KUALA LUMPUR – A story titled “I am unemployed” which was shared by Melisa Yon, an Ex-Singapore Airlines(SIA) flight attendant, went viral on Facebook recently with thousand of netizens leaving comforting messages on her post.
The coronavirus pandemic caused tens of thousands of people to lose their jobs, Melisa Yon is one of them. The 21-year-old Malaysian started her dream job as a flight attendant at Singapore Airlines one year ago but was laid off recently due to the Covid-19.
“It’s like a thunderstorm to me, but I believe that there’s always a rainbow after every storm. To all crew that I’ve flew with before , thank you for the flight.”
Shedescribed her journey to becoming a flight attendant in the Facebook post. “When I was 15 years old, I started to think about my future. I have been thinking about the question: “What am I going to do in the future?” Melisa said she had no particular talent or interest in anything and was worried about her future at that time.
She started to explore herself from then on and she dreamt of becoming a flight attendant when she was 16. However, at that time, a dream is just a dream to her. “Because I know that my father will not support me. I also know that my conditions are not good enough. I’m just an average student.”
“At the age of 18, I graduated from high school with good grades. After a year of graduation, I still wish to become a flight attendant!” She started practising desperately after that to get herself well-prepared for any upcoming interviews. She failed her first interview during AirAsia recruitment and she was very upset that all her efforts were in vain.
However, she continued to look for other aviation interviews but she was rejected one after another, and she was about to give up at that time. People around her started to judge her decision.
Miraculously, she was recruited by Singapore Airlines in 2018. “On 28 March 2019, I flew to Singapore alone. At that time, I thought my wonderful journey has just started! But I was wrong, it was a nightmare.” Flight attendants are required to go through a lot of trainings but Melisa failed thrice in examinations and was forced to rebatch.
With hard work, persistence, and dedication, Melisa succeeded.
“I get the chance to travel around the world, interact with people, and get paid for it! My dream comes true!”
But, life isn’t meant to be easy!
Melisa’s work was disrupted due to the pandemic. She returned to Malaysia in April 2020 when Singapore Airlines cut flights across its network, as the coronavirus outbreak hit demand. “I felt so stressed during that period. I have no income and I couldn’t go back to Singapore.” In July, her company has decided to conduct a layoff.
“When I first received the layoff email, I burst into tears. The company has laid off 4,300 people. I am just one of them. Should I feel relieved?”
16 December 2020 marked Melisa’s last day with Singapore Airlines.
Currently, Melisa involved in growing hydroponic vegetables according to her recent Youtube video.
For the full story, read Melisa’s full post here:
Sources: Melisa Yon’s Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube
Editor: Raymond Chen
