As a child, we were always asked the standard and mandatory question – “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I had lots of answers.

In primary school I had all the typical answers, rotating between policeman, doctor, army, fireman, and teacher. As I grew older, I wanted to become a pilot because I was told they get paid well. At other points I fantasized about becoming a king. It was probably because other children my age wanted to be the Prime Minister and I wanted to outdo them – I had such a simple mind when I was a kid, always wanting to be at the top.

Then as I grew older and learned more about life, my path became clearer, yet my dreams began to blur – I wasn’t sure anymore what I wanted to really be. I couldn’t recall daring to have any solid dreams I wanted to pursue as I entered secondary school.

That’s my story.

This year, Fun(d) For Life introduced a new program called “Kejar Impian” – a program to help teenagers chase their dreams. Anchored by the foundation of financial literacy, the program offered students an opportunity to learn what it takes to chase their dreams – the skills and knowledge for the career of their choice as well as the financial management aspects to make it a reality.

Participants had the choice to attend any (or all) of the 5 workshops for 5 specific careers: content creator, virtual artist, tv host, e-sports, and entrepreneur.

I attended all 5 workshops held on Saturday nights and witnessed how the participants (aged between 14-17) listened to passionate mentors from these specialized careers all night long. These mentors shared their experiences, walking the participants through tips on how to be the best at what they do. The participants were interactive and participative in the sessions, asking a variety of provoking questions and engaging in all the activities online.

During the TV host session, participants were given the opportunity to practice voice delivery. We had kids practicing lines and pitching for their YouTube channel contents. We had participants drawing a night scenery with stars that then became a bookmark. All this was done virtually online.

I was amazed and inspired by the commitment and energy of the participants – it was definitely contagious. I could also see the same energy being passed to the mentors, which probably motivated and gave them the extra boost to deliver on a weekend night.

When I was at their age, I didn’t know what I wanted to be. Yet before me stood a bunch of young students developing a clarity of their goals and dreams. The “Kejar Impian” program provided them this first step to chase and achieve their dreams.

It made me happy.

The participants then had the chance to submit their pitch on why they should win the prize money to help them achieve their dreams. Out of more than 50 submissions, 10 of them made it to the finals.

However, just like any other competition, there needs to be winners – so we forced ourselves to rank the top 6. But because everyone presented so well we decided to give all the 10 finalists prize money and increased the amount by RM100, which they truly deserved by getting into the finals and performing a splendid show.

This is our Top 3 winners!

And this is the rest our Top 6 Winners!

“Kejar Impian” has now become a favorite (I actually love them all) under the Fun(d) For Life program and I can’t wait for the next one.

Hoping to make more dreams come true.