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.