Restarting My Life After Working In Geylang And Getting Pregnant At 15: Ling | Ask ZULA | EP 16
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- čas přidán 23. 07. 2024
- Trigger warning: This video discusses topics that may be triggering for some. Rape, self-harm, sexual assault, and suicide are mentioned.
In today’s episode of Ask ZULA, Ling, co-founder of Project Green Ribbon, talks about her struggles with family and mental health growing up. She shares her story, from running away from home in primary school to giving birth to her first child at 15, how it affected her mental health, and how it eventually led her to the work she’s doing today.
Project Green Ribbon is a non-profit organisation dedicated to lending support to those struggling with their mental health.
Find out more about them:
projectgreenribbon.org/
/ projectgreenribbonsg
/ projectgreenribbonsg
Here are the timestamps of the topics covered during the episode:
0:00 - Intro
03:14 - Moving to live with her great grandmother
05:26 - Finding out about her birth parents
07:23 - New life with her birth mom & family
10:23 - Running away from home
14:00 - Getting pregnant at 15
19:56 - Giving birth to her first child
22:12 - Turning point in her life
25:34 - Co-founding Project Green Ribbon and some of their initiatives
About ZULA:
ZULA is a website catered to Singaporean female millennials. We cover lifestyle, perspective and inspirational stories of women in Singapore.
Follow ZULA on social media:
/ zulasg
/ zulasg
Get updates from ZULA on Telegram:
t.me/zulasg
Host:
Leah Shannon - / mizchiefmagik
Featuring:
Ling Anne Hsieh
Edited By:
Ariel Ho - / realsh1ny
Filmed By:
Ariel Ho
Business & Sponsorship Enquiries:
hello@zula.sg
Thank you Ling for sharing her story and mental health journey with us. If you guys are struggling with your mental health and need some support, do reach out to Project Green Ribbon (links in description box above)! Feel free to also share your own experiences or thoughts in the comments while keeping this space kind and safe (:
@@John_Smith_86 insensitive comment
I would like to get in touch with Green Ribbon but I'm unfortunately in Fremantle, which is miles away from my birthplace of Singapore.
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given the fact that she gave up on school and didn't have any proper education ever since 9 years old onwards, it's amazing how well-spoken and intelligent she seems now. it's a total 180 from who she was 10 years ago and i admire her for it, it's a miracle that she could escape from such a painful life, it's a good lesson not to judge people who are in a bad situation because they can turn over a new leaf and become a much better person, just like how she turned out to be now. she's been through so much and is still learning the ropes to living a proper life and i wish her all the best :)
360 degrees is back to the same point
@@askingalexandriaaa sorry i failed maths. but you get what i mean
It could be that she was from a girls' school
Exactly! As a human being we are not PERFECT and nobody can ever be perfect! So before we want to judge or pinpoint our fingers at other people just because they make a mistake we must look at ourselves FIRST!
Indeed
Ling is so well spoken. U can tell that she brought herself up really well despite all those hardships.
When her parents said that she was not taught well by Mama, she persevered and proved them wrong.
I can’t imagine being in her position and having experienced so much over the years. This is truly inspirational and I hope that what she has experienced makes her a much better person today.
Thank you Lila for your kind encouragement. Ling
Anyway to make contact with Ling?…I need a massage hopefully with a happy ending
An eloquent, strong woman. Ling, in a world where most don't spare a thought for others, where we think we're having it the hardest, you acknowledge everyone's experiences and struggles. We have much to learn from you.
Wow. Besides the stories that Ling told us, what I really found compelling was the way she expressed herself! She's so elegant, so good with words, so clear! Really inspirational!
She was born to be a spokesperson and a leader figure. Watching this on the subway is hella heavy.
If this women writes a book on her life story, I 9/10 would buy it
Trying to work on that! And possibly a documentary for Singapore if we find the right help :) ling.
'9/10'... great motivation
@@noproblematallmate Hi Negative Nancy 1/10 is the probability if I'm broke 🥺 it's late go sleep 😂 you're mean when you're tired
@ProjectGreenRibbon No, not documentary. Your story is worthy of a movie.
failing to take care of our kids and failing to give them a happy, safe upbringing puts them in such vulnerable positions in life. ling was failed by so many people around her - what a heavy life she had to navigate. I wish her well and I wish her peace.
