Sabrina Shiraz: Travelling Helps Gen Z Singaporean See the Positivity and Possibilities in Life

People of Legends | Legend’s new kid on the block talks about how her visit to Perth inspired a new outlook on life.

“Earlier this year, I quit my full-time job because of how I was being treated. I was a content creator at a start-up company. And you know how start-ups are. Everyone’s working 24/7. I felt like they were giving me too much work and too little credit for what I did.

People assume what you do is easy when you’re in the creative industry. You’re just taking photos and designing posters, right? How hard can it be, especially when you compare me to, let’s say, a scientist, who’s coming up with the right formula or concoction.

But being creative is not easy. There is no formula to being creative. It may take you up to three hours to come up with a ‘simple idea’. Furthermore, I was a one-man show in the creative department. I wasn’t paid sufficiently for handling so much work, so I quit.

After I left my job, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I felt lost. Close friends told me that perhaps 23 is my year of questioning; my year of change. Change is always scary, but I decided to embrace it. I realised I was in complete control of my life. 

I could literally do anything I wanted, so I went to Perth to visit my best friend. I had been meaning to visit her much sooner but couldn’t because of COVID-19. I stayed in Australia for a month and being there was very enlightening; very eye-opening.

Firstly, the people I met were very independent. And it’s a different level of independence. In Singapore, you may be earning your own money, but you’re still living under your parents’ roof. You don’t have to pay house bills. You don’t have to pay for your own groceries.

Some people my age do, but I’ve had the luxury of not having to pay for mine. And I don’t have to worry about having a place to stay either. My best friend is 23 but she’s working hard to have her own place, and it’s not cheap.

I think the people there grow up, move out and have a better grasp of adulthood than most of us in Singapore. You’d assume being young and living on your own means partying and drinking every night. That’s my idea of the Western culture. But they were not like that at all.

For whatever odd reason, I was also very responsible when I was there, even without parental supervision. Everyday, I’d be awake by 8am, home by 7pm (mainly because everything closes by 5pm), doing my own creative work until 10pm, and asleep by 11pm.

I’m someone who tries to be as productive as I can. So when I went back to Singapore, I decided to take on a temporary position at Legends Fight Sport. I needed the money, and they were looking for someone to help them with customer relations and closing sales.

But just a few months in, I converted to a full-timer. I never thought I’d find myself working in a boxing gym. A gym to me was just a place where people keep fit. But here, I actually get to grow as a creative person and apply what I learnt as a Mass Communication graduate.

I also love seeing how passionate people are in the things they do. Whether they’re coaching, training for fights or simply trying to keep fit, it’s so heartening to see, especially since I was just a workhorse who didn’t feel the passion in my previous company.

And I do try to apply what I observed during my Australian trip to this new job. In Perth, many of the people I met were so positive. When I bumped into this guy in the street and said sorry, instead of being grouchy like most Singaporeans, he said ‘Nah it’s okay. You’re all good!’

It was such a small gesture but it made my day! It made me understand how easy it is to not make someone else sad. So when I talk to members and try to close deals at Legends, I try to make their day and really listen to what they have to say.

Small acts of kindness really make your day and turn you into a more positive person, and everyone loves a positive person!” – Sabrina Shiraz

Interview by: Arman Shah

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