"Where I belong, where I keep my heart and soul, where dreams come true for us.Where we walk together hand in hand, towards a future so bright. I want the whole world to know, I want to shout it out loud, that this is where I know I belong."
Where I Belong, by Tanya Chua 2001
Morning comes along and I can't wait to see my sunny island
in its glorious greenery whether rain or shine it is still beautiful.
Bright lights shine on the streets at night, guiding me closer to home.
To a place where I know it is safe and warm, where I belong.
Friends and families by my side, seeing me through as I grow and learn.
Everyday's experience, bitter sweet or sour, they're still wonderful.
As they become precious memories, they'll be kept close to my heart
And no matter where I am I will always know, where I belong.
I want the whole world to know, I want to shout it out loud.
That this is where I know I belong.
In recent years, I have found myself falling in love with my homeland, Singapore, more and more each day. While I was back home, it was still easy to take what I had for granted. Safety and connectivity were just all there and never had to be considered. In the rush of day to day work, it was easy to simply use them without appreciating the effort behind all these systems that served us.
Now that I am living in the states, I miss all of it even much more. The song definitely encapsulates my perspectives well. Indeed, it is easy not to appreciate what one has until it is gone. Before, the lush greenery that was all around me was often unnoticed, and I never appreciated how pleasant the sight of greenery is. It is only till I am faced with brown buildings (mostly) and occasional compounds of trees that I realize how the physical surroundings of the garden city of Singapore can actually serve to lift one's spirits.
On the roads, I now require daily doses of Vitamin A in hopes to improve my night vision to deal with night driving! Well, I never knew that I would appreciate street lamps so much! lol. Subways are most of the time a pain to take as the slightly germophobic me is so used to the clean air conditioned MRT. Oh well!
Probably the factor I realised I took for granted the most, was the unspoken safety as I got around day to day. Getting a cab back home at 3am after a night of partying was never a concern and I had no qualms to go for a night jog around the neighbourhood at 10pm with cookie. I reveled in getting around independently no matter how late. I only realised how safety considerations were never part of my day to day thoughts back home, when I found myself mentally preparing defense mechanisms if there ever was a sudden shooting in the mall where I was catching a movie. The idea of those thoughts were novel, yet also revealed to me a new kind of mental restriction amidst the freedom.
And of course, the most sorely missing bits are my family and friends that I love so much. Thank god for the invention of internet and skype and all that devices that keep us connected so easily.
It is a thing to visit another place and marvel at their freedom and seemingly stressless lifestyles, but it is another to live in it and realise the vital things that are missing. There is no perfect country.
I enjoy the states very much but I guess Singapore sparkles too for many reasons.
Or perhaps I am just too much of a Singapore home girl.
xoxo
a singapore home girl
crystael