I wished Ling highlighted more on the importance of home being a safe space for young kids. Our children only commute between school and home. When home is a hellish place, it simply means that they have nowhere to go or seek refuge. This leads to suicide/depression/trauma etc. Parents also need to be educated on maintaining healthy balance of praise and criticism. End.
dont thinks its possible to cover so many things in so much depth unless the vid is like an hr long tho
We do have talks, and sharing for parents too. 🌻
Such a strong and psychologically resilient women. If i were to be put in similar situation as her, I would not have make it back to light surface. Kudos to you of wanting to help those in need. The society needs more people like you.
We need a more sensitive and eloquent host for an interviewee like Ling who has something heavy yet important to share. The host is having a monologue, not really conversing with the interviewee. You can tell at the start she doesnt care about what Ling has to say about mental health just yup yup yup all the way and just want to get to the “gossipy” part. Interviewer should not talk more than interviewee too and no your judgement at 17:30 is unprofessional, you should be trying to get your guest to be comfortable with opening up not filter what they want to say.
Agree with Troy - this host is not professional and ready for this level of content. Interrupting Ling in the middle of her story to insert her unsolicited judgement was very rude.
Agreed. No mirroring, no empathy. Not a whole lot of respect for the story.. such a lack of emotional maturity for a conversation of this weight. if I were Ling, I'd have stopped talking. But she is a strong, thick skinned woman who's clearly determined to get her story out there.
Agreed...Ling's story is way out of Leah's league/worldview so her responses seem to lack empathy and are more like listening to a drama story instead of actively listening and facilitating the sharing. Not to blame but this is a typical display of inequality in Singapore - when some people just cannot fathom that stories like Ling's are real and happen up till now...
The host kept looking at the script and appeared so unprepared and unprofessional. Ling is already sharing her very difficult and tough lifestory and the host is just busy flipping the pages and asking her own questions without any empathy.
The host’s reaction to whatever Ling shared shows exactly why the rest of us needs to be educated on responding to such situations. She probably cannot relate and it clearly shows. Doesn’t help that she’s naturally loud and boisterous- makes her come across as unfeeling and inconsiderate to Ling‘s feelings.
This just goes to show that hope is never lost ling’s story is the best example of there’s light at the end of every tunnel maybe ur tunnel is just way longer compared to others.
Hello Yan Heng oh! my gosh! your comment is really TOUCHING! 😇😇 yes Yan Heng u are so right. there is always a HOPE no matter what happens. as a human being we must never give up! if we make a mistake we must learn from our mistake and be a BETTER person.
Ling, you have done well, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Keep going
Thank you for not giving up ling anne, thank you for having the courage to talk about this, thank you for being hope to someone else. 💗 uve went thru so much, i hope u r in a much better place now🌱
Thank you Aiko for your kind words. Ling
Ling, you wonderful, wonderful articulate and well-spoken human being. I'm glad this showed up on my screen today, and I'm glad you're here with us!
I love Ling’s advocacy. What a brave and wise woman.
Mindblown... Ling, you been through so much. You're such a strong person, salute to you!
Thank you Bluukiss! 😊 Ling
Ling is so open about her story, it's very admirable, thank you so much for sharing your story and journey on the platform.
Such a brave and inspirational woman 👏 Ling, you should be extremely proud of yourself for going through all those hardships. Thank you Zula for providing this platform for her to share her story
really love this sharing!! know how tough life can be and how we are often thrown into not 1 but multiple bad experiences. Sometimes it just feels like there isn’t any hope for better days but I’m so glad that Ling came out so strong and even out to help others out there! Am still finding my path in life and it’s always hardest to take the first step to get help but really feel encouraged by this, thank you 🤍 to anyone else out there struggling, jiayous and we’re in this together 💪🏻
Thank you for being so transparent and vulnerable about your life journey. You're one strong woman #respect
if ling sees this, i would like to say that you are so so so strong and I thank you for not giving up! bless up and continue to touch people with your story
Thank you Alvin 😊. Happy to be connected. Ling
she is such a bright light. and so fragile and in need of love but at the same time so brave and strong. I'm glad she now has the stability she deserved.
