Year 1

Afternoons are the best times to reflect and ponder. Especially when time is limited and you're at home with nothing better to do. Sometimes, because of national service commitment, I just found myself with lots of free time at home. Like now.

It's been a year since enlistement. Almost. Much has happened; much has changed. Since the moment the letter came, I felt like my life had just experienced some changes. Big or small, from then on, life wasn't gonna be the same anymore.

For about a month, I gave myself every opportunity to be happy, stay happy. It was after all the last few weeks of my civilian life before I embarked on a whole new journey, one filled with trepidation, anxiety and unknown.

I must say the past year has brought about in me many changes. Times when I felt I could be doing something else outside instead of being in camp, I found myself wondering, what exactly can I do? And if I do have my weekdays back, how do I know I won't be wasting time outside roaming the streets or watching shows all day?

So as surprising as I find myself saying, I owe it to this experience that allowed me to grow and learn. Sometimes we do hate the things we do, but ultimately, we look back, and we thank those who made it possible for us to mature as humans. Now, as we embark onto the next phase of this journey, I hope we can still continue to grow and learn, so when we look back next year, we can proudly say that we have done well.