In BMT, one of my section mates worried a lot about everything. A lot of people disliked him at the start, because he usually says things without a second thought, or did things too hastily, and often times he'd get us into more trouble afterwards. But really he only worried so much because he cared a lot more than everyone else. I remember being up really late after everyone had gone to sleep, telling him to stop helping everyone pack their rations, and go to sleep. Another

Even though I’m currently writing this as a second-year soldier, it would have been a lie to say I wasn’t nervous when I enlisted. I had dreaded serving my NS term since I was a teenager, always dismissing the stress because the day hadn't arrived yet. When it finally came, I was thrown into a world I had never experienced before: the way people spoke, the way people lived - it was all new. Honestly, I had a hard time grasping how to talk to people, a skill I’m usually incred

I didn't like the army. I hated the idea of wasting 2 years of my life on something that could at most be translated into a mere "thank you for your service", much less garner respect from strangers and family alike. Coming from an environment where we were challenged academically (and portfolio-ly), I didn't want to stagnate during this time and I lamented about it to almost everyone I knew. Thus began my own very un-eventful NS journey. BMT felt like a blur of pushups and l

Before going for outfield, I thought about all the stories and experiences I had heard from my relatives and friends about how it was a waste of time and how I should try my best to chao keng my way out of it. However, I felt that since this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience a wartime simulation, I should be a real man and go through with it. In the end, it turned out to be one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. We had to set up tents with our bu

NS had been the bane of my existence ever since I was a young boy. Hearing stories about people getting injured severely or even dying constantly frightened me. Being asthmatic made this even more scary for me. Strolling into Tekong with my family, I realised all the 5 star reviews on google were too good to be true. Yet, I decided to tackle this challenge head on instead of just running away from it. The first 2 weeks were challenging since we had to stay in during that whol