It is often said that we should follow our passion and do what we like. But in life, we do not often find ourselves in such an ideal situation. What do we do then?

When that happens, instead of insisting on doing what we love, we should just love what we are doing ("Learn to love what you study even if you're not passionate about it yet: Ong Ye Kung"; ST Online, March 4).

It is usually the mindset of Singaporean students to do what they already have an interest in, as they are usually reluctant to step out of their comfort zones and try new things, for fear of failure. Hence, students are usually limited by what they like to do.

But what most students then miss out on is the opportunity to do something they might be even better at, even though they may not like it at first. Cultivating a passion for a subject requires time, and if students do not even give themselves a chance to try, they do not know whether they can flourish in that field.

This change in the mindset of students can become more achievable with a supportive learning environment.

Teachers can further encourage students to try something new by not focusing on just the gaining of knowledge in their lessons, but also including real-life applications that students are more familiar with.

With an emphasis on the more interesting and relatable aspects of each subject instead of the seemingly "useless" knowledge, students are more likely to gain an interest in the subject which they previously might have thought was boring.

But when students choose to study something they did not have an interest in previously, such a change would probably worry parents. Parents who are more conservative may not be as supportive when their child chooses to pursue something new.

We cannot expect a change in mindset to take place overnight, but it would be good to take the first steps now to make it happen.

Tan Shyn Yi (Miss)