I think majority of my readers are around my age and some slightly younger. Naturally, I've received questions on O Level exams, results, JAE, JPSAE, DAE etc. But one questions I've received a lot is: "How did you know what course to pick?" or "How did you know you've made the right choice coming to Mass Comm?"

There are so many different diplomas being offered in the five polytechnics and new ones are constantly popping up. Students are spoilt for choice nowadays so how do they know what's right for them?

I can't speak for others, but for me, I chose Mass Communication in Ngee Ann Polytechnic purely based on my passion. I think the first step to finding finding your perfect dream course is to know what you LOVE doing and can imagine yourself doing for the rest of your life.

Let me tell you this - poly life is tough. Forget about all those teachers who told you O Levels are the hardest you'll ever work - poly will push your limits. I cannot even begin to explain how many times I've broken down due to the stress and the never-ending work.

 Yup, busy busy busy. But still nothing compared to Year 2.



Nope, no such thing as busy weeks in Year 2. Hell weeks are the new typical weeks in Year 2 looks like and it is fucking hell. I don't remember sleeping more than four hours every day and I even went a few nights without sleeping. Trust me, when you're here sometimes you'll even forget how your bed feels like and you'll never take sleeping for granted again.

But why am I still here? Why are my coursemates still hanging on?

Passion.

I can't emphasize on how important that is. Yes, I'm exhausted but I'm tired and happy. I'm happy slogging my guts out and I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

I decided and knew this was the course for me at 14 and now I'm less than two weeks shy of being 19. I think I'm very lucky that this passion in me never died and the media continues to intrigue me as much as it did almost 5 years ago.

5 years ago, I was just this rebellious ahlian who knew nothing beyond wanting to be able to chase my dream. Today, I'm chasing my dream and I'm more than halfway through it. I can't be more grateful :')

At 14, I was unmotivated and hardly ever felt passionate. There were only three things I was interested in (and still love) - history, North Korea and reading/writing. It's a known fact that I love writing and reading but not many people know that I actually adore history and have great interest in North Korea!

I started reading about War World 2 and Hitler when I was eight. I knew all the little known facts about Hitler and the little nuggets of info about WW2 that even my friends who took History didn't know about even though I didn't take history as an O level subject.

But getting a history diploma/degree is kinda redundant because what can I do with it? Be a teacher? I'll be strangling kids within a week.

And then there's North Korea, which is just as intriguing. I've read up so much on North Korea that I can answer almost any question about this reclusive country. I'd love to share my knowledge of North Korea but I don't want to bore anyone to death.

Anyway, I wasn't as interested in North Korea back then as I am now but even if I was, there's no diploma for North Korean studies in Singapore and flying to Seoul to get a degree for this is impossible because I don't even speak that language!

The above two were also not viable career choices so I was left with my love for reading and writing. I already owned a blog at that point and this was during the rise of online advertising, which I thought was an amazing concept.

I Googled a little about English diplomas in Singapore and viola! Media and Communication in Singapore Polytechnic came out. Dug a little deeper and found Mass Communication in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, which is the most established media course in Singapore. So that's how I decided to be here.

I dare to say that ignoring the obstacles I faced and following my dreams was the best choice I've ever made with regards to my studies and one of the best decisions of my life. I'm constantly facing stress but at least I'm never filled with regrets.

I hope my little story inspires some of you out there to make a choice and follow your passion. I've always believed that being passionate can get you further than grades can so I hope all of you out there find the courage to chase your dreams and do what you like!

You can ask me anything else at ask.fm/pekyj :))

P.S. Heard that Joint Polytechnic Special Admissions Exercise (JPSAE) was merged with Direct Poly Admission (DPA) to form Early Admissions Exercise (EAE). I supposed the interviews are almost the same anyway.