Stephanie Phua or, as she would like to be called, Stooffi, was probably the youngest-looking speaker we had out of the four. I think that’s what makes her all the more lovable. She claimed the room with her calm presence and occasionally, we would see her let slip a cheery and funny side.

 

Like Charles Rezandi, she had been in the media industry for a good number of years, having worked at a media agency before venturing out into creating her social media marketing company. She told us of her many talents and hobbies, which ranged from writing to blogging to video and photography.

 

Showing us a reel of her works really sparked my interest as I spotted a few brands that I enjoy or were using. UNIQLO’s name popped up and the work that she did for them really left me excited as I had seen that advertisement video a couple of times whilst working in the company for my part-time job. The video showcased dancers performing a routine whilst wearing the clothes from UNIQLO and had a mild flashback at how many times I had to fold those clothes during work.

 

Segueing from that, Stephanie recounted of a story about her
dancer days, having been a dancer during her youth and how she
had incorporated that into that brief. She shared how she created a
charity campaign/concert for the less fortunate in Japan, raising
funds by performing a dance routine created by her fellow dancers
and herself. This delighted me as I’ve actually seen her posters on the charity before a couple years before and remembered how I thought
it was so cool of the people to do something so meaningful whilst doing something they loved. Stephanie mentioned how it is pivotal
to have a side-hobby that is separate from your job so as to have a
way to de-stress and have a breather from work and I kept that in
mind should I ever be too stressed in the near future. Relax from
work and do your own thing.

 

Branching out more on her dancing career, Stephanie mentioned
how despite dancing being a side-hobby, it was imperative to always give your best and never do things half-heartedly. Hobbies are like honing a small practice of your own and she tied that mentality to
her work as well. Never be impatient for results and keep on
practicing in your line of work.

 

Stephanie knows of the younger generations hunger for quick results and she advised to ditch that mentality. That raised a couple of raised eyebrows in the room but she emphasised how we should be patient in ourselves and not be too disheartened if faced with rejection. Carry on forward, knowing and learning from that experience is part of the practice. I smiled, knowing that that advice would be harder to follow as I’m a creature of habit and self-doubt had always been my companion. However, hearing her reassurance has settled my doubts somewhat and I guess I should practice on being more confident in myself.

 

Stephanie left the room with a smile, her last few words to use were words of encouragement and an invitation for us to hit her up on her Instagram account if we were to shy to ask her any questions. Needless to say, I followed her instantly after that.