My Beloved Island

Singapura (Completed on the Galaxy Note 3)

It's been a long time since I last did a sketch on the Note 3, almost half a year, actually. I did do one for Chinese New Year, but I was too busy preparing to head to Europe that I never got down to posting it. Did this specially for National Day back in August when I was in transit in Singapore.

I say "in transit" because I had already decided then that the next half of the year would be spent away from the little red dot as well. Can't quite figure when I made that decision to prolong my absence but I think it was just about a month into my time in Austria.

I had reasoned with myself that I wanted to gain some work experience away from Singapore. But I had other reasons, which were no doubt legitimate, of course. First of which was that I knew coming home to my senior year immediately would hit me real hard, especially after spending a good 7 months away. Secondly, I needed time away from home to think about some very important things.

I miss Europe so much because of the overwhelming feeling of being free, away from constraint and choosing to "not give a damn" whenever I wanted to. This just doesn't happen at home and I truly miss that of Europe. Most of all, I miss my dear friends, my brothers and sisters in Europe.

The difficult question I posed to myself was this, "will I ever be willing to put everything in Singapore down and move for good?" I'd obviously have to finish my senior year, but while I knew most of me said yes, deep down, the Singaporean in me would not find it so easy.

Lots of things mentioned in http://www.huffingtonpost.com/margaret-heffernan-/the-limits-of-ideology-le_b_5895760.html hits dead on, for me at least. My Singapore has changed. It is no longer the Singapore I grew up in. The Merlion has been replaced by the Marina Bay Sands surfboard as our symbol. (Which is also the reason why I did this sketch) My friends tell me about the "infinity pool" instead of the vomitting weird-looking lion. 

The Singapore today is different from before. BUT, it has changed... for the better. Cynics can go on all day but I believe that my Singapore has made progress, although there is still a long way to go. Things are better, but they're still not good enough. Sounds familiar, thank Mr Obama for that.

I miss Singapore because it's my home. I don't have to worry that the supermarkets are closed on Sundays, because a lot of them are now open 24/7. I don't have to worry that I have nothing to eat because a hawker centre is only a 10 minute walk away. Although I have to worry if the tram MRT breaks down every once in a while, most things run pretty smoothly at home.

I miss my family. Home in Singapore is only home with them. Well yes, you could say my European family took good care of me while I was there but my home is Singapore. Family is what's waiting for me back home, where I can finally sing "I'll be Home for Christmas" and actually mean it. And family will also be the reason why I'll move in future.

Whatever lies ahead, I know one thing for certain: Singapore is my beloved island nation and I sure am damn proud to tell people I'm Singaporean!