Be Careful What You Wish For...

Currently Listening To :: Falling Aeroplanes :: Darren Hanlon

This is the short autobiographical piece I wrote for my Fairfax Traineeship application; I'm not sure how much it helped in my application, but I have an interview with them next week, so it must have done SOME good...

I was honestly surprised when I got the call today; as I mentioned a few posts ago, I thought I messed the exam up. But it's best to take things as they come...in the meantime, this is a little about me.

Writing an autobiography is something I’ve never really contemplated. Perhaps I’m scared of what I may find if I turn the pen on myself…or perhaps I’m just a little shy. Besides, who would care? This is a city…But every story needs an introduction of sorts, a way to set the scene, to catch the readers eye; so let’s begin.

My name is Benjamin James Wei-Ming Chew. Full time student (soon to be graduating), part time writer (trying to be full time with weekly pay).

Statistically, there is proof I exist, even among this swell of humanity we call Sydney. Body and soul, all vital parts, drivers’ license and tax file number. Enough ID to obtain a Visa or a Passport, or at the very least, entry to my favourite drinking and dancing establishments.

Educationally, I have the numbers to prove my secondary and tertiary successes and failures, even though mathematics has never been the sharpest arrow in my quiver. Coming from a conservative, Catholic all-boys High School, I chose the widest degree possible, a Bachelor of Commerce and Arts. An odd sounding combination, but from a personal standpoint, it made the most sense. Displaying filial piety by studying “real” subjects like accounting and information systems, I was allowed to follow my “real” interests of political science and Chinese studies.

Ethnically, I see myself as an Australian born Chinese, a strange mix of both Eastern and Western cultures that I have learned to straddle with increasing ease. While my parents and sister were born in Malaysia, I was born here soon after they immigrated to Sydney’s northwest in the late 1970s.

Economically, I have been blessed with parents who have raised me well, been willing to pay for my education and not force me out of home as soon as I could earn above minimum wage. This has allowed me the freedom to travel and hold a variety of jobs; some paid, some unpaid, but all of interest to me. Writer, political intern, teacher, telecommunications intern and child-care worker…I was planning on adding corporate accountant or consultant to the list, and if not for some personal slipups combined with a lackluster economy against a backdrop of corporate collapses, I just may have been crunching numbers for a living.

Having been violently shaken from my power suit dreams, I have a slightly more realistic and clearer view of what I want and where I want to go with my career. I’ve slowly discovered the joys and frustrations of being able to do something you love to earn money. The journey from writing for myself, to writing for others, to finally writing for a paycheque has been one filled with personal checks and balances on both my ideals and my pride.

So while disappointment is something I’ll never fully accept, I know I have the mental endurance to keep going, searching for my place in this life. Even amongst a city of 5 million, I’ve learned I am one in 5 million, whether others recognise it or not.