Communal living in the military
I just realised a few things about living in bunks within the army. At first living in a bunk with 8 other people may feel really strange. Everything seems to be so cramped, and there's literally no space to walk around when you lay out your items for inspection (if any). However, with a lot of organisation of many personal and military issued items (usually forced and expected to be maintained by the army), you find yourself enough space to stand up and walk around with limited space. After a while my room at home feels a lot more bigger, and with it my bunk area. My room feels too big for me, and often I find myself lonely. From sleeping with 7 other people who you know will be with you whenever something were to go wrong, to sleeping back in the top floor of the house, where no one can hear you scream. I suppose within the army, there is no such thing as privacy and I lost the need to keep it. Bizarre at first, but logical in the end.
What I really noticed is that your bunk mates become family. Many have argued that I have just been placed in a good vocation, selected by the military for certain traits similar to mine so I suppose that it would not be uncommon for many of us to share the same traits. We like certain things, and because many of us are intellectually inclined we are introverted as well. This does not mean that we don't talk to each other, but it means that we know how to do so without intruding into each other's emotional and physical territory. However I digress.
What I mean to say is that many come from different walks of life. We all are from different income groups, fussing over the price of many things. Some find some things cheap, while others find the same thing expensive, which only goes to show the difference in our income levels and the way we perceive price and relative expensiveness. However this means that for many people with high income levels, myself included, we are able to find cheaper alternatives for every day items easily, and I am able to develop a little more price sensitivity into my purchases whenever I am to go out.
Many of us have many different traits. Some are known to have many feminine traits, or some are overly organised or hygienic. It is not strange to see my bunk mates clean their bedsheets with disinfectant after sleeping on them or some waking up early in the morning to organise their already-clean lockers once more. Quirks as they may, we learn to live around them, and we learn to have a laugh at each other's mistakes despite us having a different sense of humour. Somewhere, there is a place where all our humour's coincide, and that is where we find bonds formed within our bunks. We are able to take advice from each other, organise things about what we should bring into our bunks and from time to time talk about our weekend and what stupid shenanigans we all get up to. I am going to be with these people for the next 11 years, reservice included, and am I lucky to have such special people in my life. I can't wait for the fun that we are all going to go through together.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
What I really noticed is that your bunk mates become family. Many have argued that I have just been placed in a good vocation, selected by the military for certain traits similar to mine so I suppose that it would not be uncommon for many of us to share the same traits. We like certain things, and because many of us are intellectually inclined we are introverted as well. This does not mean that we don't talk to each other, but it means that we know how to do so without intruding into each other's emotional and physical territory. However I digress.
What I mean to say is that many come from different walks of life. We all are from different income groups, fussing over the price of many things. Some find some things cheap, while others find the same thing expensive, which only goes to show the difference in our income levels and the way we perceive price and relative expensiveness. However this means that for many people with high income levels, myself included, we are able to find cheaper alternatives for every day items easily, and I am able to develop a little more price sensitivity into my purchases whenever I am to go out.
Many of us have many different traits. Some are known to have many feminine traits, or some are overly organised or hygienic. It is not strange to see my bunk mates clean their bedsheets with disinfectant after sleeping on them or some waking up early in the morning to organise their already-clean lockers once more. Quirks as they may, we learn to live around them, and we learn to have a laugh at each other's mistakes despite us having a different sense of humour. Somewhere, there is a place where all our humour's coincide, and that is where we find bonds formed within our bunks. We are able to take advice from each other, organise things about what we should bring into our bunks and from time to time talk about our weekend and what stupid shenanigans we all get up to. I am going to be with these people for the next 11 years, reservice included, and am I lucky to have such special people in my life. I can't wait for the fun that we are all going to go through together.
This is what our bunks typically look like, and yes it's hot enough such that we always go shirtless, and most of us are tired enough to sleep, regardless of the time of day.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
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