We Want To Be Forever Young
Being young is amazing and life should be celebrated no matter how old you are. When you’re young, you possess so much more energy, vigour, and drive – that’s what makes life so exciting.
While being young is wonderful anywhere, really, it’s so much better in our bustling city-state filled with endless possibilities. Crazy student discounts, fun-filled school camps, free health screenings – you name it, the youths here in Singapore enjoy it. Here are 10 reasons why it’s great to be young in Singapore!
1. Super fun school camps
Our fondest memories of school will always be of the super fun-filled camps. It’s an enjoyable initiation into your new school – you holler the deafening school cheers, learn the mass dances, have a ball of a time playing crazy games, make newfound friends you’ll keep for life, and drench yourself in school spirit.
Post-camp withdrawal symptoms will always hit you hard in the end, but that just means you had the time of your life.
2. Cheap public transport fares
You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Most of us have been taking student concession fares for granted all our lives. If you’re currently waiting to get into university, you’re probably feeling the horrible pinch of adult fares and it does not feel good. Gone are the days of taking a bus from one end of Singapore to the other for just 60 cents.
At least we still have undergraduate concession fares to look forward to, but once we become full-fledged working adults, say goodbye to concession transportation fares!
3. Free health check-ups
As kids, we were always so averse to health check-ups. They were painful experiences of having our teeth extracted, needles inserted into our veins, and unwanted reminders of how bad our eyesight was.
What we didn’t understand was how expensive these health check-ups and vaccinations could be. It was a privilege for us to have gotten them for free, and a much needed reminder to stay healthy and take care of our bodies.
4. We can pursue our passions
We’re barely ever told that we cannot pursue something we love. In Singapore, there are so many opportunities to discover our talents and hone them.
We have a long list of CCAs to choose from, dedicated coaches and teachers to provide support and guidance, and amazing friends and teammates who brave the grueling journey with us. I have friends who’ve represented the country in international competitions and pursuing courses like theatre studies and dance overseas, all thanks to a burning passion that was ignited in school.
Being young opens up so many chances to chase our dreams. We just have to know what we love and stick to it.
5. We’re allowed to make mistakes
When you’re young, you’re expected to make all of life’s mistakes so you can pick yourself up and learn from them. People are more forgiving to the young. Remember that time you broke a glass window in school playing soccer with your friends? Or that time you completely forgot to do your homework? All you got was a detention slip and tough love from your parents and teachers.
But underneath all the naggings and scoldings are people who care for and are willing to give you second chances… or even third ones. Which leads us to…
6. There’s always someone we can lean on
The world views us as teachable, starry-eyed youth who are in need of guidance. When we find ourselves lost and in need of a little help, there are many people who will be there for us.
Be it our teachers, coaches, parents, tutors, or even our fellow friends, there’s always someone we can turn to when we need a little motivation and direction. All you have to do is ask – and remember that you’re never alone.
7. Edusave top-ups and bursaries
Who doesn’t love free money? Okay, you don’t get it in hard cash but having money in your Edusave is close enough. You get to use Edusave for so many different activities anyway, from enrichment classes to interesting skill-based workshops.
Recently, it was also announced that there will be a S$150 top-up to the Edusave account of each Singapore Citizen student, aged 7 to 16 and up to S$500 top-up to the Post Secondary Education Account (PSEA) of each Singapore Citizens aged 17 to 20.
If you do well in school, there are also many Edusave scholarships and bursaries up for grabs. Everyone’s just looking to reward you when you’re young!
8. We get to borrow more books
One of the best perks of being young is that we get to borrow more books from the library. On top of the 8 books we can borrow with our student card, we get to borrow double the number during school holidays, and even more from our school library. Sounds like literary heaven for the bookworms in us!
9. Student discounts everywhere
This is the most shiok reason to be young. Need a cheap meal? Countless restaurants will be enticing you with posters screaming “One-for-one!” and “50% off for all students!”. Need a swanky new outfit for a party? Present your student card and get 20% off that gorgeous Topshop dress.
Student discounts are literally everywhere you look, and that’s an incredible added bonus to being young.
10. Our future is bright!
Source: Ministry Of Education
Being young in Singapore means you have a bright future – the possibilities in our bustling city-state are endless! We too often take for granted the stability of our country, but there are youths all over the world who worry about getting a proper education, let alone future job prospects.
With obligatory education, young Singaporeans are sufficiently knowledgeable, skilled, and cultured enough to go places. There are systems put in place to ensure that we can constantly upgrade our skills, and it’s safe to say that it’s a great time to be young in Singapore!
Celebrate Your Youth
Though you’re young, you hold the future of Singapore in your hands. You’re strong and filled with vigour and passion, so go chase your dreams and contribute your own inspiring chapter to the Singapore story. Youth Celebrate! is one of the SG50 events that recognises our youths and will be a showcase of talents at the National Stadium on 26 July.
Our youths will put up a mass display of spectacular performances on 26th July to celebrate their achievements in sports, arts, and uniformed groups in conjunction with the official opening of the Singapore Sports Hub. There will be interesting events like a novelty football game pitting 50 school children against 11 professional players, record-setting feats, sealing of a time capsule, and a whole variety of performances by youths.
Where: National Stadium
When: 26th July 2015
If we’ve missed any of your favourite reasons for being young in Singapore, be sure to let us know in the comments below!
This post was brought to you by the Ministry Of Education.