Your story made me cry. I am glad that you are doing well now. Glad that you and your hubby is willing to contribute to the society even after going through so much.
She spoke so well despite going through all those traumatised experience , truly is an strong human bean , an inspirational speaker who can help those who need help , please put your faith in her for helping u to cope with whatever journey that u may need help on her website !! Truly inspiring stories !!
Ling brings so much wisdom and strength to this cause. She is clearly living an intentional life and has raised herself well through her journey of introspection.
Very edifying story and genuinely admirable for her guts to pull through so much along the way, many unfortunate incidents and episodes but glad that it is turning out well the way it is going.
Wow! Ling cuts an inspiring figure who had overcome the many odds in life and is making good of her experiences to make this worlld a better place for all those who are not so fortunate. Kudos and salute to what she is doing. May God bless all her effort and undertakings!
Ling is someone to be admired for her courage & resilience . Inspite of all her hardships , she remains so optimistic . On top of that , she is so articulate. Wishing u all the best Ling with your future endeavours!
Can’t imagine how calms the lady can be when talking about these things
Usually it's because we're detached from our emotions, and have most likely thought about these moments on the most logical sense
I love the decision that Ling and her husband had made to start up Project Green Ribbon and offering an avenue to people in need. It really brings me joy and also inspires me that someone who has been through so much, tries to do everything they can to ensure that others do not suffer as much as them. Much love to Ling and her family ❤
You are very strong to go through all these. And its very good that you and your husband can establish such a initiative to help people!
She’s really inspiration and the courage! I can totally empathize how it feels like…
It's admirable how Ling did not give up and is even contributing to society now with Project Green ribbon 👍
Appreciate v v much your candid and certainly super courageous sharing of your life that nobody would ever want to have to go through! Indeed your stepping out publicly to share your life and even started this Green Ribbon initiative with your hubby is testament to both your deepest desire to reach out to those who need help! 🤏👏 I pray that God will comfort, heal and strengthen your body, hearts and minds and grant you the desires of your life🙏
For a woman who did not have much education, she is very eloquent. Such a strong character, very inspiring.
Really proud of how far she has come, what a warrior👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Ling, you are amazing and truly an inspiration for many who are going through similar experiences. Thank you for sharing and for being so real :)
Ling, you are very brave to share your troubled youth days… when a girl is young with no proper care and guidance, horrible things like that can happen. You sharing your story have created alot of awareness in society to let people understand that children suffers from adults’ bad decisions.
Indeed, many a times trauma stems from early stages of childhood. Awareness and education is very important.
I've watched Ling's video before so I know her story, but even watching this made me cry. Idk how Leah can tahan just sit beside her to try to host. Respeck. Crying now
a wonderfully produced video, to the team behind ZULA and Ling💜 when hearing Ling's story, I can't even begin to fathom how much she went through, and my heart really goes out to her💛 I'm so happy that she's in a better place now, and is using her experiences to help and support others💗 keep going with this content ZULA, I really really appreciate this video and its focus on mental health💜💜 thank you💚
Wow!u r a brave girl going through all the tough times...keep going...wish u well 🙏
Wow its not easy to have this interview and to share all of her tough experiences, i hope she will forever be more happy.
What a beautiful lady!! Glad she withstood all the hardships and came out tops! I wish her the very best!!
This young woman is an inspiration to young women out there, she is a brave & courageous woman.
Ling is so eloquent and I can hear her speak for daysss
Im immensely impressed how articulate and eloquent Ling is..
Wow…I really happy a girl go through all this painful memories and experience and she enable to do well now. She is lucky and she is unlucky. This social should not have the next similar story happen again. God bless all people. Thank you for sharing your story, which will definitely inspired a lot of people to care about more people.
