The Beautiful Chaos of Starting Over At 19

Am I crazy for leaving Singapore at 19 for a six-month internship in Bangkok? Maybe. But honestly, this jump into the unknown might be one of the most liberating decisions I've made in years.

I'm Niq, a 19 year old Singaporean student who somehow landed at Kommune Agency as their newest marketing intern. Looking back at my first month here, I still find myself doing double-takes. Did I really do this? Nothing was easy, which makes the reality even more surreal. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I first arrived, trying to match names to faces. By day two, I was researching Thai KOLs and attempting operate a DSLR camera (as if I hadn't just learned which button turns it on). Even one month in, I still face questions like "What made you do it?" and "Do you regret it?" Honestly, I'm still figuring out the answers myself. So what convinced me to pack my bags and trade the familiar comfort of home for the beautiful chaos of Bangkok? After much reflection, here are three revelations and things I've heard that pushed me to make this eye-opening leap.

1. You Clearly Want to Do Something, So Why Not Just Do It?

As cliché as it sounds, I just went for it. Looking back, I've always been the person who talks myself into things rather than out of them. When facing something new and intimidating, my mind wanted to construct those elaborate reasons why I

shouldn't take the risk. Sound familiar? I bet for about half the exciting opportunities that have crossed your path, you've talked yourself out of them. This time, something in me refused to follow that pattern.

The truth? If I had overthought it, I'd be sitting in Singapore right now, scrolling through Kommune's Instagram with that hollow feeling in my stomach wondering "what if." Instead, I followed that tiny voice of courage and jumped. Now I'm zipping through Bangkok's streets on motorbikes (terrifying but exhilarating), stumbling through Thai food names I (still) can't pronounce, and diving headfirst into Thailand's vibrant influencer scene—all because for once, I chose action over self-doubt.

2. You Can’t Be Too Cool To Care, Cause If You're Too Cool You're Gonna Freeze

Every day still brings moments where I feel completely out of my depth. Yesterday, I got lost finding an exit at the train station. My Thai vocabulary remains embarrassingly limited to "hello," "thank you," and "how much?" I catch myself asking questions in meetings that make the team exchange those subtle glances.

But here's what I've discovered in my quieter moments: cluelessness isn't the liability I always thought it was—it's actually my greatest asset right now. Starting from zero is terrifying but beautiful. I was scared to look foolish, to make mistakes, to be that person always asking "basic" questions. But being willing to set aside my ego and soak up completely new ideas has opened doors I didn't even know existed.

Embracing not knowing has made every day a whirlwind of learning. I'm absorbing information and developing skills in ways that my formal education never triggered. The team actually values my fresh questions far more than they would value pretend expertise—something I wish I'd understood earlier.

3. You’re Not Married to Any Ideas

The most profound growth hasn't come where I expected. It came from those tiny vacuities of time when I was getting from place-to-place. Not being able to move around, and just being forced to appreciate the scenery and reflect, allowed me to shed my Singaporean lens almost completely. Back home, everything ran with calculated precision and structure that I took for granted. We’d have to sit through the same classes every week, from 10am to 4pm, the same routine and structure every day, 5 days a week. Here, there's a creative spontaneity that initially frustrated me but now feels like breathing fresh air after being indoors too long. I've caught myself wondering how many times I've missed out by clinging to "my way" of doing things.

Being open-minded goes beyond just trying new foods or visiting tourist spots. It required me to question everything I assumed was "normal.” Like how we’d just keep to ourselves most of the time (making it extremely hard to talk to people). When I stopped mentally comparing everything to Singapore's way of doing things and started appreciating Bangkok on its own terms, something shifted inside me. Have you ever experienced that moment when your perspective suddenly flips and everything looks different? It's fascinating to track how my understanding of marketing has evolved in just four weeks. I arrived with such certainty about what makes good content, and those beliefs get challenged daily in the most unexpected ways. By embracing these new approaches rather than resisting them, I've gained insights that years of classroom theory could never have given me. There's something powerful about letting go of being "right" that I never understood before.

One month in and I've already changed in ways I never could have predicted. Some nights I still have moments of "what am I doing here?" followed by "I can't believe what I would have missed." Funny how the most spontaneous, unplanned decisions can completely redirect your life's trajectory, isn't it? I'm equally nervous and thrilled to discover what these next five months will bring. And lastly, of course, I'm incredibly grateful to be part of this kommunity :)