Embracing Change with a Positive Mindset

Ms Kalyani, 65 years old, is not ready to retire as she feels that she can continue to contribute to society. She is currently on the lookout for a new job and does not let challenges dampen her spirit, choosing to view it as an opportunity for her to pick up new skills. "Nowadays, the market sentiment is not very good, but what I’ve learnt is to take things in my own stride and keep active in other ways," said Ms Kalyani.

 

As she had always been interested in music, she was keen to pursue learning music theory and different musical instruments.

 

Encouragement from family

 

Ms Kalyani has close ties with her family. In fact, her daughter was the one to sign her up for the National Silver Academy (NSA) course Keyboard Appreciation Class 1 conducted by Family Central. It was then that she found out about NSA, which provides subsidised courses for seniors aged 50 years and above.

 

"I’m glad that my daughter helps and supports me in my learning journey as the younger generation is able to do things like online registration much faster than older folks like us," she laughed.

 

After learning about the basics of keyboard, she continued practising daily and it became her new hobby. She had also volunteered to participate and play the percussion in the opening ensemble performance for NSA’s 3rd Anniversary Celebration on 2 August 2019 at the National Library, graced by President Halimah Yacob. Ms Kalyani said that it was a very meaningful and rewarding experience for her as the team members had practiced hard together during the preparation rehearsals.

 

She shared, "Learning has no age limit and I encourage seniors to actively pursue their passions. NSA courses are good for this as there is a wide variety of topics, which are quite affordable and you get to meet new friends who are around your age."

 

Preparing herself to be future-ready

 

Ms Kalyani previously worked in accounting as well as customer service. While she was working as a customer service officer at the National Library, she took the initiative to attend the NSA course Chinese Level 1 conducted by National University of Singapore as she wanted to improve her communication skills and better communicate with a wider audience. Beyond her job search, she wanted to use her free time to pick up new skills and courses for herself. Eventually, she signed up for the NSA course Mindfulness for Well-Being by SACE at the NSA Roadshow @ Central. She is also interested to further improve her keyboard skills and is on the lookout for advanced keyboard courses.

 

"The reason I signed up for the mindfulness course is to improve my mental well-being. It’s important to keep active physically and mentally, otherwise we may be vulnerable to stress and depression," said Ms Kalyani.

 

Ms Kalyani has also attended the NSA course Financial Management Literacy for Retirement Planning conducted by Centre for Seniors to learn how to better plan and manage her finances for retirement, and said that she would put the knowledge learnt to good use for her future.

 

**Special thanks to Ms Kalyani who accepted our interview, we wish her all the very best in her lifelong learning journey.

 

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