Preamble​

It has been a while since I wrote anything meaningful aside from code, school project reports, technical documentation, or cover letters. I'm gonna be honest with you and say that there are some parts of this website that is generated by ChatGPT, but it's not in a "I'm not creative enough to write and I'm too cheap to hire a ghost writer" kind of AI use, but more of "I have some trouble expressing my thoughts coherently in writing and I'm too cheap to hire a proofreader". See? It's totally different and I am morally justified. That being said, I'm making a pinky promise to minimize Sam Altman's influence on my writings, because it is obvious that I need improve my composition skills, and I swear GPT-4o is making me dumber by the day. By creating this site and making myself known to the Internet, I hope that it gives me the motivation to continue practicing writing and to develop my own voice.

About Me​

My name is Siew Hui Zhuan, and I usually go by my given name Hui Zhuan (pronunciation: "h-wei zh-wan"). It is admittedly a challenge to pronounce, but you will get the hang of it after a few tries. People have called me "hooi" (that's not my name), "zhun" (nope), "zhan" (nope), "juan" (¡ay, caramba!), or "Siew" (that's my last name).

In China, last name comes first.

– Jian Yang, Silicon Valley

I don't mind if you mispronounce it, as long as you're not making fun of it—otherwise, I'll have to tell my dad.

You can find traces of me on some social media platforms. I won't accept follow requests unless I personally know you. However, you are welcome to introduce yourself in my DMs if you really want to be my friend (why?).

Why?​

Why did I choose to become a software engineer? The simple answer: my brain loves clear instructions. I have this instinct to break down ambiguous problems into clear steps and processes. Since I was a kid, I've been drawn to flowcharts, assembly instructions for toys, and Ikea furniture setups. And now, I follow cooking tutorials to the gram and degree Celsius (to my mom's dismay).

Here's an example to explain what I mean:

When I was 17, I was put in charge of organizing a boot camp for my Boys' Brigade company. Knowing my limits, I realized that delegating was the only way to make the camp a success. So, I created an airtight, four-page Google Doc with flowcharts and timelines to guide my 12 squad leaders through tasks like collecting camp fees and managing consent forms—all within a week. Thanks to this structured plan, everything ran smoothly, and to this day, I'm proud of what we accomplished that week.

This experience of "programming" my squad leaders to handle specific tasks got me thinking: if I can break down these tasks for people, what else could be programmed? Computers, obviously! Of course, in software engineering, we're dealing with data structures, algorithms, design patterns, things that are much more complex than collecting forms, handling transactions, and sending files to the correct pigeonhole... Hmm, come to think of it...

Ultimately, my path to software engineering is fueled by my mind's desire to think of and write clear instructions for problems that can be followed perfectly by a machine. I strive to derive clarity from ambiguous situations and create steps to solve the problem, and when my solution works - it's oh so satisfying!