National Day

Today's Singapore's 40th birthday. 40 years since independence. Something to be proud of. A small nation like us, surviving and flourishing for 40 years. It hasn't been easy. So many things could go wrong, but the nation as a whole has pulled through. Lots of thanks to the wise leaders we have and all those who gave their blood, sweat, toil and tears for the land.

I didn't watch the parade. I was playing ultimate frisbee at Clarke Quay. However, it had a great view of the fly-bys of the F-16s, the commandos doing their parachuting and the National flag flown across the sky underneath a Chinook. We would stop the game to watch the aerial shows. There's always this tinge and a shiver of pride running through my body, to see how everyone is so enthusiastic about the country's birthday and how proud it is to be a Singaporean. Even though most of the time, I complain wanting to be elsewhere, that Singapore is too stifling, August 9th is always a time when I feel that I have something to be proud of, being Singaporean, even a crazy, studious, not too well blended in Singaporean. Same tinge happened when I saw the tanks and other vehicles drive by when I was walking to City Hall. The soldiers were waving at the passerbys, who all waved back and there was festivity and pride in the air. Even though I know it's just the occasion, and not necessarily how people usually feel, it's nice to get the tinge of pride once in a while.