The idea is feasible. The location near ideal. It is a win-win situation. There is overwhelming support from many parties. But all it took was a single disapproval to dash my dream.

Independence is a wonderful virtue, because it encompasses other positive traits. With independence, you learn to be discipline in many aspects. You learn to be street-smart. Also, you learn to live the life you want, i.e. knowing your directions in life.

Personally, in my case, as well as many other post-war babies, I believe we live too well in comfort. The only hardships we encounter are the stress from studies and maybe the occasional setbacks in life when we simply do not get what we may have clamoured for. What about survival hardships? I feel that there is a lack in this area of my life. I want to live outside the comfort zone of my house.

Alright, I may be kidding myself if I were to say I want to live with zero reliance on my parents as I do not have a stable and regular income. But I suppose I need to remove the dependence in a step-by-step approach, and that begins with living out of home.

Yaowen and I have been looking around for places to rent while we spend our university days. I see this as an opportunity to live out of home and learning to be independent. You may ask whether I have learnt to be so while serving NS but I will say that the kind of independence learnt is different. In army, I do not have to worry about food and shelter. Both are provided for. The opportunity to exercise is there, albeit a little forced. But it is for this very same reason why when living on your own, you will learn to take your own initiatives to keep fit and healthy.

I guess that as I wrote this entry, it has helped to consolidate my case and stand when I bring up this matter for discussion with my mum once again. It's a little extreme, as I have gone on to praising NS, the bane of all boys. But i'm a matured man, so that doesn't matter, haha! In any case, I pray and hope for this to work out.