Feeling suffocated in Singapore lately
I’m one of those Singaporeans who genuinely loves Singapore and appreciates our country despite its flaws and shortcomings. While my friends say they’d run and flee the country if war breaks out, I’d be one of those who’d stay and fight. I went to a local uni, studied extremely hard, started working this year, drink a cup of teh c everyday, and appreciate the relationships and things I have that others may not. I travel once or twice every year and have always come back to SG each time with a sense of appreciation for the food and things we get to enjoy.
Yet for the first time ever, I am experiencing feelings of suffocation after coming back from an overseas trip. The walkways feel smaller, housing feels meagre, our education system feels rigid, and SG as a whole just feels that much more constrained. I’m referring, in this case, to the amount of land, diversity of geographic features, things to do, types of people that we come across, and etc. There’s a sudden urge for me to get out and live somewhere bigger and have new experiences and meet people from different backgrounds and cultures and see how things could be better (or worse) and perhaps stray a little from the conventional Singaporean path.
Now I’m able to relate a bit better to people who express the desire to leave the country or change things here or simply want to be able to experience something different. It hit me that if a Singaporean like me can feel this way then I can imagine how many others do too.
Wondering what are your thoughts and if you share the same sentiments then is there anything you’re doing about it with regards to how you live your life.