Hello Steemit! Nice to meet you :)

Hi Steemians! My name is Marcus and this is my first post on Steemit.

I am a movement enthusiast who is currently enrolled in the Polestar Pilates instructors’ training programme. I am also an aspiring actor, singer, dancer and composer. In my free time, I like to meditate, practice Pilates, watch plays and dance shows.

I hail from a town called Klang, located southwest of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is known for its bah kut teh, a local delicacy consisting primarily of pork ribs cooked in a broth of herbs and spices. Whenever people hear that I’m from Klang, they’ll ask whether I love bah kut teh, and I usually respond with, “No, I am pescatarian.”

My Journey

Between 2007 and 2010, I pursued Actuarial Studies in Canberra, Australia. However, at the time, I was extremely into acting, so I chose to study drama subjects for all my electives. It was an exciting time in my life because I got to explore something that I’ve always wanted to do since I was 16 – to live vicariously through a character. It provided me with an avenue to express emotions and feelings that I usually wouldn’t display in my daily life. It also gave me an introduction to how actors breathe life into their characters, and through those characters, bring meaning to a script that’s written on paper.

After graduating from my tertiary studies, I returned to Malaysia and began working for an actuarial consulting company in Kuala Lumpur. It was a dreadful period in my life as I felt trapped working in an industry that I was qualified for but had no passion for. I resigned after 6 months of employment and relished at the thought of being free.

What I experienced in the next 5 years was anything but “free”.

After resigning, I thought of diving straight into the local theatre industry.However, I was disheartened after discovering the meagre salary that most newcomers into the industry earn. I realised that as an amateur, it would take me years to build my portfolio before I could start earning a sustainable income just to support myself without financial assistance from my family.

I was caught in a dilemma. Should I go back to a corporate job where I had a steady stream of income but drained the life out of me every day? Or should I be one of those brave fools who call theatre their home while they struggle to make ends meet? I decided to choose the middle path, i.e. to find a job where I could have a steady income but wouldn’t take up so much of my mental capacity that I would be left exhausted at the end of each day.

Thus, began my cycle of employment and unemployment as I jumped from job to job, searching for the perfect work-life-passion balance. I have worked as a dealer support officer with an office supplies distributor, a research assistant probing into the mushroom supply chain in Malaysia, and most recently as a senior operations coordinator with an OTT company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur.

In 2013, I stumbled upon @maverickfoo’s series of Kickstart events that were held almost monthly at MindValley in Kuala Lumpur. During these events, he would invite speakers from various startup ventures who were at various stages of accomplishments to share about their experiences and their learnings. I learnt a lot from these events and started to pay special attention whenever I receive Maverick’s emails.

Steemit - A New Hope

Sometime in October 2017, I was invited by Maverick to attend a 100degrees event on Steemit hosted by @bitrocker2020. It was a strange concept – to earn money from a platform similar to Facebook just by posting content as well as upvoting content that you deem to be good. It seemed too good to be true, a sentiment that Maverick resonated with until he tried it out himself. After Maverick reported his earnings sometime in December 2017, I opened an account but didn’t know where to begin. When he sent out an invitation to attend a Steemit Bootcamp organised by himself, @coachmelleow and @teammalaysia on 24 March 2018, I signed up immediately.

And so, here I am, writing my first post on Steemit to introduce myself. I hope to build a sustainable side income to earn my time and financial freedom so that I can pursue my dreams of becoming an actor, singer, dancer and composer. I also wish to use this platform to build my courage and confidence in expressing myself. I look forward to learning from you all!