Wandering the Lines – a Column by Sherry Toh

Sherry “Elisa” Toh (she/her) is a Singaporean native navigating life with SMA Type II and chronic neuropathy. She was diagnosed at 13 months by none other than Dr. Lee Wei Ling, after a referral from a GP. Sherry is a hopeless romantic whose loves include fairy tales, mythology, antiheroes, video games, and tea. She is planning on pursuing a BA in English Lit, but for now she’s enjoying freelance work and volunteering for communities and causes she believes in. She hopes her columns will offer community and catharsis to those who need it. Find her @musiquevers on social media.

The anchor I needed for my self-exploration in 2024

I used to have this bracelet I loved. My dad bought it for me on a whim on my 16th birthday. We were walking through a high-end department store where he spotted a Swarovski counter. He immediately went up to the salesperson and said, “I want to find something for…

How my life moved forward across a rich and eventful 2023

Secretly, I usually dread this time of year. To borrow from singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, December is, to me, a “problem child.” It’s not easy to exist inside of this contradictory month, a time of both celebration and solemnity, of looking backward and forward. My birthday and…

Marveling at my first experience at the Singapore Writers Festival

If you asked me to describe the metaphorical status of games journalism this year, I’d say we’ve descended into carnage. Is that melodramatic? Perhaps. But journalism is a competitive field. When it’s subject to publications and departments closing, mass layoffs, and budget cuts, as it was this year, journalists struggle…

In life with SMA, I’m changing hustles like the seasons

One thing I’ve learned from not going through Singapore’s formal education system is this: When it’s time to be a working adult, to earn your keep, it’s incredibly hard to persuade someone to hire you if you have a blank résumé. Everyone has to start somewhere to gain employment,…

Saying goodbye to my great-uncle Richard, an ‘Old Hero’

Content warning: This column deals with the topics of death and suicidal ideation.  “The first dead body you see should not be someone you love,” advises funeral director Poppy Mardall in journalist Hayley Campbell’s 2022 book “All the Living and the Dead.” Campbell’s book provides remarkable insight into…

How SMA helps me understand my bisexuality, and vice versa

“People think bisexuals stereotypically can’t decide on which gender we want to have sex with, when the truth is, we can’t decide on anything,” someone in a group chat once joked. I laughed far longer than perhaps was appropriate, nodding along at the truth of the statement, at least in…