"I am a positive person and I always call myself the happiest man on earth!" chirps Allan. Allan has Down Syndrome but even so, he never lets anything dampen his joyous outlook on life.

Allan also has an interesting idol: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Allan especially enjoys watching the National Day Rally. It is an uncommon interest for a 22-year-old, but Allan says the yearly address by the Prime Minister inspires him to give presentations despite his own speech impairment .

His proudest moment was when he went to Australia in 2018 with friends in self-advocacy to deliver a keynote speech on ‘Our Lives Our Voices - A Singapore Self Advocacy Project’. "I am proud of myself because we represented Singapore and the Singapore flag was on the stage. I love Singapore!" The experience boosted his confidence and motivated him to continue giving public presentations.

Nothing holds Allan back! He loves his family, his friends, and while most would gripe about having to work, Allan loves his job too. "I feel very happy when I work with my colleagues like having meetings or working on projects together. I am an adult, and work is important to adults," he said.

His days are filled with simple yet endearing moments. After washing up in the morning, he hugs his parents and sister, and repeats this routine in the evening with a "good night!" before he goes to bed. His favourite part is dinner, where he gets to sit with his family, and they all share about their day.

With the pandemic, Allan is sad that he is unable to spend as much time with his friends. Zoom meetings are also challenging for him as he is unable differentiate the voices if too many people are speaking  at the same time. Allan then has to lip read, which is impossible if the person is wearing a mask. But rather than feeling beaten, Allan’s positivity helps him overcome his hurdles. His solution? "I’ll ask for slides to help me understand better!".

In his spare time, Allan enjoys playing the piano and drums, singing, dancing, reading books, surfing the internet and watching movies on Netflix and Disney Plus.

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