ve resonated with it my whole life. I have tons of many other hobbies and can never focus on just one or two things. Let me list the current ones, all 10 for you. This list excludes writing cause that’s a separate section for later.****

1. I’m a musician.

I grew up loving music before I knew that. Besides being able to play the piano and guitar, I enjoy listening to various musical genres including:

  • Pop — there’s a very special place for ballads in my heart
  • K-pop (despite the bad rep, not all of us are crazy)
  • Mandopop (which I grew up with)
  • R&B (most perfect for rainy days during my commutes. This combination somehow warms my heart and makes me smile)
  • Rock, orchestra and classical (but only when I’m in the mood for these).

I play the piano and the acoustic guitar. At my craziest phase at 13, I wanted to also learn the violin, cello, electric guitar, ukulele, drums and saxophone. That’s 6 other instruments on top of the two that I play. This was when I was still learning both piano and acoustic guitar on my own. But I’ve not touched the guitar seriously in years, though I’m still able to strum some chords.

2. I’ve been a dancer for 12/22 years of my life so far.

I’m actively learning Latin ballroom since I first took it up in 2018 and later resumed in 2020 after a long break.

But I recently took up the quest to attend classes of different genres. I briefly took up contemporary and hip hop in my earlier school days, but recently took up a class on street jazz (A LOT, A LOT of fun. Will return!).

I’m currently looking to explore more street dance styles like popping, locking, more contemporary, jazz, fusion, and even tap! Just need to work my schedule out a little bit better for each of these…but exploring new genres sound super exciting.

3. I’d like to think I’m okay at Badminton.

I played decently against someone on the school team back in secondary school during PE class (I was 13 then). But I tend to need a little bit of time to warm up at the start of the match before you see my true ability! I’ve since become a little rusty though, since I stopped playing regularly years ago.

I wanted to become a badminton athlete at some point in my childhood! I still wanna get better and learn that smacking technique. I’m not sure if that’s the proper term. It’s just what I call it. See, that’s why I’m not a badminton athlete. (kidding)

It’s my favourite sport that I learned at age 9 or 10 in school.

4. Calligraphy

I’m still working on it. Not sure how I got into it at first, but I got really obsessed at some point and started buying stuff but left them untouched when I couldn’t figure out some stuffs. Years later (aka this year), I bought more stuff and started practising seriously with books, the right ink, and all that. I’m currently learning the Copperplate style, which I’m totally in love with!

3. Drawing

I’m better at copying drawings than drawing from imagination. But I just wanna learn how to shade and sketch well, and I’ll be satisfied!

4. Painting

I recently fell in love again after an art jamming session after graduating from primary school when we painted in art classes. I learned to trust the process when I art jammed.

Just a recent anecdote. I made a mistake and bought a 2.25 inches square canvas recently cause I overestimated the size of the 5.7cm facepalm. But it’s soooo tiny I love it so much. It’s super adorable. I’ve been lazy to get to painting, but I can’t wait for the end result already — just let me dream (by that, I mean procrastinating). It’s now sitting on my desk as a little decor on top of the tiny easel that came with it.

5. Embroidery

I lost patience in the middle of my second project but I’m looking to get back since I have an unfinished and an untouched one…so hopefully soon!

6. I’m a home barista wannabe

I have a love-hate relationship with coffee. It makes me choose between sleeping at 5am and a normal sleeping schedule (and what’s that again?).

But the satisfaction of making a drink all on your own is *chefs kiss*. I bought stuff recently and tried making a mocha latte a few weeks ago. Not the best (definitely not the best looking either) but hmmm I’d like to think it’s passable. And nope, I do not own a coffee machine, though that’d be cool one day. Just not a priority now.

But recently, I made a vanilla latte that I’m absolutely in love with. I even took a few sips secretly even when I told my mom I’ll leave some for her. I’ve since made a few more times, and I just have to say that I’m satisfied with it. I also made mocha and caramel latte. It was a nightmare at first, but it definitely got better after the first attempt once I stopped winging the measurements and used the weighing scale for proportions.

Two hobbies I’d love to pick up someday:

  1. Rock climbing — cause the one at the playground was fun as a kid, and I’d love to try out the real deal. Gonna book a climbing session soon.
  2. Horse riding — but it’s super expensive! So maybe just a dream for now, till I can afford to try it out for once. This was inspired by a temporary childhood dream of being a horse trainer and groomer. (Yes, my career aspirations changed ever so often!)

Well, I believe that after seeing this list and reading the rest of this story, you’ll know for sure that I hope for more than 24 hours in a day (and money)! More days in a week works for me too, as long as I get to do everything eventually!

To break it to you, exploring and doing everything I’m curious about and love until I reach my personal goals for each of these activities is my life goal! Yes, all of these things, and possibly more in the future. This whole pursuit makes me happy and fulfils me.

Moving onto my writing stuff,

I can’t remember how I discovered Medium. But I was a reader for a month or two before being frustrated with my limited monthly reads before I signed up before my reading list piled on further. It still did anyway, by multiple folds. Not long after, I was tempted to try writing on this platform since I could. Months later, here I am!

I’m an editor for two amazing pubs, Plethora of Pop and About Me Stories. I love exploring and contributing.

I’m kinda stuck between being anonymous on Medium or not. A handful of friends (you know who you are!) here know my IRL identity, including fellow editors. A couple of Medium friends — 5 specifically, that I can currently think of, have my IRL socials handles too.

