involvement in USP is not solely about USP

At this point, I find myself quite taken aback by the alignments in the various initiatives that I'm part of. The realisation of these alignments lead me to think that life is somewhat fractal...

First off, I am interested in the developments in USP - it is an emotional as much as it is intellectual as much as it is spiritual. I think about how USP could continue to nurture the talents that go through it's doors for impacts thereafter. I believe that part of this nurturing lies in creating a better student community that engages within the different groups within the community, and in engaging people beyond USP and NUS, to the less-privileged communities, and in exchanging ideas at the cutting edge of things.

The second thread in this is that I'm interested in developments in Singapore, which again, is emotional, intellectual and spiritual as well. And as I'm involved in USP, I realise that the entire experience of learning about the process of governance and politics spills over into how I think about governance in Singapore and what it means for the future. The realisation is this: that the same process of engagement in USP, of openness and collaboration, I believe, are hugely relevant to the process of governance in Singapore. Of course I'm simplifying things here, but the resonance of between these efforts blows my mind.

So I come back to the title - that my involvement in USP is not simply about USP alone. These experiences have allowed me to gain insights into the process of political engagement... And of course, all these connects into the way I think about how Singapore needs to prepare for an uncertain future, and it has been amazing that I am first applying certain thoughts in USP first.

See the fractal-ness of it? USP is almost like this small experiment I'm learning from in order to work on a full-scale project called Singapore.

So far, it's been amazing, and I am really deeply in the debt of gratitude for those who have guided, mentored, facilitated, argued, debated, discussed, conversed, collaborated ... in short, for everyone who have shared their ideas with me.

The journey has been as exciting as the prospect of arriving at the destination!