It's all relative

Are you there God? I know we haven't spoken before...sorry about that. Still skeptical about your existence and all. I am writing this to seek your guidance...I just need someone to talk to. I haven't been doing well lately. And please don't judge me. I have no one else to turn to. Everyone else fills my head with noise. I was once human. Once beautiful. Once brimming with awe and wonder. I don't know who I am anymore, nor do I know what I have become. Your bright, shining stars now spell out the harsh indifference of your universe. Where am I to look for solace if even the night sky has betrayed me? How am I to believe I am still human after my morality rots into something grotesque? Something unrecognisable. Something far from what you have intended me to become.  Too many emotions bounce within the confines of my mind. Too many voices demand I do their bidding. Too many eyes scrutinising my every breath, staring down at me like an insect. I am a maggot squirming in m...

ha ha heartbreak When the words weigh heavy on the heart. It pulsates in agony, aching with every new beat. It is painful to listen, but the sound of empty flesh has become a familiar tune these days. Its futile attempts to resuscitate apparent death are moments I could die for. I appreciate the effort. It isn't easy to dance to the symphony of this lifeless rhythm, but my legs jump higher with each fresh chord. A corpse cast to masquerade in a sea of lively bodies. It tries its best to adapt to the distortion. To adapt to the change. But sorrow calls, and it performs with silent screams. A great sadness has reduced me to its slave. I am a puppet pulled by strings of cruel fate. The road ahead twists with self-inflicted obstacles - shards of sweet memories tear mercilessly at my flesh while fragments of a past life lay vivid, threatening to shed more blood. Please don't make me take another step. I want to feel every inch of these jagged pieces against my skin and relieve what ...

I have no mouth   Would a fish be able to differentiate a pond from the ocean? And if it does, which would it desire? Should it opt for comfort within familiar walls, or embrace an infinite blue of freedom. According to most fishes, the choice of boundless space is obvious. To feel the liberating current ebb and flow through its scales as it embraces the murky marine and its unchartered depths brimming with opportunities and discovery. Or at least that was what I interpreted from my conversations with them...it was rather difficult to understand their tongue. Thankfully I could immerse myself into their reality, for the same waters that embody their way of life caught me drowning in it this semester. I have no gills beneath these waves, and I must breathe.   I walked across the seabed determined to satisfy my hunger for validation. My time last term left me starving, and my desperation saw me scouring the unforgiving landscape for crumbs. I savored every drop. Every ...

To what extent do you feel that the physical reality of having to live in a body can be considered a form of suffering? To begin this paper, I will first preface my interpretation of the key terms used in the prompt. I view the body as encompassing both physical and cognitive aspects that work together to create meaningful experiences. This means that the mind will be treated as interconnected with the body and not as two independent entities. For instance, our eyes, a physical organ, enable us the gift of sight, a cognitive process. Through cooperation, these complementary facets make our bodies a fundamental aspect of human existence, shaping our interactions with the world and influencing our perceptions of self and others. Through these experiences, we embody the sensations of happiness and suffering. Given the complexity of these two dimensions, I will reduce their definitions to emotions that elicit pleasure and pain respectively, and that these sensations can manifest in the b...

 Writing & Reasoning A1 Opinion Piece  Thesis statement: Mental health is stigmatized in the SAF and existing measures are ineffective due to the influence of toxic masculinity that downplays the gravity of mental health. Green. The color of new beginnings, growth, and National Service (NS). As the foundation of Singapore’s defense (CMPB, 2018) , NS resembles a form of collective effervescence that unifies generations. But while the pixelated uniform symbolises camaraderie and reassurance in the public’s eye, what lurks beneath is an artwork tainted with apprehension. Toxic masculinity, the idea of manliness birthed from social pressures that condemn emotional vulnerability (Morin, 2022) , is the theme of this “masterpiece”. Although it is natural for one’s mental state to deteriorate in NS, given the nature of militarisation and rigid regulations imposed (Private Space, 2024) , the noxious notion goes beyond stigmatizing such psychological issues - it has corrupted ef...

Liquid Courage Hello everyone! My name is An Wen, a first-year SMU undergraduate currently exploring the intricacies of the human condition both as an eager student and a weary perpetrator of this education construct. Besides lamenting about minor inconveniences and fighting the urge to skip morning classes, the university has graciously broadened my range of hobbies to promote holistic development; now including cramming for examinations and group projects. A real character milestone there. Fun fact, I used to write blogs...exaggerated pieces that illustrated my thoughts on what I deemed to be "more sensitive" topics troubling the youth. It gave me a sense of purpose, a meaning to the madness of volatile terrains conjured by my thoughts. A crutch that turned mental stabiliser as I embark on this new chapter.   The social climate of university remains fluid in structure, shaped by societal stigmas and personal endeavors. Marked by academic battles and emotional bloodshed, the...