Written by: Cho Jung Min
Edited by: Zi Bang
Photos by: Jing Wen, Queenie
“I am a congruent warrior and an inspiring light.” Noor Baizura, a real estate consultant cum painter, writes in her self-introduction. She has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 17, and her adolescence was spent very differently from her peers. Nevertheless, she managed to rise above her circumstances and shared with us her UnSeen Perspective during the Human Library session organised by NTU-USP club last Monday night on 29 October.
That introduction would perhaps have made you think of Baizura as someone aloof, highly admirable but somewhat unrelatable. But she was so down-to-earth with us, even occasionally poking fun at her own disorder. She kept her account unexpectedly light-hearted, chuckling as she recalled the time when her parents sent her to spiritual leaders instead of the doctor for her diagnosis. Baizura, in her 30s now, was a poised woman who seemed to have completely conquered her disorder. Under any other circumstances, I would never have expected her to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
As I was penning down my thoughts, I first wrote “suffering from bipolar disorder” before erasing and rewriting them as “diagnosed with”. And that is the crux of my takeaway from my interaction with Baizura. Discredited yet unfazed by the prejudiced eyes of society, she is simultaneously an inspiration to the marginalized and an admirable human to all of us. She was the perfect justification for the erasure of my word “suffering”. Her perspectives are unseen by the prejudiced eyes of society, but shared with those who are willing to listen.
Celine Koh, a fellow NTU-USPian at the table, reflected: “My hopes for society is to have more of such open conversations between these marginalized groups with the rest of society to remove the stigma against them.”
Perhaps the bigger problem lies not in their mental illnesses but more in the social stigma which society so hastily imposes on them, without proper knowledge. It might be that we, NTU-USPians included, are too quick to segregate and view those diagnosed with sympathy, rather than with empathy.
The event allowed us to explore many of such UnSeenPerspectives ranging from student volunteers to those diagnosed with different mental illnesses. It was extremely insightful, thought-provoking and moving. Much knowledge and emotional maturity have been gained from the event. As scholars, it becomes easy to forget about the marginalized groups outside our own bubbles, but in another sense, it is also as easy to spare a thought and make a difference.
