The High Life of a Socialite’s Daughter 

The High Life of a Socialite’s Daughter

Part 1. Introduction

My childhood is perhaps the most interesting part of my life story. Sometimes it baffles me how I am able to remember so much about things that took place so long ago. In many ways, my childhood captures the fundamental aspects of my life and the greater dimension of who I am as a person. In telling my roller-coaster-like life’s story, I have to take you back to when I was a child. I was born into a family that was a bit crowded; I grew up in a family of seven. That said, this was also the best part of our family because it meant that there was never a dull moment. I am the last born of 5 children, which makes me lucky number five. My siblings are three brothers and a sister.

Throughout my childhood, I was the baby in the family, which meant that I was the center of all the attention. My siblings and parents would take me everywhere, which was nagging at times, albeit all the good times that came with it. I wouldn’t say I was a spoilt child. However, the truth is I got everything I wanted, including books, shoes, clothes, and toys, which makes me a little spoilt, I guess. I was your typical next door kind of girl. I was into all sorts of hobbies and activities, which include but not limited to playing with barbies, braiding dolls, making origami paper planes, watching Sponge Bob and Dora the Explorer. I was just like any other normal kid of my time. Socially, I was a proverbial butterfly. I made friends easily and got along with my peers. My ability to blend in and make friends easily can be attributed to my lack of shyness, great energy, talkativeness, and my love for playing. However, this would change gradually as I grew older. My high school years were the opposite, filled with fallouts, cliques, and all forms of friendship drama.

I attended a Christian school with kids from backgrounds similar to mine. Most of the kids in my school were Chinese-Indonesian had self-employed dads and stay-at-home moms. There were a few kids who had parents with normal 9-5 jobs and were obviously more affluent than the common majority. The school had a strict dressing code –uniforms – to ensure that all kids were equal at school. Still, it wasn’t hard to decipher the “type of kid,” especially ding parent-teacher meetings, which would pair kids with their parents. During these meetings, one could easily tell apart rich kids from the others based on the dressing of their parents who wore diamond rings, stilettos, Chanel purses, and always had their hair bouncy and perfect.

I enjoyed school for a while until I joined high school. High school turned my life upside down, leaving it in shambles. After joining high school, I adopted a life that never focused on studies, becoming the type of student who just sticks their nose in the book. I remember one instance in grade 1, when I was sent with a letter for my parents by the school counselor who also happened to be one of my teachers. My parents accompanied me to school the next day, where they were informed of my struggles with classwork and my poor performance. I vividly remember how I was taken to a psychologist on the following weekend to talk about my school life. I was asked questions about what I enjoyed or didn’t enjoy school and my hobbies. I was also asked to fill puzzles, read, and draw. Being seven years, I didn’t understand much of what was going on. However, this situation didn’t go away and stayed embedded in my mind. This influenced me to take psychology as one of my subjects. At one point, I went to a psychologist to get tested for ADHD.

Fast forward to high school, trouble became a normal trade in my life, earning me two suspensions for not completing internal assignments. This meant that I had to work on my internal assignment between 7 am and 3 am and getting suspended afterward. The only time that I was out of the loop was when all my friends got suspended for cheating on a psychology quiz, a punishment that I escaped.

In high school, I didn’t care much about my grades; I performed poorly in math despite trying hard to do improve my grades on the subject. Not once did I appear on top of my class in terms of performance, and I never overachieved in anything. As most of my peers were concerned about going to Ivy League colleges and other top tier schools, my primary concern was to get over high school. I was as laidback as they were competitive. I never really cared about them being as smart as me. Still, being in a highly competitive environment made me feel as if I wasn’t as smart as my peers. This didn’t do much to change my attitude. In the end, I settled on the idea that smart is subjective, and I was content in that I’m more of the “creative, smart” type. That said, I did the best I could and actually ended up performing beyond my expectations.

At the age of 14, I had one major problem, which was my struggle with body image. My greatest struggle was anorexia and was primarily concerned about how others viewed me. I experienced many depression episodes when I would feel alone in the world. I felt that I wasn’t skinny enough, because I thought my hips and thighs were too big. During my lowest moments, I wanted to be alone, which would lead me to break contact with everyone, including my family. I would try to cover my cuts by wearing long-sleeved clothing and cardigans while at home and school, respectively. As fate would have it, my teacher noticed the red marks on my left arm, after which she informed my parents.

High school was tough for me. I felt enormous pressure from my peers, parents, and teachers alike. My situation got so worse that my teachers and parents had to advise me to get and get a psychological evaluation in Singapore. My session with the psychologist took about 3 hours, where I expressed myself, elaborating how school life had taken a toll on me both emotionally and physically. I explained the pressures of trying to make ends meet for myself and my parents. I also talked about how going through a traumatic relationship with an ex had made my situation even worse. Despite my tough experiences, I always found a way to keep going and smile my troubles away.

Amidst my depression, I found a passion for the world of fashion, which finally brought happiness into my life. For as long as I can remember, I always had a love for fashion. The thought of getting new clothes or shoes always excites me. I remember when my mom brought me my first pair of Moschino, they had white and black stripes at the front, which were written ‘Moschino” in silver. Fashion brings out the creative in me because it gives me a sense of freedom to know that I can dress the way I want. My close friends were also instrumental in helping me to keep it together. Without them, I would have lost my way, not to mention the fact that they have helped me to become a better person.

Apart from the support from my friends, my family played the greatest role. My parents have been wonderful in supporting my life choices and encouraging me to work hard so as to become independent. My parents were there for me when I was at my lowest, and have been a pillar of love and hope all along. This is not to say that my relationship with them has always been perfect. I have made my share of mistakes which generated a rift and dispute between my parents and I. We have disagreed on a number of things that even those outside my family know about. However, I believe it is safe to argue that every family has its share of problems and issues. One thing that I have come to accept is that you can’t expect everything to be all cheerful and happy every day. The most important thing is being there for your family when it matters. In this regard, I can honestly say that my family is the most important part of my life and is the reason why I am the way I am today. Through their advice, support, and love, my parents have shown me how to deal with life issues. For this, I credit them for molding into the person I am today, something that I am proud and grateful for.