New found friends

I have been with Accenture for more than a week. I must say that my project team – people I am working with directly are SUPERBLY NICE. I really enjoy the company of these new found friends. They are all very young people, more or less around my age. But, there is only one Accenture perm staff in the team and that’s my intern buddy Hwee Keong. He is an SMU grad, majoring Information Systems, recently converted into an analyst. He treated me pasta (my fave!) on thurs haha. More importantly, he has taught and helped me with many issues and has made me felt so welcomed and looked after at Accenture. Thanks intern buddy!

The rest of the people are all named by Accenture as “contractors”. I thought that’s downright discrimination! At Accenture, an analyst will need to go through 4 rounds of interviews and if you don’t have an honours degree you cannot even pass round 1. Though it will not affect me in any way, I can’t agree with this. An honours degree simply is not representative of anything. Therefore, most people employed on the team are either contractors or interns. My senior and mentor - Sijia is an NUS grad Statistics major. She is a really really really nice girl. The 2 of us had a heart-to-heart sharing time yesterday and that was sweet. It has been so long since I can relate so well with a girl. Probably cos we have the same English name, such a coincidence! But, I thought it was because we share common passion and thoughts of life.

Since 4 years ago, I have engaged actively in social service work, be it community service, counseling or mentoring. It was then that I discovered the joy of giving and sharing and that life encompass greater significance than mere possession. I have a dream to leave the city-life one day and commit my life to the unprivileged in this world. One of it is joining the missionaries to third-world countries. I shared this with Sijia and she has the same passion! She was able to understand my emotions so well when many people couldn’t. It is a joy to find a friend who can establish a common understanding with not many words. She goes to a church named Hope. And, she has a boyfriend who is a teacher. And Sijia’s dream is also to be a teacher! That is simply so sweet - to find a partner who can share common interests and dreams. Apparently, she has also gone through difficult times emotionally in relationships until she found her current boyfriend last December. I share her happiness and I wish I will be blessed like her, one day.

She loves music and plays the cello. As such, she is an emotional person, just like I am. Sijia told me that God has a plan for everyone and at every point in our lives, God gives us what He thinks is the most suitable for us. Therefore, failures and setbacks can be a promise to success and whenever I feel down, I should see the significance beyond the present. It was so heartwarming to share thoughts with Sijia. But, I wasn’t completely truthful about my past. Actually, I thought everyone would have their rights to their own secrets of life. It didn’t mean that I didn’t treat her with sincerity. I just want some traumatic past to be completely out of my life, so if I am going to perpetuate the past into new friends, it would never leave me. I guess, only Pam and Limin will hold the key to my past.

The Accenture experience has been marvelous so far, greatly fulfilled by the wonderful people around me.