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The thought about being a landscape architect never once crossed my mind as I was growing up.<\/p>\n
I didn’t spend my younger days thinking about how great it could be if I could be one \u2013 to spend my time designing gardens, parks and pockets of greens; carrying T-squares, measuring tape, wearing a hardhat and safety boot\u00a0and all. So what made me write that down when it came to choosing what I wanted to do in university?<\/p>\n
It was simple \u2013 I didn’t want to be stuck in a lab doing\u00a0experiments (that’s all\u00a0I thought\u00a0scientists-to-be did back then). And I didn’t want to spend my time purely in lecture halls hashing out theories and being spoon-fed formulas. I wanted to learn about art and design, and that course was my one and only ticket.<\/p>\n
Oh sure, I could hear you ask \u2013 why not just go to a college where you can pay to learn exactly what you want? I got an entry into the local university; and where I come from, to get that was as good as if you had struck lottery. The price of a degree at a private college could cost up to 10 times more than it did at a local university. I wasn’t about to go in debt by choosing to go to a private college, and I didn’t want to\u00a0let my parents worry about\u00a0funding expensive tuition fees only to get a piece of paper I might not end up using in the end (I was being realistic).<\/p>\n
So I chose the best route to go about it. I knew I liked art and design \u2013 and if I were to chose a course within that university, the only one that was available to me was landscape architecture. I could learn about the fundamentals of art and design in a studio environment, I had access to art teachers and designers, I had more flexibility in how I scheduled things (studio-based classes meant that you had plenty of time to experiment with ideas); and I didn’t have to worry about money so much.\u00a0I told myself I would\u00a0figure out the rest later.<\/p>\n
Four years later, when it came to deciding what I wanted to do after I graduated, I gave myself 6 months \u2013 it\u00a0was when we had to be an intern at a real consultancy firm. The rules I gave myself were simple: give it my best shot, and if I still didn’t feel that it suited me, then I’m free to do whatever that I wanted. Six months passed \u2013 the boss’ firm passed me with flying colours and\u00a0told others that I was one of the best interns he’s ever worked with. I left, happy.<\/p>\n
It was also the last time I was a landscape architect.<\/p>\n
“Why did you give up your degree?” was the common question I had in that first year after I graduated. “It was four years \u2013 all wasted, down the drain,” said others. Even my father was at a loss \u2013 he couldn’t understand why I would give up being a landscape architect. I could have a good job, a stable career. A title. I could be a professional. I could be Amy Ng, the<\/em>\u00a0Landscape Architect. I didn’t blame them at all \u2013 they didn’t know why I did it.<\/p>\n But I did.<\/p>\n Because when I went into the university to do\u00a0a course on landscape architecture, I wasn’t looking to just be a landscape architect. I was looking to learn<\/em><\/strong>. I absorbed everything like a sponge \u2013 even the stuff that people didn’t care about. I inhaled snippets of knowledge and sniffed it out whenever I could. Lecturers were held hostage as I left them a barrage of questions. Little wonder that when it came time to decide to narrow down a focus for my final project, I went with campus design. I loved learning that<\/em>\u00a0much.<\/p>\n I went to the library often. I didn’t just go there to scoop up the latest architecture tomes \u2013 I went in to borrow books on art, illustration, cooking, exercise, writing\u00a0and\u00a0technology; all because I was curious. I maxed out my book limit every time because I there were so many things I wanted to know. I didn’t know where all of this digging\u00a0would lead me, but I knew that deciding on a destination just because I was handed a ticket\u00a0seemed silly.<\/strong><\/p>\n Instead, I wanted to make my own fate. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. And when I look at myself right now I’m still figuring it out \u2013 just like everyone else. I try hard to not\u00a0confine myself to anyone else’s definition of success, and to stay true to myself by constantly asking myself what I want. Being happy was always my goal \u2013 and I’ve been incredibly lucky on that front. Somedays I still pinch\u00a0myself\u00a0to see if I’m dreaming.<\/p>\n So for\u00a0those who feel as though they’ve been handed a curveball in life, or that they aren’t in the place\u00a0that they want to be \u2013 I want to tell you this: you can’t control the\u00a0cards you’ve been dealt, but you sure can change how you choose to deal with\u00a0it.<\/strong><\/p>\n Oh, and no\u00a0one ever asks me about that degree anymore.<\/p>\n SHARE WITH ME:<\/strong><\/p>\n Have you ever been in a less than ideal situation? How did you make the best of it? Share your story with me below in the comments!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n ** NOTE: This post isn’t mean to\u00a0discourage people to not go to private university or art school \u2013 I think that if you can then it’s great, but more importantly, for whatever reason at all that you can’t, it shouldn’t be the excuse that you\u00a0use to not be able to get ahead.\u00a0My experience and my views are strictly<\/span>\u00a0personal \u2013 \u00a0being where I am (Malaysia), this is how I chose to deal with my lot, so it bears repeating that my\u00a0challenges\u00a0may be different from yours.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n[Illustration by Eleanor Taylor<\/a>]<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"