There are certain expectations growing up in an Asian household. My Dad wanted the triple threat. A doctor, an accountant and a lawyer. (No – not the only son juggling three jobs but across myself and my two sisters, Samantha & Natalie) Three siblings each of whom could take on the mantle of these rather distinguished high powered careers. Of course, in reality, neither of us decided to head into these well-established career paths. However, I did work at the biggest law firm in the world. Although it was in IT. (I will grasp onto any straw I possibly can – people!)
If I was going to choose a career path perhaps people would believe accountancy would have been the one to bet the house on. After all, it is extremely closely linked to my current occupation as a Business Analyst. While shopping around for a new mobile phone contract with Three I went to the EE store in Slough for some employee sales advisor to call me an Accountant when I explained I was a BA. It is the question you get used to for those with no knowledge of the modern corporate environment. I was more than mildly offended. (Should I have been annoyed as I was?) However, as I have a fear of all the gore I cannot watch an episode of Holby/Casualty. For many years I thought I had a fear of blood but thankfully that was put to rest after watching Blade on Sky Movies in the late 90s. The career path I would have chosen is a law.
Do you ever wonder where you would have been if you had taken that different path? Well in my case you will have actually seen me in action against the great Harvey Spector. Yep, the writers of Suits created a character for the latest series as a homage to the alternative reality when I would have become a District Attorney at the State of New York.
There have actually been now two Asian characters with anglicized names such as my self. The sassy but somewhat curt Stephanie Patel. However, in Andy Malik they have created a formidable foe for Harvey Spector. Personal vendettas should never get in the way of business but in reality, they do! There has actually been a little backlash on Twitter for the producers/writers using anglicized names for Asian characters. Obviously, you will fully understand where I sit on this fence but people should be glad that Asian characters are getting prominent positions in the second biggest television show on the planet right now. Plus I do not even watch GoT, so this is for me is the most popular show in the Universe.
When you are much younger, you have this need to be liked. Perhaps it is human nature. As you mature as an adult and particularly in the working world, you realise it is not about being liked. It is about doing your best, doing (whenever possible) the right thing. There will always be haters. I recall many years ago listening to Chris Evans (BBC Radio 2 DJ and not Marvel superhero actor) and his response to trolls in this particular example was that they have so many issues in their own lives that they have to lash out on somebody else. Sometimes that somebody else is in the public eye. Anyway I digress, I try my best to live by the philosophy of “To Thine Own Self Be True”. Today this tends to be to be more difficult than ever. I try nevertheless.
Side note – recent research has found that men lose their hair based on the lineage on their maternal grandfather side. Therefore I should be losing my hair within the next ten years, so I will probably resemble Andy Malik more than you think.