For this third part of Team Talk, we cosy up with Ann Nicole Ng, Her Campus (HC) Nanyang Tech’s Social Media Director. Keep reading to get to know her better!
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Hi Nicole! Please introduce yourself and your role in HC Nanyang Tech.
What’s up, I am Ann Nicole! I am a Year 3 English and Communication Studies undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Here at HC Nanyang Tech, I am the Social Media Director. As the title of my role suggests, I help curate and design posts for our social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Like the rest of our contributors, I also write articles on our site occasionally.
Which non-princess Disney character do you identify with?
Mushu, from Mulan!
When you’re having a bad day, what helps to turn it around? :)
Reminding myself to live and breathe in the present is truly the key to ridding away any of my worries, big or small. Some people do that by practising mindfulness, meditation, exercising, et cetera, and I recommend doing those too! However, my favourite way to focus on the present moment is having a little me-time and treating myself to a sumptuous meal. I am a foodie, so food makes me happy! Oh, and a good, campy comedy like Death Becomes Her never fails to put a smile on my face. :)
Up until early last year, I had a bad habit of sticking to the status quo and never trying out new activities or taking the initiative to learn new things. I attribute this partly to my perfection-seeking self — never try, never fail, right? Wrong.
I had an epiphany sometime last year, and I realised that I was deeply unsatisfied with myself and how certain events were unfolding in my life. I realised that I craved growth. What could I possibly do to change things? It took me a lot of therapy sessions, a few self-help books and videos to truly understand that the only change I needed to implement was within myself.
Then, I embarked on a self-growth journey of trying out new things, regardless of how uncomfortable it could be. For instance, I joined the school committee (which my past cynical self would have never done), I took up horse riding and volunteering, signed up for a research project and joined Her Campus, to name a few. This journey was not easy, and it still is not. Learning to push myself to do new things can be mentally draining, and sometimes, disheartening when you are challenged with rejections and failures. Sometimes, it is indeed tempting to give it all up and relish in my comfort zone (not going to lie, I have battled with this prospect a few times).
Yet, stepping out and placing myself in a position of self-growth is more rewarding than I have ever anticipated. When I look back and see how far I have grown in just a year, I am so proud of the person I am today! Now, it only feels right to challenge myself to unfamiliar territories in order to grow into the next best person I can be. This is what I have done to invest in myself.
Wow, this seems like a lifetime ago! Although it has been just two years, so many changes have happened since then. I would say that I would like to have been more involved in school activities, whether it’s joining a club or committee. I was admittedly up on my high horse thinking I did not need to be part of a community in university, that my time was better spent going home straight from school to have more free time.
Ironically, having ample free time would mean that I was often unproductive! I figured that my time could be better spent doing something meaningful in school and making new friends at the same time. I am not the same person I was two years ago and have realised that voluntarily being part of a community of like-minded people, working together towards the same goal is profoundly meaningful. But hey, I would not have known to do so then, given that my “epiphany” (see question 3.) occurred in the middle of my college journey. As such, I have no regrets. (:
What is a weird talent you have that many people are not aware of?
I am not sure if this counts as a talent, but I am pretty intuitive! I feel like I have a relatively good sense of how events are going to unfold or how someone’s personality or vibe is like. This is not to say I am like Raven (from That’s So Raven), I mean, I cannot predict the future!
I would say that this could be a manifestation from the water sign in me (fellow astrology lovers, anyone?). I am a Pisces, and we are known to be very sensitive and instinctive. This means we are highly attuned to people’s emotions and it could get emotionally exhausting. Our senior editor — giselle (who is also a Pisces!), reminded me that for us Pisceans, “it is both a blessing and a curse to feel everything so very deeply.” For me, I see this as a strength and not a weakness. (:
What are some bad habits you have that you would like to work on?
I have a bad habit of getting distracted by text messages and emails in the middle of conversations. According to my close friends and family, I would always say: “wait ah,” and then proceed to use my phone for a long time as the other person waits. That’s pretty selfish of me, I would admit! I also have a short attention span. My mind tends to drift off when I am talking to someone and they don’t always get to the point right away. I don’t blame them though! I do know that I need to work on my focus and be more present when I am interacting with other people.
Music, movies and makeup.
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You can follow Ann Nicole on Instagram @annnicoleng_! That’s all for the Team Talk series this semester. We hope you enjoyed getting to know us better, and do stay tuned for more content coming your way!