Where does your loyalty lie?
Loyalty is a trait that never seems to carry a negative connotation, and rightly so. The ability to stick with someone or something through thick and thin is extremely commendable, but to what extent is keeping your loyalty worthwhile? Does forcefully being loyal to your nation for two years (followed by another 10 in intervals) of your life even count?
Being loyal to a just cause, or a person that has earned that loyalty is respectable, but sometimes I look at people serving the army just to get it over with like me in utter disbelief. You have extremes on either end, people so determined to let the army consume their life and revolve around nothing but that position, talking about it endlessly and making others' lives more miserable for the sake of a few rules. In stark contrast, you also have 'chao kengs' or other people of the sorts that take medical leave and have no interest in being of any help to the guys they're working alongside. Loyalty shouldn't lie with the army, realistically it won't serve you past these two years and Singapore does a good job of pushing its people away from patriotism. However, loyalty lies with the guys you spend every day with, you come in and do your part for the sake of making not only their lives easier, but to build relationships for a lifetime. As cheesy as it sounds, you're spending pretty much every moment of your day with them and nobody wants to be guy people are chatting shit about. Everyone goes through the moments where you ask yourself, why not take MC? Then you start listing reasons to yourself of why its fine and how people won't genuinely be affected just to make yourself feel better about it. No harm no foul.
READ THIS
https://www.justclick.sg/sgbreakingnews/chao-keng-god-how-i-forced-saf-to-release-me-from-serving-ns
However, these issues aren't really as prevalent as you rise in seniority. In my company, the more senior you are, the more freedom you have. You no longer have to do any real menial work, and you get to look down and watch junior batches who are not even remotely close to ORDing (finishing the 2 years). That is a satisfaction unlike anything else, watching them do the shit work and training that you did a year ago when you first arrived definitely evokes some good memories as well as shit ones. Being yelled that incessantly, now watching them undergo the same thing, life goes full circle.
Being in the army has taught me a lot, loyalty aside, I think I've learned to appreciate life as a whole. My brother lived alone here for the duration of his army stint, and I initially thought that he had the dream situation, a place to himself every weekend to do whatever he pleased. When I came back initially, there was a period where it was just my brother and I at home and it was hell. Coming home on a Friday evening to a kitchen with just Kinder Buenos, bananas and coffee was not a sight for a sore eyes. I assume university students can empathise, but not having home cooked meals, daily small talk about anything under the sun and the never faltering affection they provide is difficult to live without. Its part and parcel of growing up, and I'm fortunate enough to not have had to do that yet, but it is something I think I'd be able to better deal with having been in the army. Irregardless of what I've said about the army and how much I complain, it definitely forces you to grow up. You take care of yourself Monday to Friday, wash your own clothes, are responsible for your own schedule (ie. forcing yourself to get off Youtube and do something productive) and learning that instant coffee is okay, but so much worse than the shit you get from coffee shops. (s/o to nescafe sugarless 3 in 1) I was loyal to nescafe, but I realised my life is progressing and so should my loyalty you know, therefore old town white coffee is my new go to.
This is a very impromptu entry because I am currently staying home due to some COVID stuff, but I thought it was a good time to do some reflection as even though I feel like I was just shaving my head yesterday for the first time, I'm nearing being done with this shit for the rest of my life. =)
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