rejection is never easy.

when I was nominated to be snow white in a school play in primary school and got rejected because I was… too fat.

I cried for many weeks.

when I applied for a scholarship in high school and got rejected because I was… a foreigner.

I cried again, for months.

when I applied for a job at an MNC as a fresh graduate and got rejected because I didn’t have the right education.

I felt the world against me.

when I asked my friends to join me on a trip and went without them at the very last minute because… they suddenly had more important things to do.

I felt unimportant.

when I applied to NUS’s medical faculty and received a rejection note months later.

I felt dumb, even when I didn’t really want to do medicine (I feel faint at the sight of pools of blood).

when I sent an email to someone I admired, inviting them to join an event I organised, and got rejected.

I again felt unimportant.

I used to let it crush and cripple me for weeks, or months, or years…

Now, I accept it.

Each rejection taught me how normal rejection was.

And if it is normal, why fight it?

Rejection is like breathing. Natural, normal and expected.