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More than three decades ago, Masita Ghani moved with poise through the cabin of a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight, dressed in the carrier's signature sarong kebaya.
She was among the few chosen to feature in SIA's coveted calendar, embodying the "Singapore Girl" image that came to symbolise elegance in the skies.
At 56, the sarong kebaya has long been set aside, replaced by an apron marked with the daily grind of sambal and rice
Instead of serving passengers at 30,000ft, she now dishes out steaming coconut rice at Aliff Nasi Lemak, the hawker stall she runs with her husband in Serangoon Garden Market.
When word spread on social media that a former SIA stewardess was now a nasi lemak seller, many were surprised.
Masita herself admits she never saw this coming.
"The truth is, it never occurred to me that I would be running a nasi lemak stall," she told Singapore's Malay-language daily, Berita Harian, last week.
She recalled the mixed reactions from friends and acquaintances when they first learned of her decision.
"When my friends found out I was going to work as a hawker, some of them doubted my choice. Some said, 'It's such a waste… You worked at SIA… Why do you want to be a hawker?'"
But here she is, a decade into the business, serving regulars who know her less as the former "calendar girl" and more as the warm, familiar face behind the counter.
She moved into retail after SIA, working at Sephora and Chomel, but eventually gave it up for something harder to come by: time with her only child
She began her career as a flight attendant at 21, serving 10 years with SIA. Those years in the skies shaped her poise and people skills, but eventually, Masita was ready for a change.
Her career change was driven by a desire to spend more time with her only child, who was in Primary 1 at the time.
"I told my father I had to try. If I didn't, I would never know," she recalled, reflecting on her late father's doubts when she first announced her plan to become a hawker.
Running a stall, she admits, has its pressures, not least because she works shoulder to shoulder with her husband.
"Sometimes, I just get stressed with my husband," she quipped.
Yet, her years as a flight attendant had already taught her in grace under pressure and in the art of connecting with people — skills that now serve her just as well behind a hawker stall counter as they once did at cruising altitude.
At the heart of her career pivot is a larger philosophy about what makes work meaningful
"Even though it's challenging, deep down I ask myself: what do you want in life? Will you be happy working?" she reflected.
"What's the point of working just for the sake of working?"
Ten years on, she's already looking ahead to the next chapter.
Her dream is to expand into a small café, serving nasi lemak, mee rebus, and pisang goreng while preserving the taste she and her husband have worked hard to perfect.
But the deeper motivation is her son.
"All of this is for my child's future. Life in Singapore isn't easy; it takes a lot of money. I want my child to have a better life — better than mine."
If there's one lesson she hopes her son learns from her journey, it's that nothing is out of reach
"Nothing is impossible. Why? Because working at SIA seemed impossible, too. But I became a 'calendar girl'. I never thought I could achieve that either. The choice is yours.
"If you want something, you have to aim for it. If you don't do anything, nothing will happen. Right? So you have to work hard," she shared.
From the glamour of the skies to the grit of the hawker centre, Masita's story isn't just about reinvention; it's about redefining success on her own terms.
