I agreed with the writer two years ago today. But not anymore. Here's a reply to the original writer:

"You are right. I am not a suit and tie. I am not the First Class Honours from a British university. I am not any kind of polished language or jargon. Instead, my speech is straightforward, upfront, in-your-face honest; I graduated from a small local college with decent grades, and I have never dressed up for any of my jobs. I have a car, a beat up 15-year-old Proton Iswara which my mother handed down to me (and I will likely hand down to my siblings), and an 11'x8' rented room in which I pay an additional 50sen per hour to have the air-conditioning on. Unimpressive, but necessary; I get by.

Of course I vent about my pay - even the Prime Minister himself thinks he needs more money - but I've long given up Starbucks in exchange for the free coffee in the office pantry. Extra creamer. I make it a point to leave work before the sun sets so I can go throw a football around at my neighbourhood park because yoga classes cost way too much for only-once-per-week sessions. I am okay with putting on a bikini or lazing in sweatpants because I am comfortable in my own skin. Even though it hasn't always been so, I've worked hard to get to a place where I can look in the mirror and not be too self-critical. Also, I never buy things that don't fit, and I'll always choose comfort over 4-inch stilettos.

I am now 23, and I have never missed my childhood less. School was an endless cycle of classes that meant nothing, on subjects that now mean nothing, for the final big exam that has never meant anything save a college acceptance letter. However, I do squirm at meetings, and I do distract myself from the numbers and graphs that mostly don't concern me by flicking through Instagram. But I do not live vicariously through others because I have lived myself - last year, I set off to backpack through Europe, hitting 8 countries in two months and blowing all my life savings. But that's why I am back here, saving up again until I am ready to jet off somewhere new. Hashtag travel, hashtag wanderlust.

If I am furiously finger-tap dancing on my keyboard, it is because I have something to say. But I keep myself in check because I realise that I only deserve to have an opinion on things that concern me or are related to me in any way. So I wax lyrical about minimum wage, sexism, and why my roti canai is now RM1.60 instead of 90sen. On the other hand, I try not to be in the dark about current issues and happenings, so go ahead and start a conversation with me - I like talking to people. And if you do happen to be behind me as we walk through a doorway, don't worry, I'll hold it open for you.

When I am 28, hopefully my YouTube recommendations would not have changed drastically from the current EatYourKimchi and Buzzfeed videos. Just because I am adding numbers to my age doesn't mean that I will become a completely different person. I'd like to believe that my personality, likes and dislikes have more or less stabilised by now, and will only mature instead of morph. I won't be worrying about fairytales and casual flings because I am not a semi-colon - which, by the way, is not an awkward middle, but rather a beautiful promise of continuation - I prefer to be thought of as an exclamation mark. An individual making a statement. Exciting, adaptable, bright-eyed. And I am capable of loving, as well as being loved in return. No questions asked, just heartfelt faith. Tried and true. beautiful long dresses

I do not stand for the entirety of my peer group; everyone is different and unique and has their own story to tell. I was brought up on "you must do well" and "study hard to get a good job and a stable life", but instead have learned to live the more freeing motto of "I will do what I know is best for me" because I understand that at the end of the day, I will be the only one who will have to deal with my decisions and regrets (of which I try not to have many of, anyway). I am not, and have never been, any just one of the things you may identify me for, because I am so much more than a "motivated attitude" and "proficiency in Microsoft Word" and the boxes people try to fit a whole generation into.

See, people are so much more than Times New Roman; we are Vivaldis and Arial Narrows and Helveticas and Rage Italics. 12-point, 24-point, bold, italicised, underlined, highlighted, or otherwise."

-Serene Boorom-