Follow That Dream by Rebecca Lim (as interviewed by Stella Tang)

[Source: Singapore Memory Project (iremember.sg)and Read!Fest 2014 on Books That Moved Me]

"I first read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho when I was in secondary school. My mum, an avid reader, bought a copy for each of my two siblings and I. It's about Santiago, a shepherd boy who dreams of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids one night and leaves Spain to follow his dream. He meets many spiritual messengers along the way, learning different lessons from them. 

However, the book only truly made an impact on me when I re-read it before I graduated with my Accountancy degree from Singapore Management University. My friends had applied to banks and for other such proper jobs. I was at a crossroads: to follow the same path or become an actress?

My parents wanted me to complete my degree so I would have that to fall back on. But they also told me to follow my heart after graduation so that I wouldn't have any regrets. This book supplemented their advice and gave me the courage to make my first major decision -- to pursue my acting dream.

I have a habit of writing down meaningful quotes in my diary. The Alchemist has many such quotable quotes, such as this exchange between the shepherd boy and the alchemist, whom he finally meets: "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," says the shepherd boy on his misguided agenda to which the alchemist responds, "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

When I re-read these words at a time when I felt down, it encouraged me to stay true to my dreams. Though the journey may be tough or take longer than expected, take heart that the best things in life will happen to you, for you, at the right time. Like Santiago discovered, there is no need to search for treasures in the outside world; search within yourself and you'll get the world. It's extremely difficult to live by this philosophy but I'm constantly working at it."

For more on Rebecca Lim, click here.