Honestly, I cannot take it anymore. Every single time I step into an MRT station, go to an neighborhood mall, or walk around Orchard, I’m guaranteed to see at least five people flexing their NUS, NTU, or SMU t-shirts like it’s some kind of high-fashion streetwear.
Why ah? You graduate already how many years, or you study there only, must make it your entire personality is it? We get it, your A-level rank points or poly GPA can enter local uni. You are the chosen one. Your parents are very proud. But do you really need to wear that faded, oversized Navy Blue NUS Computing tee or that bright red NTU hall shirt to buy cai fan on a Saturday afternoon?
It’s the ultimate subtle flex, the classic Singaporean “look at me, I am elite” starter pack. They wear it with so much confidence, walking with their chest out, making sure the giant block letters are visible from 50 meters away. It’s like they’re trying to broadcast to the whole cabin: “Excuse me, I am a high-flying scholar with a bright future, please give up your seat to my academic excellence.”
Let’s be real here. In the grand scheme of life, once you step into the corporate world, nobody gives a flying crap about which campus you spent your twenties mugging at. Your degree gets you through the HR door for your first job, and after that? It’s just a piece of paper collecting dust while you grind the 9-to-6 like the rest of us peasants.
So can we stop using university merch as a social status symbol? If you guys want to play the flex game, let’s change the rules. Don’t wear your faculty shirt. I wear my bank balance on my chest, can anot?
Let’s print our liquid cash savings right there in bold Arial font. Let’s see who is the real big shot when you’re standing next to someone wearing a shirt that says $250,000 Liquid Cash while your shirt just says NUS Business School (Class of 2022). Let’s see how proud you look with your hall tee when the guy next to you is flexing his fully paid-up CPF Ordinary Account balance.
At least my bank balance can pay for a BTO downpayment and finance a comfortable life. Your uni tee can only get you a 10% student discount at pastamania, and even that expires the moment you get your graduation certificate.
End of rant. Go downvote me all you want, but you know it’s true. Wear something else for once, your school pride is giving me secondhand embarrassment.