Dreams Needed Space Before Becoming Real
An Interview with Hui En, now seeking and designing her own adventures of life
1. What first brought you through the doors? What were you looking for at that point in your life?
Bold’s 319 space is near my home. I chanced upon it one day out getting food in the neighborhood, and was immediately captured by a sign on the window for the ‘Design Your Life’ program. I was in my mid-20s, a bit lost, and on the precipice of leaving my job to try something new… and I just needed a bit of help mustering the courage to see it through!
2. What actually happened when you were here? Share one specific moment, conversation, or experience that stayed with you.
The program introduced me to design thinking, and how it can be applied to figuring out your next steps through a combination of brainstorming and taking concrete, iterative steps. I reached out to a former contact to learn more about her career in UX design, which I was interested in at the time. I still do this today – reaching out to people cold just to gain insights that can inform my own decisions.
3.What changed in how you approach your work or life?
When mulling over what to do next, I allow myself the space to go wild and list down all my ideas and whimsies, however zany or impractical they might seem. What I’ve learned is that dreams need space to breathe, to be articulated, before they can even be made to materialize.
4. Where are you now, and how is that connected (if at all)?
Since attending DYL at Bold, I’ve lived in 3 different countries, navigated career pivots across 3 industries, freelanced and backpacked around the world. If not for the experience of giving a voice to my dreams at Bold, I don’t think I would have had the courage or adaptability to weather the change I’ve experienced throughout the years.
5. If the space did not exist, what would have been different?
I might have continued setting aside the things I personally wanted to do or try for much longer, giving more time instead to more ‘practical’ and socially acceptable responsibilities.
