Author: Angellin A/P Ai Pian
Company: SPIC International College
Profession: Beauty Therapy
Position: Tutor Assistant / Beautician
“Step by Step Towards the World Stage”
When I graduated from secondary school, I was very lost about my future. I did not know what kind of life I wanted after turning eighteen, and I was not sure what I was truly good at. Back then, the only thing I knew was that I really loved beauty. I loved makeup, beauty therapy, and the idea of becoming more confident and valuable through learning these skills. Because of that passion, I decided to enroll in SPIC College to study beauty courses, and that decision slowly changed my life.
When I was younger, I was actually a very ordinary and introverted girl. During secondary school, I rarely joined any activities. My daily life was simply going to school, going home, and helping with my family’s restaurant business. Since my family runs a restaurant, I grew up helping out most of the time, so unlike many other students, I did not have many opportunities to join extracurricular activities or go out with friends. Over time, I became someone who was afraid to express herself and lacked confidence.
Everything started to change after I entered college. For the first time, I truly wanted to change myself. I began actively participating in different college activities because I wanted to become braver and more independent. Since I was studying beauty and makeup, many of the activities were related to makeup and beauty therapy. Although it was tiring at times, I enjoyed every moment because I could feel myself growing little by little.
One day, my lecturer suddenly asked me, “Do you want to join the WorldSkills Malaysia competition?”
At that moment, I was shocked because I had never imagined myself standing on such a big stage. I even asked my lecturer, “Teacher, do you really think I can do it?” But my lecturer looked at me seriously and said that he truly believed I had the ability.
Because of that one sentence, I decided to challenge myself.
Before this, I had already joined several small competitions such as makeup competitions and nail competitions. Although competitions were tiring and stressful, they made me enjoy challenging myself more and more. I realized that after every competition, I became better than before. Slowly, I transformed from someone who was afraid to stand in front of people into someone who dared to express herself confidently.
However, my first experience in WorldSkills Malaysia ended in failure.
The competition involved multiple stages of selection. Contestants first had to pass the preliminary round before entering the Final, and from there, national representatives would be chosen. At that time, I could not even make it into the Final round. The moment I saw the results, I felt extremely disappointed. I started doubting myself and wondered if I was simply not hardworking enough or not capable of standing on such a stage.
About six months later, my lecturer contacted me again. He told me that because someone had withdrawn, I was given another opportunity to compete. I hesitated for a very long time because I was afraid of failing again. I am someone with a very competitive personality, and I worried that if I failed once more, I would feel even more disappointed.
But in the end, I decided to give myself another chance.
During the second competition, I worked harder than ever before. Every day, I repeatedly practiced and constantly improved my techniques, hoping to become better. Eventually, I successfully entered the Final round. However, the results were still not ideal, and I did not achieve the result I hoped for.
That period of my life was very confusing and painful. I kept asking myself, “Why am I still failing even after working so hard?” I even began questioning whether I was truly suitable to continue pursuing competitions.
At that moment, my coach called me into a room and seriously asked, “Do you still want to continue? Do you truly love this industry?”
Without hesitation, I answered, “Yes.”
Because deep down, I knew that even though failure was painful, I did not want to give up on my dream.
After that, my coach helped me fight for more opportunities, and I was eventually given a test from the government. They wanted to see whether I was qualified to represent Malaysia on a bigger international stage. For that opportunity, I trained even harder. I sacrificed a lot of my rest time and dedicated almost all my energy to training and preparation.
Eventually, I successfully passed the assessment and earned the opportunity to represent Malaysia at the WorldSkills ASEAN Manila 2025 competition.
However, before the competition, we were told that if we did not achieve first place, we would not be able to continue moving toward the bigger world stage.
At that moment, I felt an enormous amount of pressure.
I kept asking myself, “Can I really do this?”
But this time, I chose not to be afraid. Instead, I turned all my failures, pressure, and insecurities into motivation to keep moving forward. Every single day, I trained tirelessly because I did not want to disappoint everyone who believed in me.
Finally, when the competition results were announced, I heard my name.
I won first place.
That moment touched me deeply because I finally understood that all the failures I experienced before were never meaningless. Every setback, every tear, and every moment of self-doubt had become part of my growth.
From being a girl who was once too afraid to express herself, I have now become someone who can proudly represent my country on the international stage. I know this journey was never easy, but because of everything I went through, I now truly believe that as long as we are willing to persevere, we can turn the impossible into something possible.