I learnt the hard way that not everyone is honest. Not everyone who smiles at you is your friend. I got disappointed repeatedly by broken promises, by gossip disguised as concern, by friends who only showed up when it benefited them.

I led a very sheltered life growing up. My father was strict; rules for everything, structure always, freedom rarely. So, when I finally left for college at 17, I was like a bird released from a cage into an endless sky, utterly bewildered about which direction to fly.

There I was, feverish and debilitated, setting up my third load of laundry at 11pm on a Friday night. Who optimises laundry schedules while running a fever? Apparently, I DO.

Some people dismiss friendship as unimportant; they believe that having friends is nice but not having them is “also not an issue.” But I say this: those people have simply never encountered a real friend. If they had, those words would never leave their mouths.

Some people dismiss friendship as unimportant; they believe that having friends is nice but not having them is “also not an issue.” But I say this: those people have simply never encountered a real friend. If they had, those words would never leave their mouths.

We constantly find ourselves stuck in this holding pattern, waiting for the “right moment” or the “perfect circumstance.” But honestly, what is the right moment for us to take action? The truth is, some of the best things in life never happen simply because we waited too long.

High standards are not demands — they’re boundaries that protect our peace. Discover more inspiring thoughts from Ms Evelyn Chen in her newest blog post for ILTI entitled “The Power of “High Standards”: Why Settling Is NOT An Option”!

At ILTI, we don’t settle for “good enough” as we aim for growth, respect, and a future full of possibility through English fluency.