Alex See - Hong Kong
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Three minutes into the Skype interview, Alex tells me that he has found his life purpose. I’m slightly taken aback. As a 23-year old, I’m very rarely surrounded by people who know who they are, let alone have any inkling of what their raison d’être is. But here’s a young man who’s seemingly got it all figured out.
Working with a coach, Alex has been on a journey of introspection and self-discovery since July last year. “I found that my life purpose is connecting people, connection,” he tells me as casually as how one might say what they had for lunch that day. Alex says it’s what drives him even in his work life. “I look at this business now as a medium to connect with people that I'd never meet, the people who wear the product,” he explains. All he has to do is remember his life purpose and even tasks he finds tedious becomes a way to open a connection. “My perspective shifted,” he says.
The coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns that have come because of it has put a stopper to his usual social commitments, but he has found ways to adapt. In a few days, he tells me, he’ll have his first ever large scale virtual happy hour on Zoom. Sure enough, as I was scrolling through my Facebook feed the following Friday, I see that the event was a roaring success. More than 30 people from all over the world joined, even an American woman who logged in at 6:30am her time. She hosted Alex during his student exchange program in California in 2001.
“When I say what is the ideal version of myself? It's that I want to go to a room and inspire friends and bring people together,” he explains. “It’s this image, like you go to your birthday party or your own funeral and you’re like, oh, everyone knows everyone, everyone loves each other, everyone's being so friendly to each other and they're all together because they know me.” He says that it’s in scenarios like this when he comes alive.
He spends his time painting watercolours of his friends’ favourite animals, which he displays on his wall.
This journey started last summer. Hong Kong was a different place, with political and social unrest catalysed by Carrie Lam’s extradition bill taking front and centre of the news agenda. Alex himself was part of the scene earlier on, being in the choir who performed the song “Do you hear the people sing?” among the crowds of masked protesters in black. But the peaceful rallies turned violent as the weeks went by. Although the virus put a sudden end to the physical protests, they have now spilled over online, even on Animal Crossing.
Before the pandemic, Alex regularly went back and forth to China, where he oversees the manufacturing of the jewellery being sold by his sister’s company. It was here, in December, when he heard some teammates discussing the emergence of the virus. Alex says at the time, he didn’t think much of it. In fact, when the opportunity presented itself, he decided to travel and take his 76-year old father on his first ever trip to Europe. “My friend was getting a vineyard, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I want to go, I want to see it. I just [couldn’t] help myself.” And so despite his mother’s objection, Alex, his father, and his sister boarded a plane to Italy, just as the virus was beginning to gain a foothold in the country.
Although they weren’t in the Lombardy region, Alex says he couldn’t help but feel guilty when they returned to Hong Kong. “I said shit, I took my dad who's 76 years old to Italy and what if he got it? We started to beat ourselves up for what we have done,” Alex recounts. “My coach told me to imagine myself talking to the 95 year-old Alex. What do you imagine your 95 year-old self will tell you about this trip to Italy?” He clears his throat and pauses. “I do believe I will live to 95 years old. But I don't think my dad would be alive then, 60 years from now. So I was like, “Yes, he would be really grateful because it's a wonderful memory.” At the time of the interview, Alex and his father have been back for more than a month. They did not experience any COVID-19 symptoms.
A macaw for Scott, a cheetah for Raymond, the Philippine Eagle for Tom.
As someone who thrives off of social interactions, I ask Alex if the pandemic has made him anxious or restless in any way. “No, I guess it’s just not me,” he answers nonchalantly. He thanks his self-discovery journey for this. “I’ve learned to be [okay] with what I can control and what I cannot,” he says. In fact, he seems to be making the most out of the lockdown. “I always ask myself, and I always would ask my friends: what opportunity do you see it’s bringing? We so easily fall into fear- fear of feeling disconnected, fear of getting it, fear of spreading it. And the people who focus on fear and not able to see the potential usually would be stuck in inaction.” He adds: “We're all really good problem solvers and also really good problem seekers. So instead of looking at the problem, we [have to] look at the potential.”
Alex says the change in his routine and the sudden freeze on social engagements have also allowed him to connect deeper with himself. These days, he spends his time painting watercolours of his friends’ favourite animals, which he displays on his wall: a macaw for Scott, a cheetah for Raymond, the Philippine Eagle for Tom. He has also been gardening in his balcony, rosemary, thyme, and parsley overlooking the city. What used to be spontaneous nights out have now been replaced with more mindful connections. “I realised [that] all this behaviour is coming from me feeling not liked enough or feeling [like I’m] missing out or not feeling understood by others,” he explains. “Even my purpose is a version of my own limitation,” he says with a chuckle. “Sometimes we all need to be at peace and quiet and spend time with ourselves. That is the connection that I don't usually give myself.”