My eldest sister recently marked her 20th year of being in Singapore, having arrived here for her JC studies. 20 years ago I was a wee bonnie lad of just 8 years old! She marked this milestone by reminiscing not too fondly of mugging for her weekly tests on long torturous bus rides, of hating the lectures and tutorials and well... the general suckiness of her JC life.
June this year marked my one decade residing in Singa-land. My earliest memories of this place were of the BKE, Xiao Guilin, the crocodile farm, the zoo and the Jurong bird park. Dad first drove to Singapore when I was 7 and we would stay at an aunt's place at Bukit Batok. I played the obligatory tourist and marveled at how my Singaporean cousins can speak English so well! They in turn, were strangely amused at my family's ways of speaking Mandarin.
Dad was (still is, actually) a fervent supporter of the renowned Singapore education system. Less academically inclined compared to my older siblings, I thought I'll be spared from the system. Dad will have none of that of course, and I found myself packing to study in a local polytechnic.
The first day of school was a day after my birthday. It was orientation week and I've never felt lonelier or more out of place. I looked different, dress differently and belonged nowhere. Life was pretty much nomadic for the first 4 years or so, renting rooms from almost all corners of the island. It was easy to feel homesick and I even looked forward to the backbreaking 6 hours train ride to return home. Understandably, the decrepit railway station at Tanjong Pagar really does hold a special place to my heart.
I consider my one decade here a significant milestone because the years have defined my growth and shaped my beliefs so much that I've become a totally different person, good and otherwise. I've tasted and in turn love freedom and independence, but at the same time also wished that I wasn't just ruefully watching by the sidelines my best friends progressing on with their lives with out me.
I threw myself into my studies and the eventual career choice was really quite a pleasant surprise. And it could not have been possible had I stayed on back home. It is through this that I have the opportunity to learn from and worked with people that inspired me with their passion.
Today, I do not have much material gains and am still struggling in striving to ascend the hierarchy of needs. But I pat myself for having come such a long way, literally and figuratively. Together my rock, I look forward to many more milestones that WE will achieve.
June this year marked my one decade residing in Singa-land. My earliest memories of this place were of the BKE, Xiao Guilin, the crocodile farm, the zoo and the Jurong bird park. Dad first drove to Singapore when I was 7 and we would stay at an aunt's place at Bukit Batok. I played the obligatory tourist and marveled at how my Singaporean cousins can speak English so well! They in turn, were strangely amused at my family's ways of speaking Mandarin.
Dad was (still is, actually) a fervent supporter of the renowned Singapore education system. Less academically inclined compared to my older siblings, I thought I'll be spared from the system. Dad will have none of that of course, and I found myself packing to study in a local polytechnic.
The first day of school was a day after my birthday. It was orientation week and I've never felt lonelier or more out of place. I looked different, dress differently and belonged nowhere. Life was pretty much nomadic for the first 4 years or so, renting rooms from almost all corners of the island. It was easy to feel homesick and I even looked forward to the backbreaking 6 hours train ride to return home. Understandably, the decrepit railway station at Tanjong Pagar really does hold a special place to my heart.
I consider my one decade here a significant milestone because the years have defined my growth and shaped my beliefs so much that I've become a totally different person, good and otherwise. I've tasted and in turn love freedom and independence, but at the same time also wished that I wasn't just ruefully watching by the sidelines my best friends progressing on with their lives with out me.
I threw myself into my studies and the eventual career choice was really quite a pleasant surprise. And it could not have been possible had I stayed on back home. It is through this that I have the opportunity to learn from and worked with people that inspired me with their passion.
Today, I do not have much material gains and am still struggling in striving to ascend the hierarchy of needs. But I pat myself for having come such a long way, literally and figuratively. Together my rock, I look forward to many more milestones that WE will achieve.
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