Amanda Chong

I had the honour of being the Guest of Honour at @raffles_girls_school Founder’s Day last week. 18 years after I graduated, I was greeted with big hugs from Deputy Principals Ms May Tan (in photo), my chemistry teacher who gave me my first zero on a test 😆, and Mrs Mary George Cheriyan, my history teacher who indulged me by allowing me to write plays about women in history, instead of essays, as my graded assignments.🥲 I wasn’t sure what to speak about as teenage girls face a huge deal of pressure, much more so than in my day. But a recent experience taking my first exam in a decade unlocked all the inspiration I needed. I decided to speak on 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗷𝗼𝘆: “…There is a tendency for perfectionism in us RGS girls. We make excellence an extreme sport. 100% is never enough, we’re always giving 200%. Our toxic perfectionism manifests in a range of ways. Perfectionism can look like not being satisfied with an A-grade and berating yourself that you didn’t write “the perfect exam”. Perfectionism can also look like deciding that you won’t even bother trying because deep inside you are so afraid of failing. It is a wonderful and worthy thing to pursue excellence. But our desire to be excellent can enslave us when it turns into perfectionism. It can make us feel anxious and hopelessly inadequate. Is there a way that we can pursue excellence with joy? As I found myself hyperventilating over my own A-grade exam paper at the age of 34, I knew what I needed to tell you today. I did not want to tell you to be “better”, or to “strive for a brighter future”. I want to tell you that you are worthy, just as you are. Much has been said about RGS girls as “Daughters of a Better Age”. But let’s put the “Better Age” aside for today, because I want to focus on your identity as 𝘋𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. Understanding you are a daughter is the key to pursuing excellence with joy. There are three reasons for this…” Swipe to read my full speech ⏩️💫

Here’s a longer interview with playwright Amanda Chong as she chats with us about the inspirations (and infographics!) behind Psychobitch, from its provocative title to her decision to write it as a one-woman show starring Sindhura Kalidas! ✨ Psychobitch opens this Thursday and will run till 19 August 2023. Book your tickets now before they run out – link in our bio! 🩷 ——— 𝗣𝗦𝗬𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛 Written by Amanda Chong Directed by Pam Oei Starring Sindhura Kalidas When tasked by her fiancé to explain the four times she has cried in public since they started dating, Anya Samuel must confront harsh truths about herself as she prepares a slide deck to save her relationship. Psychobitch is a darkly funny, thought-provoking one-woman show that boldly dissects gender power dynamics and toxic relationships, while challenging us to examine the concessions we make in our search for love. Duration: approximately 1 hour 30 minutes (without intermission) IMDA Advisory 16 (Some Mature Content and Coarse Language)

Thank you @straits_times for this review of Psychobitch. First public acknowledgement that Mandy has the “crowd-pleasing jokes” (even my own brother-in-law was surprised I wrote them 🥲). I’m 💯 here for @sindhukalidas and a uterus animated by @_elizabethmak taking up a half page spread on the national broadsheet.🩸 So grateful for the overwhelming response to this one woman show that my sister Sindhu and I dreamt up together last year, directed by our stage mom @pam_oei . We sold over 1000 tickets on our opening weekend and Sindhu received standing ovations for her tour de force performance. The run was sold out last night, but a few more tickets have been released today so HURRY on to @wildricesg if you want to catch our show before we close on 19 August! ➡️ Swipe for the three bitches behind the show.

Throwback to the last slices of Singapore in August: Turned 36 and @jonkkk presented me with a birthday card emblazoned with my own quote to @straits_times about gendered expectations which led to much cackling. Many last meals and parties (even one on a yacht by my broets from the Pulau) with dearest friends to send me off into the new chapter 🗽. Grateful to be carried by so much love 💗

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝟔𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞 🇸🇬 Sixty years ago, we became a nation. Today, we celebrate who we’re becoming—a people who choose to walk with each other through every season. This milestone belongs to all the moments when Singaporeans chose to see others with fresh eyes. The auntie who teaches you her recipe. The colleague who checks in during your tough week. The stranger who becomes a friend when you need one most. True community is not built on fleeting gestures but on the willingness to show up, time and again. As we step into our next chapter, we’re shaped by the people we choose to share life with, adjusting our pace to walk side by side through small, brave, and consistent actions. Here’s to more years of walking together❤️🤍 #walkwithyousg #waystowalk #sg60

