About Me — Rui Yi Gan
Computer Science Undergraduate at the National University of Singapore. I write and vlog sometimes. Bookworm. Dreamer. Work in Progress Doer.
My Bio
Welcome to my profile page! My name is Rui Yi (睿易) and I guess this is the first time I will be introducing myself properly. I was inspired by Quy Ma to write this article as I agree that this provides me a more in-depth and longer bio since our profile bios are limited by 160 characters.
I am 21 this year and a freshman studying Computer Science at the National University of Singapore.
Unlike Quy Ma, you can say that I am born lucky. I am born in Singapore where it is known to be one of the world’s most developed and wealthiest countries. Furthermore, I am born into a loving family where money is never the issue. Sure, I may not have the latest gadgets or travel yearly, but I am extremely fortunate that my family has enough money for my education and to feed me. And for that, I am extremely grateful for my birth.
Some of you may point out that there are indeed some cons living in Singapore. It’s extremely competitive, stressful, and humid. But I have nothing to complain about. I am able to learn, grow and pursue my passion. Thus, I am contented with that.
My Background
As mentioned earlier, I grew up in a fortunate environment. I guess you can say that I grew up in an environment of what Singapore’s late founding father Lee Kuan Yew envisioned and eventually accomplished.
When I was 19 years of age, I served 2 years of mandatory service in the Republic of Singapore Air Force as an Air Warfare Officer. In these 2 years, my horizon broadened. I learned many things, but my most valuable takeaway will be this:
Life is Short
National Service “occupied” 2 years of my life. During these two years, many of my female friends were already in university pursuing their passion and getting ready for the workforce. It felt that I was lagging behind.
However, it is because I had 2 years, I can think about life in general. What kind of life do I want to live? What are my priorities in life? These are important questions to think about and looking back, I am glad that I had the time.
As Steve Jobs famously said: “I want to put a ding in the universe.”
My Dreams & Aspirations
So, what kind of “ding” do I want to put in the universe? A very good question. 5 years ago I thought I was going to be an Energy Engineer, solving climate change through renewable energy. 3 years ago I wanted to work in Singapore Changi Airport to deliver outstanding service to travelers. A year ago I actually considered simply traveling the world and doing YouTube full-time. Today, to be honest, I am not too sure. (I actually tried YouTubing)
Even though I don’t have the answers yet, I do recognize that my interests seem to lie in the fields of Environment, Technology, and Business. Maybe a startup? Or a digital nomad? I don’t know. What I know is that I have the desire to put a ding in the universe (a good ding, hopefully). Hence, at this moment, I aspire to live life to its fullest: to experience, learn and create. Hopefully, I am able to have a clearer dream through more exposure and experiences.
What are my Goals moving Forward?
While I am unsure of my dreams and aspirations, I do have some ideas for my short-term goals. Aside from surviving university, I have 3 main goals.
- Medium
- A Side Business
- Learning a Creative Skill
Medium
I started blogging last year and have been writing a little over a year. Since then, I am fortunate to say that I have 90 followers (thank you!) and have managed to publish on average an article fortnightly.
Moving forward, I hope to continue to grow my Medium audience and even consider it as a side income stream to support my daily expenses in university.
A Side Business
This is probably the most ambitious goal out of the three of them. I hope to start something small during my time at University. Success or Failure. It doesn’t matter. The main goal is to start a business, from start to finish, and to learn from the process.
Learning a Creative Skill
Computer Science may be creative but usually, it is quite technical. It focuses a lot on logical and computationally thinking. Hence, I like to pick up a skill that taps into the creative house of my brain. Maybe drawing? Or music.
These are goals and they require consistent hard work for them to be realized. And the biggest obstacle of all will probably be surviving university.
My Medium Theme
I don’t really have a preference. If you look at all my articles, you realized that there’s no consistent theme. However, I think it can be categorized generally into 2 categories. Here are some of the articles, categorized.
Technical, analysis based articles
Shower Thoughts
Thank you for reading till the end and I am excited to start my writing journey and see where it takes me!
How to Contact Me
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram
Subscribe to my YouTube
Send me an Email: kurtganruiyi@gmail.com
