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We all have been asked the pivotal question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

The answer is never simple because we do not always know what we want to be.

In his speech to the graduands of NUS High School's Class of 2022, widely circulated on TikTok with nearly 117,000 views so far, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung shared how that simple question guided him throughout life.

@ongyekung"What do I want to be when I grow up?" Over the years, this question has guided me as I pondered my next steps in life. I shared this with graduands of NUS High School's Class of 2022.♬ original sound - Ye Kung Ong

Asked five times

The first time Ong encountered the question, he was five.

As a child, Ong enjoyed drawing and painting, so naturally, when his family members asked, he would answer without hesitation: "An artist!"

But that was just a start as the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", would be a recurring theme throughout his life.

The second time he encountered the question was in junior college (JC).

Ong admitted that he was weak in English, but enjoyed mathematics and the sciences.

When his friends asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, Ong said he probably went, "I guess I'll be an engineer".

After JC, he got a Public Servant Commission scholarship and studied Mathematical Economics at the London School of Economics.

When he graduated, he was asked a third time by the people around him, "What are you going to be?"

He answered, "It has been settled. I have a scholarship bond to serve. I will be a civil servant".

The fourth time Ong encountered the question was when he was about 30 and serving as the Director of Trade at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

At a gathering with colleagues, someone 10 years his senior asked him in all seriousness, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Ong thought, "Haven't I grown up?"

"I was stumped, but I realised that it was a relevant question. I was only 30—and still growing up. The question also got me thinking, that I had gone through my life based on the path that the system laid out for me. I had some choices and agency, but I had been closely guided, channelled into a default answer."

He realised that he had not really thought about what he wanted to be when he grew up, not since his five-year-old self answered the question.

Ong found his answer more complex on his fourth try.

He knew that he wanted to be "a reformer of public service, a good husband, a loving father, a friend to my kids".

"For the first time my answer is multi-dimensional."

Passing wisdom to the next generation

At 53, Ong no longer waits for people to ask him, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

He constantly asks himself that question.

"I am in my fifth cycle answering that question. At our age, we start to grow sideways, but in reality, we are still growing up. For me, at this stage, it is less about the 'what', and things we want to juggle. But the 'how.'"

Ong pointed out that "the question of what you want to be when you grow up has no age limit".

He said: "It is evergreen."

He notes that as we go through different stages of our lives, our answers will evolve and shift with experience and changing perspectives.

"So honestly, I have no totally figured out the answer, but I am getting better at it."

Ong ended his speech by reminding the graduands that life is like a marathon.

At 18 and 19 years old, they have yet to start the race.

Instead, they are training and warming up for life.

Ong said: "That is a good place to be for someone at your age. You are fine where you are. Train and warm up properly, and you will enjoy the marathon."

Watch a snippet of Ong's speech below:

Inspiring and enlightening

Online users shared in the comment section of the video how the speech provided good advice, and many found it inspiring.

Top photo via Ong Ye Kung's Facebook page.