About Me — Nhat Thien (Timmy)
An introduction from someone who is still figuring out himself
Hi there, my name is Nhat Thien Thai, but you can call me Timmy.
Typing the above sentence made me think “Wow, that’s so general about myself. How can I make an extra introduction while introducing myself to this platform?”
How? I have to say I don’t know yet. It is because not until I drafted this article, did I realise that sharing personal stories is so hard. I have always kept my experiences to myself since I think sharing them is unnecessary and uninteresting. So I spent a lot of time reflecting and rationalising different milestones in my life, as I wanted to ensure that the explanation of myself was understandable. But writing this article was also rewarding because I saw that I understood myself a little bit more.
This time, I want to share a story about how I became more self-aware by pursuing my passion for marketing and advertising. I feel confident talking about it, and I hope you can take something for yourself after reading this. Without further ado, let’s dive in!
About me
An interesting fact about me is that my Chinese zodiac is a snake, but I am terrified of snakes (literally typing this down got me chills). Unexpectedly, I noticed that my growth is similar to how snakes shed their skins.
It all started in 2019 when I decided to study abroad in Australia. My parents told me to choose highly demanded jobs to ensure career stability. However, I chose to focus on myself more, marking the period before the snake sheds its skin.
The conflict with family
During my undergraduate years, I chose marketing as my major. It caused conflicts with my family, as they thought it was an unstable career choice. In their generation, this field was associated with people creating advertising decals, which is not a secure nine-to-five position. Instead, they tried to persuade me to study finance, an in-demand major that can land a good job. But finance was not my cup of time, and I had many arguments with my parents to pursue my passion.
It was one of the first times I was assertive about my decisions, which I think was because of living independently from my parents. Before studying abroad, my family decided almost everything for me. I understood that this arose from their hope to ensure a stable life for me. However, I sometimes felt constrained by this, as my parents could organise some plans for me without any discussions.
For example, during primary school, my parents moved me to another class as it had a better homeroom teacher. Eventually, I cried my eyes out as I couldn’t understand the reasons for the changes. However, I accepted the situation because I didn’t know what to do back then.
Thus, studying abroad gave me more freedom to choose what I wanted for my studies, so I argued with my parents to pursue Marketing. When they told me to look for a job to settle in Australia, I explained that my goal was not to stay in this country, and following it would make me regret it. When they said that marketing could not land me a good job compared to finance, I responded that every industry is competitive due to many talented people and asked them why I should choose a field that I don’t like.
And I realised that the snake just finished shedding its skin to embrace a newer or truer version of itself.
The need to conform
Living with my true self was comfortable in front of my family, but this new and sensitive skin created new challenges in making the correct decisions. I found these challenges demanding to overcome because of my uncertainty about identifying the right or wrong decision. Ironically, there is no clear-cut distinction between these two options in life.
Reflecting now, I think I got used to having my family make decisions for me, which my parents ensured were the good ones. However, being by myself required me to decide everything, which felt confusing and stressful. It was due to the anxiety of making wrong decisions, and there was no one to assure me that I was doing the right thing.
As mentioned previously, I debated with my family about pursuing a career in marketing, but I was too scared to study marketing subjects by myself. Instead, I had one close friend who worked well with me in economics, and I mostly followed their subject choice for more than half of my degree. Although I didn’t see myself in economics, I felt safer doing so because I knew that there would be someone with me when things got worse.
And yes, my grades were impressive, but the number of self-doubt questions was massive.
Do I have any knowledge or skill set for marketing jobs? Why did my resume not have many things about marketing? Am I on the right path? Why are other marketing people so good? …
Those overwhelming questions made me realise that I had forgotten myself. Because all I did was not for my passion but for safety I now felt disconnected from it. Because I didn’t utilise all of my potential to progress further in the marketing field.
The change for myself
To embrace its newer skin, the snake must adapt by moving around rather than staying in one place.
The desire to grow motivated me to pursue a master’s degree with a specialisation in advertising. This was because I have a passion for creating ‘the big idea’ and researching various factors for a successful advertising campaign.
My parents initially disagreed with my shift to another university, as they highly valued the prestige of my previous school. However, I explained my choice to them for two reasons. Firstly, the new university offers me more industry exposure, which can enrich my practical working experience for future jobs. Secondly, its teaching approach focuses on applying and practising practical skills, which can increase my employability in a hands-on field like advertising.
After being explained, my parents accepted my decisions without having as many arguments as before. I was so proud of myself for persuading my parents in a calm and convincing way.
Furthermore, none of my friends enrolled in this university, which gave me the perfect chance to choose subjects based on my preferences. I completed an analysis assignment to explain the relationship between semiotics theory and international product packaging. I created my first creative brief for a plant-based milk brand, which is one of my favourite industries in FMCG. I was brave enough to write a research paper about the role of AI in addressing the underrepresentation of women in the automotive industry.
Despite many stresses, I was really satisfied because I am making each subject a part of my career development. Specifically, I utilised every assignment to challenge myself with new topics, allowing me to learn about technical knowledge, skills and myself.
It seems that the snake is now familiarising itself with its new body, and strengthening it for future challenges.
Takeaway for you
That’s all about me, a snake that finds its way to develop itself into a better version. I hope that you understand a bit more about me through this article. Also, I want to share a takeaway that can be helpful to you at some point in time.
Understanding yourself will make you happier and more motivated because living as your truest self will help you make decisions that reflect your passion. But patience is key, as there will be many trials and errors in exploring the best path for you. Let uncertainties or doubts push you towards new challenges, and whether you overcome them or not, you will have some previous insights into yourself!
What to expect from me?
My main writing topic is about advertising case studies and personal reflection. Advertising is absolutely my passion, and I enjoy analysing campaigns that are either my favourites or famous ones. Additionally, I am practising reflection about different aspects of my life, so I write some reflective articles to share my thoughts.
Besides improving my writing skills, I also want to connect with you. Through my articles, I want you to see me as a friend who is approachable and understanding. I want my articles to be places where you are comfortable sharing your opinions, which can help me understand different perspectives and improve my writing.
That’s it for now! See you around Medium.
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