There is a rite of passage that every mother's son of Singapore has to go through.
The passage that was said to turn boys into men.
Today I sent my brother to that rite of passage.

How would things turn out for him? I know he will be an outstanding soldier, one that I would not be able to be. Yet after going through so much, I just couldn't help but to be worried a little. Just a little =) There is a strong sense of nostalgia throughout that 4hours or so. To go back to a place I went before even though I wasn't from Tekong. Though we enlist at a different location, the oath we took were the same. The oath to protect the very land we live in.

Many says National Service is a waste of time. Is it really a waste of time?

Though many had said that they would run away when a war really hits Singapore, I do not know deep down if they would really do so but for me, I would do as much as I can. A place that I call home, I will not allow anything to happen to the family who resides in this very home. I'm sure people who said they would run would in the end stay behind to ensure their family's safety =)

Apart from all these war war stuff, I feel NS is still essential to every brother from another father mother of Singapore because besides from the bonding being special, we learn to deal with things we do not like even at the very least bit. We learn to accept what is need to be done and we learn to never run away from responsibilities and mistakes that we make. We face severe punishment when we commit mistakes and we learn not to repeat the mistakes. We learn that after every decision made, there are results and consequences. In army terms, we learn to LLST, which means "Lan Lan Suck Thumb". There is this arm stoke man who always shout at us during my recruit time. He would always say "Eh fucking recruits. suck it up and move on!" haha. I learn that there is no use crying over spilled milk.

To me, it's not the wide range of weaponry that turn boys into men. It's the hidden lessons that we've to pick up on our own that turn us into men. I did not regret the way things turned out in the end. I'm glad to know so many people who helped me through my 2years and I'm grateful to them too.

P.S. I used to hear people say freedom after ORD but from where I see, we merely moved from one smaller cage into another bigger cage.