Relocating to Singapore, my dream

When I joined Euromonitor International in August 2020, I mentioned my desire to work at the Singapore office.?

In fact, one of the reasons I joined the company, was the advertised culture of moving between offices. Moving to Singapore for work had been my goal for many years. Ever since a trip to Kuala Lumpur to visit my best friend in 2015 - I wanted to live in the region.?

Now, if you know me in real life, you also know that I’m not the best at showing emotions, but mark my words: this is my dream.?

It’s something all my close friends know about. It’s a project I mentioned to my wife before getting married. I even have the records of conversions from my start at Euromonitor talking to colleagues.?

“I’d like to work in Asia in a year or two - I am aiming for Singapore.”

It’s also, for me, a wider vindication of my hard work and life project.?

Bear with me as I explain.?

Ten years ago, I graduated high school. Sounds good until now, right? The issue was that I went to a vocational school where teaching was of a mediocre quality (not that we were the easiest to teach). I learnt how to use 1800s printing machines (yep, there’s a high school diploma for this).?

I left this high school not able to write my first language properly, French. I also had virtually no English at that stage. I had never studied, never done homework. I did not even know how it was supposed to be done.?

Yet I had this vague vision that by the time I turned 18, I would get serious.?

I’ll cut the story short because it’s quite long, and I have written a whole article in Le Monde and recently revisited parts of the story with the New York Times, but I decided to go to university and learn English.?

I was highly discouraged. There was two pressures working against me. First, my vocational school background, closely associated with a ‘lower’ social class not to be seen on university benches. Second, my physical features, earning me a shiny second-class citizen badge, with great discrimination and racism advantages.?

For the next 6 years, on the road to a statistically impossible path from this vocational school to the University of York’s top Political Science student - I worked like crazy.?

On this journey, one of the questions I was often asked was: "why?"

"What is your drive? Why do you work so hard?"

Reflecting on this question - very legitimate to be asked of someone who did not take a day break for several years and used to schedule and time his own bathroom breaks - I see two parts to its answer.?

First, rage.?

The burning fire inside me for not been seen as worthy. The ‘I will show you’ when my high school principal told me I wasn’t made for university. The rage against the emotions in the eyes of those looking down upon me. Of people treating me a certain way, talking a certain way, or at best, ignoring my existence.?

Second, social acceptance.?

It is difficult to live in a society where it feels like everyone wants you to either not exist, or not contribute to it in a significant way. This unbearable assumption that you have nothing good to offer. Yet, there’s a basic human yearning for social acceptation, a force that pushed us to create countries, towns and clubs. To be part of something. I wanted to show that I was worthy too. I could contribute, I had things to offer, and I should be treated accordingly.?

Rage and yearning fuelled my growth for many years, but they’re an expensive material to consume. As much as they try to warm up your environment, they stay inefficient against a persistant coldness coming from the inside, even as you may try to look the other way.

They are less sustainable than jet fuel. As with cars, they will take you there, but leave your engines dirty.?

Nonetheless, I now found myself in a different environment, using different fuel.?

With a job in which I can have a real contribution, colleagues that have a positive impact on me and drive me forward, and recognition for playing my part in a wider social group, I have swapped rage and yearning for gratitude.

I am extremely grateful for the people I work with, the culture of the businesses I attend and am part of, and the opportunities I can take part in.?

It is a much healthier fuel. I am grateful for this sustainable change, and I hope to inspire people with a similar story to mine.

Thank you to everyone I have met on this journey, you’ve made the sustainable switch possible.?

Perhaps now I have conveyed a bit more the significance of the Learning & Development Manager position in Singapore.?

The trust of the company in myself after only a year in has significance. The role itself has significance. The investment in shipping me abroad has significance. The bet on myself has significance.?

It is the conclusion of a 10-year stretch.?

And yet, it’s only the beginning.?