Hello there! I’m Ethan.

I am a 16-year-old student still studying in Singapore. I’m still at that young age where possibilities are nearly endless and I’m still free to do the things I enjoy, so that’s awesome!

I was born in Malaysia and stayed there for an entire month before my parents decided to move to Singapore. My parents were Malaysians but went to Singapore to pursue their education and eventually decided to live there. I have changed my citizenship recently and am now a proud Singaporean!

I’m still embracing my high school life (although we call it secondary school over here) but I do like to write on the side. …

During the 2020 election, many democrats and republicans were left unsatisfied by both candidates. They weren’t choosing the best candidate to lead the country, but the lesser of two evils. Many of those who voted for Biden also voted reluctantly because he didn’t really represent their beliefs, but anything was better than Trump.

This was the first election in recent history where almost no one was satisfied. Trump was too radical and unpredictable while Biden’s views were so mainstream that he could essentially be considered a moderate Republican in the 1980s. …

We have all had crushes, some more intense than others. Most of us would be familiar with the nonstop thinking coupled with the fuzzy feeling in our hearts. No matter how hard we try, we cannot get them out of our heads.

Be it a coworker, an ex, or an old friend, intense feelings can uncontrollably arise. Even if we are in an existing relationship, or worse, already married, we are not exempt from these intense and confusing waves of emotions.

However, it is intriguing that in many cases, we are not even that close to our crushes. We are often at most acquaintances, rarely close friends. There are no clear qualities that encourage you to fall for them, apart from their looks and what little interactions you had with them. …

Meditation, especially Eastern forms of meditation have become very popular in contemporary culture as the demands of the modern-day often encourage one to seek mental wellness. Many of us look to mainstream meditation intending to find some peace and serenity in our busy and chaotic lives.

However, finding calmness and quiet in our minds is not the whole answer to mental wellness. Apart from the present problems we consciously face, there is a vast sea of unconscious processes that we have to acknowledge and dive into.

Be it childhood trauma, relationship issues, or self-degradation, many long-lasting psychological issues do get pushed into the subconscious background of our minds. Even if we do not have such issues, our unconscious faculties are mysterious and often scary. …

Coined by Thomas Moore in this 1516 book Utopia, the concept is widely understood as desirable. The idealization of a utopia is intrinsic to its definition as ​an imaginary place or state in which everything is perfect. We love this idea and often have our own thoughts about what a utopia would look like.

There would be no stress, no struggle, no social instability. It would be the perfect place to even just indulge in hedonistic pursuits absent of any conceivable consequences. However, after this daydream, we will likely shrug it off and think to ourselves — it’s impossible.

The case is often made that although a utopia is immensely desirable, it is impossible to achieve. This is because it assumes we humans can be perfected, yet nothing is further from the truth. After all, how can one create a perfect society for an imperfect species? …

Be it the annoying guy at work getting a promotion, your partner disrespecting you, or the simple fact that nobody listens when you speak, anger can appear in many forms and many places. But the explosive anger that most of us are familiar with usually ends in arguments, violence, and people getting hurt.

However, we cannot immediately assume that anger itself is inextricably tied to destruction and hurt. Contrary to contemporary belief, this ‘destructive’ emotion can be used for good as well. The psychological literature surrounding anger further strengthens the argument that this emotion can be productive instead of destructive.

The Psychology of Anger

The primary function of this emotion seems to be reassurance and it accomplishes this in two ways. …

Carl Gustav Jung was a prominent Swiss psychologist in the 19th century who made a name for himself by studying old myths and religions. In doing so, he coupled his findings with experiences from his patients and formed his own branch of psychology — analytical psychology.

His ideas of the archetypes and the collective unconscious are often celebrated in contemporary western culture. However, one of his deeper and less recognized ideas seems nonetheless unbelievably impactful — that is the idea of synchronicity.

Synchronicity is defined as a meaningful coincidence. But we must make no mistake, the idea is far deeper than it sounds. The origination of instances of synchronicity and its relation to our lives makes it an invaluable idea that deserves attention. …

The Enlightenment brought with it a greater awareness of human existence as science, logic, and rationality became more widespread. This, coupled with the futile pain of political wars in the 20th century sparked a philosophical movement in the latter part of the century. This movement was Existentialism.

Existentialism is a branch of philosophy that tackled the meaninglessness of life. Especially with the slow shift away from religion, the absurdity of life has become ever more pronounced. …