When I was 15, I wanted to join OBS. I was rejected; I was told it is only for student leaders. I retorted - “I am a student leader, just not the kind you recognise.” I have always been more of a leader than a follower. But I came to realise that it is not about whether you are a leader, but

In recent years, I have been introducing myself as “BAC” instead of “Ben”. Some have asked me why. I shared that it is because there are many people with the same name as me, and they suggested adding my surname instead. So what should I do in this situation, when there is another “Ben Chua” in

One of the things I truly love about our country is that although we are born with different skin colour, we are able to live in peace and harmony. I was attending my traffic police test at BBDC and my fellow test candidate, a Malay gentleman, paid for my coffee despite my repeated refusal. I proba

Each generation has its own challenges to overcome. For ours, one significant challenge is dealing with the rate of change. Retrenchment, new societal and global norms, technological change, increasing demands for a high standard of living, and a shift in many things—from what it means to hold a

In my recent social media spring cleaning where I deleted all of my previous interactions across social media accounts, I saw many of my past comments left on various posts. Some of them were made in a casual way, though the message behind them usually was not. Expectedly, they may not sound as pro

Spent almost 12 weeks taking a mental health caregiver class after work. Beyond learning the skills to manage mental health conditions as a caregiver, I think it is about building empathy and understanding for persons in recovery, as well as their caregivers. As shared in my reflection during th

I thought I wanted to take a longer break away from social media and have cleared off all my former posts, comments and interactions in my recent digital spring cleaning. But the event I attended today at INSEAD by Singapore Leaders Network (SGLN) left me with a few thoughts which I wanted to sh