Hi there. My name is Laura Wong. In case you're wondering, yes I am a Chinese. I may or may not have a slight obsession with green tea and daisies. A follower of Christ and a shopaholic.

As I am writing this, it is the first day of 2016 (even though I am certain that this post will not be published on the same day due to my lack of efficiency). Just like every year, I'd spend some time reflecting about the year before. 2015 had its fair share of ups and downs, unexpected events and a lot of blessings!

Winning Unilever's Future Leaders League

In August, right after I was eliminated from the Maybank GO. Ahead Challenge, I joined another business competition organized by Unilever. To be frank, I felt defeated after being eliminated, but I did not want to stop there because I knew God has placed this dream in my heart- to win a competition and travel abroad with my own ability.

In case you are not familiar with Unilever, it is the company that manages famous brands such as Magnum, Cornetto, Dove and Vaseline. It was Unilever's first time hosting the FLL competition in Malaysia (3rd time globally if I'm not mistaken), so it's pretty new. This competition differs from Maybank's MGAC as we were to come up with a marketing campaign for the brand, Cornetto. Being a Finance & Economics major, I have minimal knowledge of marketing, and the same goes for both my teammates. Despite the odds, I still went for it anyway.

My team and I worked really hard and to our surprise, we won the National round! I must say it was not an easy process at all. Thinking of creative ideas was one thing; but working around busy schedules, coming up with designs, and cooperating as a team makes the process more challenging. I am truly grateful for the team I have with me for they had to bear with my demanding requests and my temper.

Also, I cannot express how grateful I am for God's perfect timing! Previously, I was so upset that I lost the MGAC because that was my ticket to travel abroad. But now, I earned myself not only an iPad mini, but a ticket to London! I never thought I will be able to travel to UK so soon, but I must say that I am very excited about it. Cant wait!!

Seeing medical improvements

This is something I normally do not share publicly but it's too good to not share! Five years ago, I discovered that I have a spinal disorder; scientifically known as 'scoliosis'. It is a condition in which my spine is curved in a S shape. Given my age and the maturity of the bones, the doctors said that it is not possible for my spine to be straightened unless I go through surgery. I have considered surgery many times, but refused in the end because it is not only super pricey (costs about RM50k T__T), but my mobility is limited after surgery.


I have gone for many chiropractic services and have spent lots of money on them but have only seen minimal improvements. The doctors said that there will only be slight variations to the curvature of my spine given my condition. This year however, I stopped going for any chiropractic service. I decided to stick to only exercises (by that, I mean dancing) and back massages.

And I still kept praying over it.

In November, I went for an annual X-ray check-up and I was shocked to find out that the curve of my spine reduced by 11 degrees! Despite the minimal difference from the surface, 11 degrees is a huge improvement as doctors said the variation should be 5 degrees or lesser. In fact, it's pretty much impossible! I am truly grateful to see such improvements even though I stopped all chiropractic services. I'd like to share more about this; but I'll save it for next time.

Joining theater class

Performing has always been my thing. Even though I’m currently pursuing Business, I’ve always had a soft spot for performing. There is just something about performing which excites me every time. It’s not because I seek attention, but performing helps me to build confidence and to showcase what I love to do.

I’ve been involved in several performances; from dancing to singing to storytelling- but not acting. I secretly liked acting, but I’ve never gotten the chance to try it out. To my surprise, theater was one of the choices for my electives in semester 2!

Since I’ve never taken up acting lessons, I did not know what to expect from this module. I still remembered how I started to have doubts about choosing this subject once I entered the class. I was late by a few minutes, and my new lecturer seemed extremely unhappy about it. Her face went red and she started lecturing me about being late for FIVE minutes. T__T On second thought, I considered on switching subjects because I was now afraid of the lecturer hahaha.

Turned out Ms. Pat (the lecturer) is super nice and friendly after all! Unlike the usual classroom setting, Ms. Pat made our classes interesting by introducing new activities and games each time. There were many games that made us look stupid, activities that made our body ache, things that made some of us cried and so much more. Despite being extremely stern about punctuality, she is one of the reasons why I look forward to attending theater class.


The last 10 days prior to our public performance were my favorite. For our finals, we had to come up with a 20 minutes play in a team of 6. Preparing for the performance was so much fun! It was our baby as we did everything from brainstorming, to script writing to directing to preparing the props and outfits. I wished I have the recording of our play, but I don't. :(



From this module, I've learned that acting is not just about expressing using our face and body language. It's more than that. I never understood what Ms. Pat meant when she said "Acting is a about being yourself."- but today, I do. Acting is about immersing yourself into the character, behaving like the character and telling the truth even though they aren't the truth.

More opportunities to serve at church

In the last few months of 2015, I was given more opportunities to serve and grow in church. Some time in October, I was asked to share a testimony with the 4Twelve peeps. Now I have always been singing in church but I have never shared a message before, so this was a challenge. That day, I shared about how I have transformed from a person who used to shy away from crowds to a person who is confident and bold to tackle new opportunities. What an eye opening experience it was to be able to share God's greatness!  

Also, I got to perform for a charitable event in church. This time, I was singing non-Christian songs. Been singing Christian songs all my life that I think the church peeps got to see a different side of me that day hahaha. Grateful to have Ryan to play the guitar for me, and for interacting with the crowd when I was being all awkward. Quite an interesting experience considering that it was my first time performing gigs but definitely not my last!



2015 was indeed a year filled with opportunities! There were many "first time" experiences last year, and I believe that God is going to open more doors this year.