I am grateful for Melissa Kwee for walking with me through seasons of joy and disappointment as a mentor and friend, and for coming alongside to lead @WalkWithYou.sg . I first met Mel when I was fifteen and she spoke about sex trafficking in my class as the President of UN Women. It is no exaggeration to say that meeting her inspired the course of my life. I knew instantly that when I grew up, I wanted to be just like her — to go to Harvard, advocate for gender justice and work with the UN. Her parting shot to us was, “To those who have been given much, much is expected” — a principle that Mel exemplifies, which has, in turn, guided all that I do. Mel’s gift is in seeing the true, good and beautiful in others and calling forth their highest selves. While teenage Amanda was impressed with Mel’s many accomplishments, I now know Mel deserves greatest honour because of how well she loves others. Everyone is welcome around her table — from town council cleaners and persons with disabilities, to youth facing adversity. She speaks to all as equals, looking to them for ideas and contributions. She confesses her own weaknesses, and invites all to find strength in community. It is so precious to me that WalkWithYou was birthed around Mel’s table. Mel has also loved me well. She has spoken life into challenging situations and taught me to keep my heart tender, even in the face of betrayals that have wounded me. She always calls forth the highest thing from me — forgiveness, integrity, character. More than twenty years on, I still want to be like Mel when I grow up — slow to judge others, quick to extend grace, and a faithful walking companion to anyone whose steps have faltered, until they find their feet again. — Amanda Chong @asenseoffalling (lawyer, poet, playwright & co-leader @walkwithyou.sg ) #waystowalk #walkwithyousg #sg60

We are a group of friends and neighbours who heard a beautiful song of this title written for SG60 by @linying._ and we knew it belonged to a vision of the Singapore we dream of. A vision that can be seen only with fresh eyes towards our fellow humans in this island we call our home. To paint a collective picture of this, we’re sharing stories of the joy we find when we walk with each other—yours included. Our stories help us see that we all need people to walk with us, and we can all be people who walk with others.❤️ 🎶 The music video for “𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪” by 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 which is based on real stories of the joy we find when we walk with others drops on 𝟐𝟕 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲. #walkwithyousg #waystowalk #sg60

A decade ago when I was a baby poet, a few of us young writers came together to co-found @poetry.sg – a directory of Singapore poetry complete with critical analyses. Our mission was to provide resources for academics, teachers and students, so they would be able to actively teach and study Sing Lit (and not just the Western canon many of us grew up with). The founding team committed to a moratorium on us being featured on the site, as we built up our archive of poets from Singapore’s literary history. Ten years on, @poetry.sg is ably led by editor @fivefoundings and a new generation of younger writers, who have decided it was time for the old guard to be featured. The critical introduction of my work (authored by Tan Jingmin and @edenlaughs ) brought me to tears with its generosity 😭♥️. Was it the literary praise 🌸 or my luteal phase 🌚? All I know is I am truly blessed to have such sensitive readers who see the very best in me as a writer, and this is every motivation I need for me to return to my first love — poetry, after a multi-year affair with playwriting. 🥲 ➡️ Swipe to read all the bits that made me cry 🥹😭😩🥲, with a bonus photo of the founding team at our 2015 launch.

[PREORDER] [HARDCOVER] Announcing 𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙄𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙮𝙚, the companion book to 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘮, 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘮, the full-length album out today via @nettwerkmusic . 𝘐𝘯 𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙄𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙮𝙚, 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘰 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘭𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬, 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘹, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴. 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘓𝘢𝘸, 𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙄𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙮𝙚 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. Available for pre-order at the link in bio.

I couldn’t be in London for my literature teacher Mr Nick Perry’s funeral today, so I wrote one last essay for him instead. Thank you Mrs @nicola_perry for including it in Mr P’s wake. ➡️ to read. 📷 Mr P showing me the handout of my poems he taught in his class in 2018; Mr P and me in 2009 after his glowing testimonial got me into the universities and scholarship of my dreams; Mr P and I in the @hwachong.official Humanities Programme lecture theatre during his retirement party in November 2021 when his students had me burst through the doors as a surprise after a video tribute; Mr P and my sister’s kids (he taught @bravenew.worlds too); the handout by Mr P that gave me greatest legitimacy as a poet. 🥲🤍

Entering into my fourth snake era since 1989 🐍🐍🐍🐍🪷 (First photo was taken by my 8 year old niece 👧🏽💕)

Amanda Chong (@asenseoffalling ) speaks on an unforgettable moment at a workshop she conducted with Migrant Writers of Singapore (@migrantwritersofsingapore ). Very often, we overlook the migrant writer community and the stories and perspectives they have. With our current fundraiser, we are accepting donations to open up opportunities for this community to keep writing and add their own narratives to the larger tapestry of Singaporean stories. You can help donate and give this community more opportunities to shape and share their craft here: https://www.giving.sg/donate/campaign/a-home-for-all-writers #literaryarts #migrantwriters #artsfunding #singlitstation #singlit