I chanced upon my friend's facebook entry. His entry was talking about how NS had "robbed" away his chance for a scholarship. Below was an extract of his entry.

Thanks a lot. I did try again this year. Well I couldn't blame the batch this year for doing so well, could I? I didn't even survive to the interview. Never mind that I spent more than a month editing the essay I had submitted last year before I submitted it again this year. Maybe now you understand the title of this note.

Amry took a very important opportunity away from me. And now it's lost forever. I'm not placing any blame, just stating facts as I see them. I'm not saying I would have gotten the scholarship, which at minimum meant $25,000 without a bond i.e. free money. I'm saying I want to be given a fair chance for an interview, just like everyone else.

Well well. I do understand how he feel, being actually "robbed" of your scholarship interview chance by NS.

But well, why not lets look at the picture this way. without NS, the country will hv no defence. No defence, let's not even talk about scholarship, I think we wun even hv time for food and even education.

A good education system co-exist with a good military defence. Without good military defence, where on Earth do we hv the peace to even sit down quietly and study, and enjoy our peaceful environment?

True enough, he had sacrificed a chance for his scholarship. But I do believe that this sacrifice for peace in our country, is definitely a sacrifice worth while. In casee he may not see the big picture, he is actually sacrificing this for the sake of peace in the country, where million of people live in.

And I do believe that his efforts is recognised. And one day when you look back at the peace we are enjoying and comparing with other countries (whereby warfare is a daily thingy, and that you hardly can hv time to sit down and enjoy your day), perhaps we will start to appreciate what we are enjoying.

Peace does not come free. And its pretty disappointing to know that people seem to hv taken it for granted. I understand this entry will really piss those off who really hate NS. But all I actually want to say is, everyone needs to play a part for peace. And if you are not willing to put in any effort in doing so, I would sadly tell you, you hv no right to enjoy the peace and fruit we are enjoying in our country.

I know my pro Ns attitude sometimes (or rather most of the time) pisses people off. But all I want to say to all those out there who dislike NS is, at the end of the day, when you had travelled the world enough, although we always complain this and complain that, it is really the peace and stability of Singapore that really makes us feel like it is OUR HOME, OUR COUNTRY.

I can really say that, although in US there is alot of freedom, in Hong Kong there is alot of LIFE, There is no where out there that is as comfortable and as stable as Singapore. There is no city in the rest of the world, whereby I can feel so safe going home at 3 am midnight, without the worries of being hacked or beaten up. There is no whereelse in the world whereby I can walk the streets withour fears of being called "F**king Chinese".

There is alot of good points I have about Singapore. I love my country. And I am proud to be a Singaporean. I just hope that people can hv a better attitude towards NS.

True enough, NS maybe tough at times, and it may hv robbed your opportunities. But without NS, all I can say is, you may not even hv any luxury to be even doing things you enjoy doing. And you may not even hv the pleasure of sitting in front of a PC/phone reading my blog.

Alot of people ask me, how can I actually ENJOY NS? My answer is v simple. Its all in the mind. If you think NS is going to be shit, it will be shit. I must say, although i do hv gd officers I work for, sometimes, there are also times whereby NS was shit to me. But all I feel is that, this is really a preparation for the working world outside. I choose to see this as a learning process instead of doing sai kang.

Sometimes, if only we can hv a gd mindset, I believe NS can be enjoyable. Just like how mine was. Its really all in the mind. So, think positive, and your experience will be a positive one.