Ling you really have a lot to be proud of after having survived such a tough life so young. I admire your courage to share and to help others. Not many people are as tough as you are. Continue to believe in life. You are very well spoken and come across as very intelligent. You are a survivor and I’m sure will bring up your kids to be as well. Cheers
Hope Ling can live the best of your life and inspire more people to be as strong as you. That’s a wonderful and inspiring video. Thank you. 🙏🙏
Thank you Brandon, but in this world. We learn from each other in different ways. Ling
Yeah wonderful video
She is amazing and her hb is so supportive. All the best to u
She really went through a lot, and came out strong and will be stronger for the future for the mental wellness space
She went through a lot of 🍆
wah she’s only 29 & so mature and the fact that she’s been through so much as seems like a pretty down to earth person
May god bless her to do well in the rest of her life. And may god do bring justice to those who had caused tremendous harm to her in the past.
My full respect to Ling for being so strong & determined.
She speaks well and intelligent
You need to reconstruct these painful memories to share with us. There is a need to come to terms with your past. I can sense your sincerity in wanting to help others with your sharing.
wow i started thinking i’ll probably watch a little and continue it another day bc it’s 2am but i just couldn’t stop watching?? it’s so inspirational and i felt so much for your struggles :”( rlly thank u for sharing; it really gave me a different perspective bc i grew up very sheltered and i rlly learned to appreciate what i have more! your journey was so tough and it’s rlly admirable how you managed to overcome that and grow into this amazing person :”) jiayou and keep fighting!!
Kudos to Ling! We will need more of these kind of social services going forward. All parents “damaged” their children, it’s just a matter of severity. An unloving home drives children away, to seek comfort in people who might or might not have your best interests at heart. Families who fail their children, these children will turn to friends, if friends fail them, social agencies and non profits will have to pick up the pieces. What if she had one person who had her back during those days? Her outcome would have be different. These traumatic experiences tragically causes CPTSD. A byproduct of callous relationships because our current world do not value responsible compassionate caregiving.
Not may people are courageous like you to share your story, no one could have felt what you gone through over these years of hardship. Those who are judgmental against you ought to be ashamed of themselves for not be with you during your hardship. Blood is thicker than water, I wish you all the best years ahead and hope that your relation with her will be smooth.
Thank you eddie- Ling
Thank you very much Eddie. 😊
I like Ling's outlook on life. Very inspiring. Thanks for sharing. 👍❤🙏
God bless you and your work ..omg I shook..I thought my guilt and my past was bad but I feel encourage that I still have a chance..thank you
Be strong and stay cool.. everyone has their hard times, get over and life will be easier…!
Very inspirational, thanks Ling for sharing it. Most of us live with all basic things but still find hard to get motivated at times. In that sense you are really inspirational & great, hats off to you.
I would like to check with you, during your schooling time, as you said during the down spiral period, have you ever thought of going for counselling at school, in CCs, or in any other gov institutes? Not sure whether they were available that time, but if they were there, i feel it would have guided you a lot not avoiding more troubles later. Appreciate you response, god bless you all.
she has been through a lot
Ling is so strong….. thanks for sharing, helps alot!
Thank you for the sharing Ling. May you continue to find genuine happiness :)
A True Superwoman..turns into a Heart of Gold..God Bless..in this journey of life..
so brave of you to share your life with others. all the best.
She's wiser than many graduates. So many people have knowledge but no wisdom but she is so wise. I went through my fair share of difficulties growing up and it continues to affect my decisions till now. I truly understand what she meant.
You cant tell a person's wisdom from a video. Having said that, it's clear you aren't a graduate LOL
@@TheChocolateflute You're probably from RI. Should have gone to Monk's hill at least you will not be illiterate.
@@chubbyface74 LOL again, I don’t think the word ‘illiterate’ is even properly used here.
@@chubbyface74 if you listened carefully, TKSS alumnus Lawrence Wong said RI "must be a lousy school". ESM Goh would flip if he heard that.
after listening to Ling's story, she is literally the embodiment of a lotus flower. Just like the flower, it thrives beautifully in a challenging environment.
Huge respect to Ling's tenacity
Life is such that some people are unfortunately fated to go through such sufferings, and I hope Ling will have a happy ending.
There's too much summarizing by the interviewer. let the interviewer speak for herself, ask questions to open that up. The audience is caught in the middle of the conversation.
