Tan Min-Li tells us the advice she would give her 19-year-old self

Min-Li, corporate finance head who moonlights as a movie producer ,equates being 19 with starting university and new-found freedom: “That was when my parents finally removed my 10pm curfew. So my fondest memory is of staying out at night with my friends.” Not that that was all she did, of course. There was also the thrill of making it to law school at the National University of Singapore – the most difficult course that she qualified to enrol in.

Favourite song/band/singer that year?

I was a big Whitney Houston fan – I had I Will Always Love You on heavy rotation.

Life plan back then?

I thought I had my entire life figured out. I had decided on law as a career and was determined to make a success of it, and along the way, I would conquer the world! I wanted to be remembered, to make my mark somehow.

Advice for your teenage self?

Worry less about what the future holds. I was a shy and withdrawn child due to my sheltered childhood, and only started coming out of my shell in my late teens. I remember constantly being worried about everything. Today, I would tell my 19-year-old self to relax, and enjoy the exhilaration of youth and new experiences – those years really do go by too quickly.

If you were to relive your teenage years, what would you change?

I would have taken the opportunity to backpack around the world!

Art direction: Audrey Chan 

Photography: Joel Low 

Hair: Christvian Goh & Zoel Tee, using Revlon Professional 

Make-up: Dily Wang & TG Goh, using Chanel Beauty; Keith Bryant Lee, using Dior Beauty; Greg-O, using Keune; Ann Lim 

Photography assistance: Alfie Pan