My Blog turns... 4?
At first, it felt weird to set aside the work I had to do to set some free time for myself. One way or another I end up skipping tuition sessions, turning up late for after school activities or not entirely going just to get some time for myself. Although this is quite uncanny of me, I find that at the end of the day, I rather please myself rather than others. However I do have responsibilities to catch up on, and little by little they come to bite me back.
I'm not the only one who feels this way. The end of the year exams for the Grade 11s have been a tough one and instead of getting the break that we all felt we deserved, we were thrown back into doing things for the school, all for the sake of CAS. Soon after were the Group 4 projects, and more essays and assignments to do. In another world, I could have done all of this easily. But I have grown spoiled and incompetent from the complaining nature of my Singaporean friends and now there seems to be a limit on what I can or cannot do. Nevertheless I hope that this feeling will fade, and I will revert back to the responsible person that I once was. If I could care to be that is.
I turn 18 this year. At first it felt like a big deal to me, and my family spared no expense to make it feel like a special one. However after a few days, I felt nothing. There was no change at all. One of the magical things that I have learned to do at school is to take responsibility, learned to control masses of people just by the sound of my voice, learned to take charge of certain activities and learned to coordinate events. In retrospect, I turned 18 a long time ago mentally. All that was needed to wait for was for my body to catch up.
In Singapore, the age of 18 means a lot of things. You are allowed to drink, drive and have sex. But more importantly, you are legible age to join the military. In Singapore, all Singapore have to undergo Basic Military Training and from there we are assigned to join the Army, Navy, Air Force or Police Force for a period of 2 years maximum. Singapore is the land of what many call "the complain kings" and of course, you never hear the end of those who do not wish to go. What I like about some people in my school is that they are patriots, or at the very least want to push their bodies to their limits. Considering how much the Basic Military Training test has been redesigned to be much easier than it was before, I fail to see how anyone could dread going to it.
National Service is something that all Singaporean men hold very fondly. Often the ones that are considered most successful are the ones who do best in Military Training. It not only teaches you how to follow orders, but it also teaches you how to lead and how to attain discipline. Many high ranking officers enjoy Military Training while the lowest ranking officers hate it, and I think it goes to show how much you enjoy something when you see the fruits of your work, while you start to hate what you do if you do not put any effort into trying to understand what you are doing in the first place. Of course, there are many perks to aspiring to be the best. Bragging rights in Singapore for being a top ranking officer is something very treasured in this country. (You would not have any idea of how many of my girl-friend's fathers have asked me what rank I aspire to be. Whenever I tell them that I want to be the best of the best, they basically push their daughters to me to ask for permission for marriage. However that may be a bit of an over-exaggeration.)
As I turn 18, I start to say goodbye as my body reaches its most mature form. However that is not the end of my development. I will continue to grow stronger, get smarter and become a better leader.
Happy Birthday Blog
For the first time since turning 4, I will say:
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
I'm not the only one who feels this way. The end of the year exams for the Grade 11s have been a tough one and instead of getting the break that we all felt we deserved, we were thrown back into doing things for the school, all for the sake of CAS. Soon after were the Group 4 projects, and more essays and assignments to do. In another world, I could have done all of this easily. But I have grown spoiled and incompetent from the complaining nature of my Singaporean friends and now there seems to be a limit on what I can or cannot do. Nevertheless I hope that this feeling will fade, and I will revert back to the responsible person that I once was. If I could care to be that is.
I turn 18 this year. At first it felt like a big deal to me, and my family spared no expense to make it feel like a special one. However after a few days, I felt nothing. There was no change at all. One of the magical things that I have learned to do at school is to take responsibility, learned to control masses of people just by the sound of my voice, learned to take charge of certain activities and learned to coordinate events. In retrospect, I turned 18 a long time ago mentally. All that was needed to wait for was for my body to catch up.
In Singapore, the age of 18 means a lot of things. You are allowed to drink, drive and have sex. But more importantly, you are legible age to join the military. In Singapore, all Singapore have to undergo Basic Military Training and from there we are assigned to join the Army, Navy, Air Force or Police Force for a period of 2 years maximum. Singapore is the land of what many call "the complain kings" and of course, you never hear the end of those who do not wish to go. What I like about some people in my school is that they are patriots, or at the very least want to push their bodies to their limits. Considering how much the Basic Military Training test has been redesigned to be much easier than it was before, I fail to see how anyone could dread going to it.
National Service is something that all Singaporean men hold very fondly. Often the ones that are considered most successful are the ones who do best in Military Training. It not only teaches you how to follow orders, but it also teaches you how to lead and how to attain discipline. Many high ranking officers enjoy Military Training while the lowest ranking officers hate it, and I think it goes to show how much you enjoy something when you see the fruits of your work, while you start to hate what you do if you do not put any effort into trying to understand what you are doing in the first place. Of course, there are many perks to aspiring to be the best. Bragging rights in Singapore for being a top ranking officer is something very treasured in this country. (You would not have any idea of how many of my girl-friend's fathers have asked me what rank I aspire to be. Whenever I tell them that I want to be the best of the best, they basically push their daughters to me to ask for permission for marriage. However that may be a bit of an over-exaggeration.)
As I turn 18, I start to say goodbye as my body reaches its most mature form. However that is not the end of my development. I will continue to grow stronger, get smarter and become a better leader.
Happy Birthday Blog
For the first time since turning 4, I will say:
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
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