We begin Treehouse’s journey in this Academic Year with you with two personal anecdotes.

“Whenever someone asked if I could see myself in Singapore forever, I have always been quick to answer no. My dream jobs when I was young included careers that require travel – flight attendant, an ambassador, even a businesswoman. I loved the idea of getting away. 

But when the time came and I was finally independent enough to travel on my own, I realised that I was not as adept at handling being alone as I thought I was. As I stalked the streets of Miyajima, or as I ploughed the fields in Gimhae, I felt a very profound aching in my heart – an aching, as I realised only much later, that stemmed from a yearning to share my experiences with others.“

***

“Last year, I climbed Mt Rinjani.

Google had warned that “The trekking programme is NOT suitable for beginners”, but I (definitely a beginner) decided to go for it anyway. How hard can it be, right? I’ve been through National Service!

The next thing I knew, I was leaning against a rock, staring up at the darkness of a 2am sky that threatened to fill my heart, channelling every ounce of pride within me to take the next step amidst the ash; the dizziness; the uncertainty. And that’s how I conquered Mt Rinjani.“

***

We have shared these stories because they say much about what we want to achieve with you through Treehouse in this Academic Year. The first story prompts the questions: “For those solo travel vloggers that I so loved to watch, is the camera also a means of company for them? Is this desire to document truly just that, or does it satisfy a need to be read and appreciated.?” And for the second story, people often ask, “is the view at the top worth the effort it takes to reach there?“

The art of leaving a mark for others

All of us have our separate lives to live, journeys to explore. Sometimes, it gets a little lonely, and we may feel that all we want is for someone to understand us. After all, humans are social creatures: we are designed to live in a community. 

And so it is natural to desire leaving a mark, a means to communicate to someone that ‘I was here, and I did this’. Whether it is in the form of a house built, beautiful art pieces, or a letter, we all seem to want to leave behind a part of ourselves for others.

And what better way to do this than to write? Writing is a form of recollection and representation – it is a medium by which we can put forth some of what we have gone through and seen, so that we may provide a glimpse for others to peruse.

Writing is no easy feat

But admittedly, writing an article can be like climbing a mountain. 

It is hard work. Sometimes we get lost, sometimes we take a wrong turn. We all embark on the journey with confidence and passion, uncertain if we will succeed.

And when we finally reach the mountain’s peak, how can we really convey  the view to others in a way that they can appreciate? That depends once again on the quality of our cameras, our storytelling, our lens, our framing.

But for writers and mountaineers alike, perhaps the core experience comes not from appreciating the view at the top, but from the experience along the way. The journey presents surprising opportunities for personal reflection and growth, and at the end of it, we find that we have explored not just the mountain but also ourselves. 

So how can we encourage you to start your journey, to a mark beyond yourself?

Treehouse as a Writing Community

This is our aim for Treehouse this AY: We want to create a space for you to express yourself, and we aim to build a community for this to happen. To our aspiring writers: we want to support you by providing direction and guidance, while also giving you flexibility in your path and pace.

And to our readers: we want to bring the view to you. While we cannot re-create the experience of journeying the path itself, we want to remove the fogs of mystery that shroud the mountaintop. We want everyone to be able to see the view that the traveller has found.

Our vision this Academic Year is for Treehouse to be “a platform that is accessible to both writers and readers”. We aim to make Treehouse a space for you to build the courage to write, to turn the yearning in your heart into a mark for all to enjoy. Join us in making the Treehouse Writing Community. Be it as a reader or a writer, let us conquer the mountain together. 

Header image by Treehouse Editor-in-Chief, Ng Wan Xin