Elle Magazine: An Experience of a Lifetime

Elle magazine, part of Singapore crème dela crème in the fashion publishing industry. Everyone from stay at home moms to teenage girls looks to this publication as a fashion harbinger of what’s in and what’s out. As you surely figured (if you’ve read my other posts that is) a fashion magazine is my bible, making working with one my holy grail. When I got my internship with stylexstyleI was hoping…

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styleXstyle bootcamp 2017 

Photography, Concept: Ho Zheng Feng

When Your Passion Meets Reality with Sharon Au (StyleXstyle)

When Your Passion Meets Reality with Sharon Au (StyleXstyle)

Dreams and aspirations can consume a person’s mindset and push them into a direction which probably wasn’t meant for them in the first place. It’s only when you begin to do it that gilts and the glamor unravel or if intensifies. When you’re handed an opportunity to experience real world scenarios before your time to test the water- you take it! StyleXstyle Bootcamp is a platform that offers…

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When I was younger I was always taught to move forward and be open to new experiences but at the end of the day, you got to introspect to move forward. Grow from the past and let it mold your future so in the theme of what I know let me introduce you to my own professional reflection. Getting into a particular industry always excited me but let’s face it as sure as you are of what you want to do and what profession you want to pursue up until you actually do it and the façade fails do you really know what you want to do and who you want to become? If you do then I want to be you! This year forced me to move out of my comfort zone which was exciting but where it got really challenging was when it put me up against one question- what do you want to do when you’re done?

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Let me break down my journey for you- so I started my year a bright enthusiastic fashion marketing diploma graduate straight from the hot tropics of India. The move from Bangalore to Singapore was not only drastic but also allowed me to mold my professional psyche to be open to different avenues which I didn’t think I would be interested in. When I was introduced to my degree professionals and interacted with people from the industry I realised how intrigued I was with the fashion publishing industry. I always wanted to pursue a career in fashion with respect to magazines but this perspective solidified the idea. On gaining more exposure writing and interacting with professionals from that field I realised my love for that avenue. It was new and exciting and it came up like a hidden talent. I loved being able to build my blog, write features and interviews, it excited me and made me a better writer. Over time though the tasks began to get tedious in the sense that I wasn’t able to explore my creative talent as much as I was willing to due to the restrictive time constraints and brief but I still loved to write.

This left me lost yet again with no idea as to which avenue I could venture into. That’s when I stumbled on to my September issue moment and saw the miracle behind Vogue magazine- from being the next Wintour to the next Coddington. I looked into the avenue of creative direction and fell in love with it. Everything from the concept building to the shoot direction and post was something I would be perfect at doing. The opportunity of Stylexstyle Bootcamp worked out extremely well in this scenario allowing me to be on my game and explore this field, improving more than I ever would with that connection into the industry. My decisions to be one were more and more solidified with every passing day and today I know that’s my end goal.

Through this, I tried to act like a sponge- to absorb everything I could and take up every opportunity I knew I could handle without a hitch. Each competition, opportunity, and task I took up has molded me and made me learn a little bit more about myself.  It really pushed me to grow and I know I have become a different person professionally and I enjoy it.

There are of course aspects which I remember I wanted to work on and master in the first semester when haven’t seemed to have manifold too far but at the same time, it has really helped. Stress management, for instance, is something I still struggle with but I have been able to deal with so much of it that I feel like I’m able to motivate myself to deal with it better than I usually do. I have managed to better with my punctuality problem with work and deadlines and I have also improved my interpersonal skills and my software skills.

So looking back at this year I have been more than satisfied and nothing without tough times ever going to reap the purest fruit.

And What A Year It Has Been. When I was younger I was always taught to move forward and be open to new experiences but at the end of the day, you got to introspect to move forward.