(Part 2/2) ‘I realized that through quitting my job and now freelancing I don’t really need a lot of money as long as I am still living with my parents…’

(Part 2/2) ‘I just need RM500 – RM600 a month, despite earning ten times that and spending it all without saving anything previously at a full time job. And now, getting just RM700 a month, I manage to actually save!

‘And thank god I don’t have much financial commitments, besides the RM400 monthly payment for my Perodua Axia. 

‘I have just been getting so much freelance writing jobs from from different companies and am still freelancing with my previous employer!

‘With one freelance story, it really helps cover my phone bill, my car and with the RM700 token sum that’s all I really need, I don’t need anything else. I also get a lot of invitations to write food reviews and if not that, I just eat simply at home. 

‘Can you imagine what kind of lifestyle I was living before and how much quitting my job really changed me?

‘I would say go for it… quit. If you’re not happy, there’s no point staying (at your job) and ask yourself what life lessons are you learning?

‘It came to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore and I just have to quit. I don’t care if there’s no money tomorrow I just need to get out today!

‘Some people might think I am selfish, I might agree with them, but life has their own way of working things out.

‘I do get some token sum, but the token sum is something that I was just given. Not something I asked for.

‘Somehow, I feel like this is the right way for me to serve and I am really using my expertise (media contacts, writing, marketing skill) to help BLESS.

‘When you are serving God, you will be blessed. You will be richly rewarded for your service and it’s just something that I have wanted to do too since young − to serve.’ 

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

(Do like the Bless Shop page athttp://www.facebook.com/blessshopsibkl ) — withSarah Voon.

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

Do you have a story? Let us know here: https://forms.gle/ht4HsvbxgSgcKS5h8

 

(This post was first published on June 6th 2016)

(Part 1/2) ‘I used to work for The Edge for almost three years as a full-time journalist’

(Part 1/2) ‘I’ve gotten two journalism awards – and it’s my first ever job, but I never had a sense of self-fulfillment, a sense that I knew that I am doing the right thing.

‘That was in September last year 2015 and I really felt like I was going through some quarter-life crisis. So, cliche, I know… and I turned 25 this year so I thought, oh my God it’s coming a bit early!

‘So I quit my job with no backup plan, nothing to fall back on, no savings, nothing! I just quit and decided to do stuff for charity.

‘My mom has been doing charity for 10-15 years and I decided to volunteer for it full-time, and despite them wanting to pay me, I turned it down.

‘I only considered a token sum, which is fine, because I really wanted to do something that’s bigger than myself. 

‘When I started doing charity – it’s just about the community that I am impacting. I work with single mothers who need jobs and a team who have come from very different backgrounds. The secondhand goods sold for its profits go toward our causes which you can take a look at www.kedaibless.com, and the charity sells secondhand goods.

‘The warehouse I work at is massive, dirty, dusty, and has so many items that needs to be sifted through, as well as needs cleaning.

‘It takes a lot of humility to clean the warehouse too, especially with just a fan and in our hot weather. We have to wear face masks because of the dust.’

‘And because I’m a little bit more tech savvy, I’ve assisted BLESS make an online presence through the webshop, as well as market the brand and upload the content. 

‘It’s been six months here, I am feeling good, I know I can do even better, but above all I just want to know that I am making an impact.’

‘When I joined BLESS, it’s really a blessing, I have blessed others and at the same time I am being blessed’.

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur — with Sarah Voon

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

Do you have a story? Let us know here: https://forms.gle/ht4HsvbxgSgcKS5h8

 

(This post was first published on June 6th 2016)

‘I worked for 5 years in Canada. Things eventually started to feel very routine and depressing working as a Video-Visual Technician in the biggest law firm back in Canada…’

‘It was a very stressful job, I always went back home too tired to do anything else. I then started to get depressed and eventually just decided to quit and I went traveling to Colombia for 9 months, and then later I went down to South America, and then to Japan for 3 months – then here, Malaysia, for 6 months.

‘Its not impossible to travel without a lot of money. When I left for Japan I only had US$200 in my pocket and I just made do with that that, by taking odd jobs here and there. I’ve been to Malaysia twice before, so I knew it’s cheap. I knew I like the food, I knew I like the people so yeah I think that’s it. And with my job I see something new all the time.

‘So what is the biggest thing you have learned so far?’

‘The biggest thing I’ve learned is to feel happy, and my inspiration for traveling was for happiness – it keeps you happy. You don’t need to do whatever society wants you to do to ‘make it big’. You can feel fulfilled doing any thing – that’s what I learned. I am now doing different jobs and doing different things. I thought I was happy doing anything as long as I got the basic necessities to live. A lot of people are pressured from their family to be successful and you might not like that, you might not feel fulfilled doing it so don’t force yourself’. 

‘Where are you going next?

‘England.’

‘How long? 

‘I don’t know, it might be 2 weeks, or it might be a year, I don’t plan that far ahead”.

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

*(The photo was taken a while back – as far as we know he has decided to stay in KL after his trip to England!) — with Boris Panov.

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

Do you have a story? Let us know here: https://forms.gle/ht4HsvbxgSgcKS5h8

(This post was first published on June 2nd 2016)

“He’s 35, and I’m 31. We’re in love, but I feel sad that other couples can think and plan of their future – but I can’t, because no matter what we do, he’s still a refugee…”

“I’ve never met anyone else who thinks alike. I tried dating other guys but it didn’t work out because the way they think is too narrow-minded. I like how he thinks, and we have really deep conversations I’ve never had with anyone else. And he’s the most serious guy I’ve ever met, but at the same time, he also has his little moments of spontaneity”.

‘No matter what we do, its hard to be a future. He can’t be Malaysian. He can’t go anywhere else. And I can’t change the country’s refugee laws’.

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

Do you have a story? Let us know here: https://forms.gle/ht4HsvbxgSgcKS5h8

(This post was first published on May 29th 2016)