14 March 2012, Singapore – Born and bred in the small island country of Singapore, I have begun to appreciate the country I live in. In this article, I’ll share my action for this year’s It’s My Turn campaign and how I aim to be a better person here.
Having studied in the US for my bachelors’ degree, I was involved in the Singapore Students Association in my university and often worked closely with the Singapore Tourism Board then to share with the Americans more about Singapore. I remember how the kids there used to ask me very innocently whether Singaporeans live on trees or whether we had McDonalds here.
Having experienced different cultures of people around the world through my travels, I have observed how civic minded the Japanese and New Zealanders are, how Australians and the Europeans would take long vacations in islands such as Bali and Phuket to enjoy life, or how hospitable the villagers of Makassar, Indonesia are.
My personal It’s My Turn initiative for this year’s Total Defense campaign is to be a Community Conscious Individual.
Here are my steps towards achieving that:
1. Be mindful of your surroundings and the people around you.
People are everywhere and we share the space together, so we might as well make it a happy and gracious one. If you are driving, think of the other drivers – so you should indicate your intentions early by signalling early. If you’re taking the train, do you really need to rush to sit? I usually end up standing because I would think that someone else would always need that seat more than me.
2. Be gracious and patient
The pace of life here is very fast and extremely competitive. That’s the way we were brought up and that’s the environment with live in. However, we need to take the time to smell the roses and learn to relax. Work and the environment has made us impatient and sometimes less gracious. Yes being Kiasu is afterall a Singaporean trait, but could we be gracious Kiasu Singaporeans or is that an oxymoron? That’s something to think about.
3. Communicate! We are social creatures!
Are we talking less to the people around us? When was the last time you greeted your neighbour, or the bus driver? With the proliferation of social media and mobile phones, are we interacting with people physically or is that going to be a thing of the past soon?
Would you join me to be a more gracious and community conscious individual? It’s really that easy! Click here and be sure to click on Participate!!
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