Adaptation

I think that as we grow up, the experiences we go through somehow shape our mentality and willingness to adapt. Interesting how I was just recounting that I've never quite followed friends from one place to another. Every chapter was a fresh start, a new beginning.

Primary school. That's pretty easy to say the least. I mean, how many of us had friends from kindergarten? But the genuine change came after streaming, where I was thrust into a class with no close friends. Everyone was from a different class, which sorta worked out for me.

Secondary school. Where all my close friends left for greener pastures, I opted for Anglican High. Which I had no idea was a chinese-speaking school. Cultural shock, no friends (Clarence is not a friend) and new environment. I needed time to adjust. But as usual, I think I came out pretty unscathed.

Junior college. This wouldn't have happened if I had my way. Primed and destined to follow close friends (for the first time in life) to polytechnic, my plans were horridly stunned and put back into place. And so, Tampines. Who would have thought? Hardly any friends went there. So I was left to make something out of nothing once more. Not a bad experience in my opinion.

Army. BMT, OCS and 5SIR. Not once did I have close friends for company. It was always a matter of restarting and getting to know new people. More importantly, it was always adjusting to new sub-cultures.

University. Well, I declined the obvious easy routes of Monash or UNSW to go to Macquarie. Hardly the most difficult decision for me. Why would you even go overseas to mix with Singaporeans??? So Macquarie, once more new culture and mindsets. After years of practice, I had no problems or qualms about adapting. I may have actually plunged in too deep, too quickly for comfort.

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I think the common trend of having to adapt to different environments has contributed to this need for change. I'm not one to sit still for too long and frankly my butt gets itchy after a while.

Is this also why I thirst for traveling far and wide to taste new cultures (food) and meeting new people? Perhaps so. But I'm sure that many others have experienced more drastic changes in life as compared to mine, and yearn for something quite different.

Maybe the wanderlust can be traced to my DNA. And maybe the supposed "courage" to wander into the unknown can be traced to my name, which means bravery. (Which is bullshit honestly)