Celebrating Everyday Women - Jesselyn

"I couldn't stop crying everyday for the first year in Singapore."

Today, 22-year old Jesselyn is composed with a self-assured grace, but she paints a starkly contrasting portrait of her 14-year old self.

8 years ago, Jesselyn left her hometown in Indonesia to come to Singapore on her own, when her parents decided that she should pursue an education here. "I had no idea that I was coming, and it was really hard to adjust in the first year," she shares candidly. It was initially difficult trying to connect with her Singaporean classmates because most of them didn't understand the challenges of such a life-changing move, and the attendant pain of being displaced from one's family and friends. Her crying was so incessant that it would bewilder her classmates and she ended up consulting all three of the school counsellors. It was only after she met a Malaysian student that she found a kindred spirit with shared experiences. Amongst the other international students, she no longer felt like an outsider, and discovered new comfort and kinship because there were others navigating similar circumstances. That was when it started to feel like home. 

Home is the foundation upon which Jesselyn builds her confidence - a quality that she perceives as beauty: "To me, beauty is someone who's inspiring and makes a positive impact on others... Someone who is confident and enjoys what they're doing." The person who epitomises these values is her mother, "the strongest pillar of support any daughter could ask for." Watching her mother run a kindergarten through COVID reminded her of the grit and passion that she aspires to emulate.

To her 14-year old self, Jesselyn affirms, "Trust the process, and stop crying." Back then, when she first moved to Singapore she thought, "No, this is the end. But then it turns out alright - you'll be fine."