I don’t mind my friends on Medium knowing my identity (Well, I’m not famous and don’t do bad things?). But I do mind having the people in my real life circle know about the things that I write online because I’m a private person and I like my thoughts to be that way too.

Also, I enjoy the freedom of writing whatever I want and not having it affect my personal/professional life in any way too. I mean, I’m not reckless/irresponsible or anything, there’s just a different level of freedom for me, and I want it that way (please tell me you sang that line).

I also kinda blur them sometimes. But that’s when I say screw it and don’t care to fully hide it. It gets tiring, but I won’t have it any other way. Paradox.

Also, the people around me aren’t Medium members. (which you can sign up in that link and it’ll support all writers here at no additional cost from you! :)

I’m okay with revealing certain info (like in this and other stories I’ve published so far) here, but I don’t think I’m ready yet to link my identity in real life with the writer that I am on Medium. I think I will someday. Just not today. I mean, they’re both real, but just different sides of me, y’know? I know I will censor a lot more if I were to be me online, and I currently really enjoy this freedom and don’t wish to take it away. I don’t share pieces of info that are private or sensitive. But being a private person, nope, it’s not for me. Also, I wish to write about anything and anyone, not in a bad way, but I think you’ll know what I mean if you write online too.

Ironic, I know, but it’s been working well for me, and I’m most comfortable with this right now. This might change someday, I don’t know. We’ll see.

Despite all that, Ashley is my first name IRL! My surname and photo just aren’t displayed here (unless you got my email then okay you win. That contains my surname). But I’m still the Ashley that you know! Also, I just don’t have enough nice photos for online profiles.

Regarding my topics on Medium: you could check out my lists for specific categories. But I would say personal essays as the general umbrella term. I sometimes write about music from a musician’s pov (also featured some of my playlists) and being a generalist.

I don’t write for money. I did at some point but later preferred to take it slow without the pressure of writing and publishing every week. I’d love to write when I want to, not just when I have to. I wanna keep writing something mostly stress-free, something that makes me happy and a channel to express myself instead of stressing over income. The little income is a bonus. I really don’t make that much to make a big difference anyway. Maybe just a few meals at my best, but that’s it. And for that, I’m very lucky and grateful.

My writing goals are very simple. I hope to keep doing what I do, whether on Medium or Substack for a long time, even after I start working full-time. I really love the work that I currently do with my writing. Connecting with other writers has helped me make friends with them and promote their work (which is ultra meaningful to me). And writing what I love to me is self-expression and creativity.

I also love sharing stories and think that having readers who appreciate and love my work is a big bonus. Especially when they tell me they’re inspired by my words and stories!

Links to my two Substack pubs: Pub on curated 5-minute inspiring content and music pub where I nerd about all things music.

Also, like many other writers, writing and publishing a book is my ultimate goal! I love reading books. I did start writing an ebook in January on being a generalist/jack of all trades inspired by the articles I’ve already written about the topic. It’s a topic I’ve grown to be really interested in, and even passionate about. But I later felt that I wasn’t ready to write the book yet.

The content didn’t feel good enough to me. I’ve had less than half a draft ready, but I’m postponing it to when I’m ready to dedicate my full attention, maybe after I graduate from school next year to relook at it and look for better and more helpful content to include in my book. Also, I’m hoping for it to be a full-length book instead of a short ebook, which currently seems to be the case.

We’ll see how this goes. It’s definitely a project in mind that I’d love to make it happen. I’ll update here again!

Throwing in some random facts about me cause I felt like it — these just randomly popped up in my head as I outlined the points for this post (across several sittings):

  1. The beach is one of my favourite places to go, even though I don’t go there very often since they tend to be far from my place. I tend to not go there alone too (for some reason). I love listening to the waves and feeling the breeze. It just feels so relaxing and I tend to feel the most present at the moment when I’m there compared to elsewhere. It feels meditative to me.
  2. I’m not a gamer, but I’ve been playing the Sims Freeplay very on and off for almost 10 years now, and I just started again recently. Just felt like including this in cause I just sent my sims off to work in between outlining this story. Might stop once I’ve had enough of the never-ending quests again, like always.
  3. I love binge-watching recipe videos. Even more so when I’m sick. I could binge them all day and start a list of food cravings that I never get to, even after recovery. I still haven’t gotten my grilled cheese toast since getting covid from May/June. You know, just to demonstrate my point.
  4. I’ve always wanted to run a sanctuary or rescue shelter for animals once I retire. I researched and know it’s not that easy, so I might just focus on fostering, especially older animals, when I can afford it. This has been a dream since I was younger since I really love animals and wanna help them. When we could choose any topic to present, I once talked about animal cruelty, specifically in product testing in school!

And just in case you’re wondering (or not) — Nah, I’m not that busy. I love my off-days too much to sacrifice them. I just love doing things that I love (and I happen to love many things). I space some of these things out from time to time so that I’ll have days off and time to rest and be fully committed to what I do! I also don’t follow a tight schedule since I prefer flexibility when deciding what to do and when to do them.

Also, I am kinda lazy, as much as I’d love to be more hardworking to do everything all the time!

My profile article (also pinned to my profile):

List of more stories about me for easier access:

To join me on more life journeys and to explore more ideas together, click here to keep in touch. Let’s connect on Twitter as well!

If you’re sick and tired of having only 3 reads per month and want more, here’s where to sign up for a Medium Membership to access all great stories from all writers on Medium, including the aforementioned ones. I remember how frustrating it is to only have 3 reads per month when you have hundreds of great stories waiting for you in your reading list.

About Me
Ashley
Profile Story
Writers On Medium
Introduction
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