Seth Hwang - Story #6

The impression I have about Seth is that he is a very faithful Protestant Christian. He tells me that his name "Seth" was given to him by his parents and was taken from the Bible. Seth is the name of the third son of Adam and Eve and it means compensation. In fact, he was the replacement of Abel who was killed by Cain. He says it symbolises fixing and putting things right.

He firmly believes too that God has been leading him on his trajectory through life. He says as he loves aeroplanes and fixing LEGO, his mum advised him to take up a Diploma in Aerospace Electronics in the polytechnic. Yet, he doesn't see himself having a career in this field. It was after some time that he discovers his real passion and so he is now pursuing a degree in Psychology at James Cook University, Singapore branch.

Understanding the thinking processes of humans and how it affects human behaviour is an intricate matter. He feels that he is the biggest beneficiary of the course. Through the process of learning, he acquires the skills of interacting well with people and gather a deeper understanding of himself. He is thankful he made a bend into the Polytechnic, which helped him foster many friendships and most importantly leading him to his present girlfriend, whom he loves. Other than the exams and assignments, he has had a wonderful path through life.

What is 23 year-old Seth's philosophy to life and his future? He said, to him, it does not matter what profession he is in or the amount of net worth he has. More importantly, he wants to enjoy what he is doing. In fact, Seth feels that in this world, there are just too many people who for the sake of money, are doing things they do not like. Contrary to Jessie J's Price Tag, Seth believes that life is not about the money.

As G.K. Chesterton once said, "Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain but from being weary of pleasure."

So what if you get all the money in this world?

The fundamental questions to ask ourselves are, "Why are we here?" "What is our purpose in life?" and "What does living really mean?" Going through the process of arriving at the right answers to these questions leads us to wisdom and confidence to deal with issues in life.

Since Seth has such rich thoughts about life, I probed further. I asked him what he would do if he has a million dollars. He replied, "We can do a lot of things with one million dollars. I will get a house, a car and settle down immediately after finishing my studies."

Then, he reverted to his philosophical self. He qualified his earlier statement by reiterating the fact that he is learning and is still learning to be contented, which can be a huge challenge in a society soaked in "consumerism". Nonetheless, he is now striving to be thankful in contentment. To Seth, the thing that gives us the greatest satisfaction, cannot be bought with money.

I went on to ask Seth to describe himself. He used two words, namely, simple and easygoing. He believes in the joy and art of living less and yet enjoying more of life.

He reminisced the memorable day he completed his National Service. The sight of his pink identification card (IC), after having surrendered it at enlistment for 2 years, gave him unimaginable feeling. The memories of the bitter-sweet training formed a kaleidoscope and he froze in that moment of recollection of all the fond friendships forged with friends who went through thick and thin together. To him, his days in the National Service was an awesome journey of growth. The sweetener came in the form of the companionship of his girlfriend who stood by him when the going was really tough for him.

The completion of National Service is his greatest achievement in life as this period of transition into adulthood was something that has helped shape him into the responsible person he is today. To Seth, he calls himself a man only because he knows how to care for and protect his loved ones.

I got Seth to reveal the best part of his education journey. He said it was during his days in the Polytechnic. As he was 17 then, he has to manage his freedom and choices, a process which helped him build an awesome lot of friendships, which could possibly last for a long long time.

Naturally, I fielded Seth a typical interview question. What was his ambition? He responded, "My ambition is to work in an environment where I can help people. To me, nothing is actually more fulfilling than to see someone whom you have helped find his/her purpose in life and live it out. "

Being the founder of Channel Education and writer of Journey2Canada, I can't help but to ask if he has been to Canada. He said he has not but would love to do so someday. One of his good friends is studying here in Canada and is likely to carry on staying on permanently after graduation. He said the scenery is beautiful, especially the snow in winter, which he hopes to have the opportunity to experience.

This is what I want to tell Seth. Yes, indeed, Canada is  a beautiful place and its arms are certainly wide open to welcome a solid person like him!