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Happy Birthday Singapore! Although the National Day hype diminishes as I age, Singapore is too tiny a country to not feel the vibe, especially when you get those roadblocks due to the parade rehearsals in the city, fireworks on Saturdays and of course the aerial flypast. I guess partly the reason why it diminishes is because I'm no longer exposed to what we used to when we were younger. Remember back in primary and secondary school we have the sing-along sessions during assembly? And we would readily sing them? Damn, I miss those mass celebrations that succeeded in building up an atmosphere enough to make you feel you have celebrated an occasion fully. I have to give credits to the National Day songs because most of them, if not all, are really good.

A few days ago, I was present at this YOG event, and they started to play several national day songs. And without fail, I can easily sing the songs without putting in effort to remember the lyrics at all. It's amazing how words to these songs remain etched in some part of my memory. And although time and time again, I do wish that I could stay somewhere else, or when I have sudden urges to get out of the country or that I occasionally question why is it that I'm born a Singaporean, I probably would not have found comfort in anywhere else. Yes we do complain about the weather, the increasing population in an awful small, squeezy country, GST, kiasu-ism, and the string of complaints typically made by Singaporeans, this is home. Most importantly, the people I love are mostly here. And that alone can easily surpass all the complaints above.

So Happy National Day to Singaporeans out there :)

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