I Chose Psychology at 15 – Twenty-Five Years On, It Still Feels Like Home

earworm: [S Club 7 – Bring It All Back]

Last week, the GCE A-Level results were released.

It reminded me of my own results day in 2005 — although I had chosen my path four years

earlier.

In 2001, when I was 15, I chose Psychology — when it was far less popular than it is today.

This photo was taken in 2001.

At 15, I helped design this mural with my school Art Club team, which we later painted at

the Christalite Methodist Home.

The following year, I became president of the Art Club.

I didn’t have the language for it yet, but understanding how people think, decide and

behave felt instinctively right to me.

When I attended the NUS Open House in 2004, I went straight to the Psychology booth.

Alone. My classmates weren’t interested. I was.

At the booth, student leaders mentioned that Psychology majors would need to take two

compulsory statistics modules.

The following week, when our A-Level Math syllabus covered statistics, I paid attention

differently.

At the National University of Singapore (NUS), I eventually majored in Psychology and chose

to minor in English Studies — an uncommon pairing then.

I found myself drawn to research design, survey methodology, and the discipline of

measurement. I read the Methods and Analysis sections of every journal article carefully,

often during the 1.5-hour train and bus rides to and from campus.

I didn’t know then where it would lead — into research, teaching, assessment design and

conversations about behaviour. I only knew it felt right.

Twenty-five years later, I’m still doing the work I chose at 15 — and it still feels like home.

Some decisions feel small at 15.

The ones that fit quietly shape the years that follow.

That curiosity has stayed with me ever since — and continues to shape the work I do today.

The Voice Within

This reflection was first written in June 2025.

I’m sharing it again here as the first post on this site — a space where I write more slowly
about psychology, learning, and assessment, and how ideas translate into practice.

It felt right to begin by continuing a line of thought, rather than starting something new.

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[earworm: Christina Aguilera – The Voice Within]

🌺 Coming back on social media — after 8 years

It’s been 8 years since I last showed up on social media.

I didn’t set out to disappear. In late 2016, I had just started as a full-time psychology and
research methods lecturer at NP, while attending night classes for the WSQ ACTA — and
later, for the Master of Education (Educational Assessment), where I wrote my dissertation
on Rasch / IRT.

For five of those eight years, I also had a three-hour daily work commute.

Somewhere along the way, life kept moving:

• I got married, almost relocated (husband was based overseas), stayed, bought a resale flat,
and renovated it

• I earned my second black belt in kyokushin karate — I took part in the grading in the
second month of my lecturer role; my first black belt is in Japanese jujitsu

• I became a certified Yin Yoga instructor after six years of practice — to balance out the
full-contact martial arts

• And now, I’m the first and only Assessment Specialist at a local university — full circle,
from assessment to teaching and back to assessment

I’ve always said that writing is food for my soul. I started blogging in 2000, when I was still
a teenager, and stopped during my undergraduate honours year when the study load became
very heavy.

Recently, I’ve come to realise I’ve lived through some lesser-known, hard-won experiences
that others are curious about.

For example:
• How did you get into assessment? It’s so specialised.
• Why did you major in psychology?
• How did you stay in full-contact martial arts for 18 years as the only woman in the dojo?

So I’m back — to write, to reflect, and to share.

Long-form, just like I used to.

See you soon.

#comebackstory #lifelonglearning #martialarts

[Views are my own.]