The interviewer seems scared to tread on dangerous edges n ask questions.
Mad respect. Thank you for being so open and sharing your story.
I cried when she talked about her baby
Wishing you the very best in everything you do and a happy life.Jiayou !
I applaused this woman whom having alot of courage and strength...
On topics like this, I suggest that Zula finds an older interviewer who could perhaps help to dissect the stories that are being shared on this platform. An older interviewer would have gone through more in life and help to ask some questions along abuse; family relationships etc which would add value to the overall conversation as well. End
Agree i feel the interviewer could not relate to the story and comes off as very detached and doesn’t say things that add value
This interviewer is better as a listener. She can interview people who are more straightforward to handle. Agreed wf op.
Thank you Ling for your courage and compassion. I also grew up feeling voiceless. I still feel alone and scared all the time and I'm not sure how to help others going through trauma as well. I wish I lives in Singapore so I can access the community mental health support services. Thank you for changing the world 🙏
So sad to hear her story, early poverty and no family support to fall back on at such a young age, met a bad man but he provided food & shelter at that point. Thanks for sharing the story, people with normal life really wouldn't understand . . .
But really so happy for her to be married later on and back on track again, good relationship with daughter, way to go. .
Best thing happened to me is also my wife and baby 😎💙😍🥰
She's strong women. Inspiring. Keep fighting and God bless
Very courageous to come forth ward to share in asian society... stay well & all the best
I cried. Stay strong mommy
thank you for sharing your story
Amazing sharing, it does trigger my thinking in mind for a while.
You are very brave. I am going to share your story with others to tell them that if you can overcome all your difficulties, so can they.
There will always be someone suffering more then us :).
"why suddenly ur mother is there" lmao i choked on my saliva this was so abrupt and hilarious
so much hurt caused...im really glad things are better now
I would say God saved her, with a child
Thank you so much for sharing Ling ❤❤❤ mental health is something that should be normalized and be taken care of "taking care of our heart" ,,, and yes giving us a platform to learn how to communicate to those in need will be really beneficial ,, just like how when i went through a rough period of depression people around me didnt know how to react, even I myself didnt 😢 But really glad im getting stronger and knowing how to handle it better now💞💞
How despair your life is, if you can cross it, you'll bounce back x2 and even help other people a lot. Ling just did that. SALUTE and RESPECT!
You are so brave ling. And wonderfully well spoken. Thanks for sharing your story.
This story is both touching for her courage yet bizarre for the events at the same time. Imagine explaining to your kid that you sent her away permanently because that's what she wanted. I just can't comprehend that as a parent's decision. So if your kid asks to go disneyland on the daily they would just park her on the ride there and leave too?
Yeah but I guess since they were not her real parents, they didn't feel it was wrong to leave her with the grandma?
@@yangys oh the grandma was her real one? I thought it was the fake parents leaving her to the fake grandma. If it's her real grandma that's better
The story isnt complete. Many details have been left out so what viewers could get is just a summary wf some details that was comfortable to add in. This is her story and she can choose how much to reveal to strangers like us. However, her achievement of being a co founder of green ribbon is very inspirational n very touching indeed. Kudos to you ling!
@@yyl5336 I also get the impression that maybe she does not know the whole story from when she was a young child. She was young then so didn’t have it properly explained to her but when she got old enough to understand, there was no one there to explain the situation. Some of the details she missed out on, it felt like it was because she didn’t know those details herself either.
a very strong woman. respect to you mam. love lots. from PH work in SG.
I wonder if Ling was someone who used to blog on Livejournal. I used to wonder what happened to her from time to time. If it is her, I'm really so happy for her.
Just to ease your mind, instead of leaving you to wonder. It's not me 🌻
Wish you happiness, Ling
The Green Ribbon is a cool page!
Keep on Fighting. You'll Never Walk Alone.
I am so inspired by u Ling I will keep u in my prayers ! u gave me strength to carry on
Don't ever give up, ling
Don't ever lose hope, in life we will always be searching. Ling
Thanks to Ling for bravely sharing her story. 👍
To everyone: “ Make your mental health a priority “
Is there a way to sign up for Project Green Ribbon?