[Project Y(OUR)S 你我他] To redefine your emotional safe zone

I recall initiating this project concept with the sole motivation to help break the societal stigma towards emotions, completely unaware of what’s ahead for me and my team.

Never have I imagined being able to work with the National Youth Council Singapore under the Young ChangeMaker’s grant to put together EMO_OUT, a 3-days rage-room-inspired event, that empowered over 100 individuals to experience the fun side of expressing emotions.❤️‍🩹 Never have I imagined being able to represent the School of Humanities & Interdisciplinary Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic to showcase our project to the Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing and Second Minister for Education Dr. Maliki Osman.💡& Never have I imagined being able to have our docudrama screened on the theatre screens at the 4th Mental Health Film Festival (Singapore) Ltd.🎬

From having completely no directions on our challenge statement to achieving the most unimaginable accomplishments as a 5-pax team, I’m immensely proud of us for overcoming the countless obstacles during this 9-month sprint.🤍As the Project Manager, Event Lead Organiser and Film Director of the team, here are my key learning points from this memorable experience 🌱⤵️

1. Striking the balance between progress and rest unveils the strength of consistency— Taking necessary breaks is equally important as pushing for progress to sustain our team’s physical strength for the long run. While I had the mental resilience to ensure a fast progression in our tasks, I did not have the physical strength required to stay consistent and present throughout. After active revision of our timeline along with Yu Sung Ng , my Assistant Project Manager, more realistic and flexible timeframes were laid out for each deliverables. This change effectively helped us complete our final key deliverables up to our full potential, within minimal time extended. ✅

2. Stepping out of your comfort zone and exploring new avenues may give you surprises — As media students, diving deep down into a mental-wellness project was an incredibly foreign experience to us with little professional knowledge on mental health related topics. Despite knowing that this won’t be the easiest route for us, we went the extra mile to research and learn Psychological First Aid from Singapore Red Cross to be sufficiently informed in this field. Despite the heightened challenge, being recognised as advocates for mental wellness & contributing practical solutions to the youth mental wellness sector is worthwhile for us.✅

💌| Huge thanks to my team, all EMO_OUT volunteers, crew helpers, and Rayyan Afiq for making this happen | Thank you Angel Chan, Lynn Fong, and Kok Kiang Lim for more opportunities and guidance to showcase our project in a more holistic lens | Thank you Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Health Promotion Board, Mediacorp Pte Ltd 8world, National Youth Council Singapore and Singapore Red Cross for the support.