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Let's go! | #SingaporeSignatures


Warm thermals are pushing my heart gently upward in a seemingly never ending spiral.

It is peace which is self-ascending to the heavens, seeing the view usually bequeathed only to the birds, their birthright and domain. As we would glide on, above the green cliffs, over the heather and on toward the patchwork urbanland we would begin to gain height.

It is some 23 hours before I finally have to step off the Mauritian ground and feel the world infinitely below me.

I imagine myself with the wind tousled in my newly cropped hair and the bottom right corner stamping the words: “New Beginnings: Making the Leap into a New Life.”

Tomorrow, I leave home. I leave a place that has been my childhood cocoon. I love this home and the community around it so much that for now I can only bury this pain and hope to deal with it later. To those that take my place it is only walls, the streets only concrete, but to me there is love here. As I turn to depart I feel part of my soul imprint onto the walls, a parting gift from me to this place.

Our lives are there for the making. Dare we take up the challenge? Dare we push ourselves to our upmost potential? Dare we miss this opportunity? We cannot avoid being challenged in life but we can avoid being defeated. I would love to be reminded of these words each time along the journey- a journey which is taking me to Singapore for the next 8 months.

I remember my last touring of Singapore, which was 6 years ago- back in 2010, when my entire family and I had been there during the Winter Holidays. I remember how I had this internal thirst of studying in that city as a 14-year-old. I remember sharing this thought with my trusted cousin, Jessy. And I remember conspiring for this occurrence to strike.

How grateful am I today for this thought to have translated into reality? Infinitely.

A whole series of global reports have recognized Singapore as a world leader in research and innovation over the past few decades. 

Within this context of global competitiveness and innovation, universities in Singapore are also gaining growing recognition, as Asian nations more generally strengthen their position in the global education market. Singapore’s two leading universities are now both ranked within the world’s top 15, and the city itself is ranked 6th in the 
QS Best Student Cities 2016, reflecting its combination of educational excellence, high quality of life, and diverse student community.

Since its independence in 1959, Singapore has become one of the world's wealthiest and healthiest economic centres.

This vibrant, cosmopolitan city is one of the Four Asian Tigers and home to over 5 million people. The World Bank has called Singapore "the world's easiest place to do business".

How excited am I to get there? I’m sure I yet have to brim with excited because for the past few weeks, crammed between my Dad’s golden birthday, my farewell party, my trying to miss out anything, I’m physically exhausted slightly.

There’s more fatigue with trying to handle getting your things done, preparing for your food to eat, welcoming people who are dropping by to visit and still despite all smiling big and laughing.


“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the plane. This is my adapted line from Oscar Wilde. And I certainly intend to write enormously, under the hashtag, #SingaporeSignatures which I tend to see as an abbreviation as Signatures from Singapore!

Writing a blog can feel like shouting into the wind, and you start to wonder what the point is. No matter how many people are out reading or not, viewing your content or not I tend to think that I like anyone else have got an edge, and that's my personal voice. Remember what Dr. Seuss said: "There is no one alive who is Youer than You."

Study abroad is said to be an "unforgettable" experience, and in many ways it is. You never forget the big moments, like meeting your new college mates for the first time.
However, several years down the road, many of the day-to-day details start to get fuzzy. Keeping a study abroad blog that I know I can update regularly will help me preserve memories big and small so that I'll never lose track of the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of daily life in my host country. And unlike the shorthand I scribble in your private journal, my blog posts will be written for an outside audience that requires additional back-story and contextual info. As a result, ten years from now, I hope that #SingaporeSignatures will be a treasure trove of nearly forgotten details.
In this way, it gives me a reason to seek out interesting experiences, be conscious of them and be more organised about what I’m choosing to do.
Again, as a blogger, I’ll be writing for an outside audience, and that audience requires a steady supply of interesting content.
You may be curious to hear what I munched on after classes one day, but a running catalog of local snack foods won't sustain you readers for long. Good blog content requires even better experiences, and I’ll make sure to get those. As my cousin Hansini placed it, ‘Those moments won’t walk back to you, enjoy!’
And then blogging from there would empower me to shape people's perceptions of a place. Interestingly, as a study abroad participant, I can be a window to the world for your family and friends back home. You'll be looking to us – and more specifically, our blog - to tell you what life in our host community is really like.
Why I’m I speaking in the ‘we’, ’us’, ‘our’ form? Because, guess what? I’m flying together with Jeshta! And I that’s hands down the most reassuring thing to be.
On this note, and until I find some more convenient time to talk to you guys, all my love.

To my dear ones:

Thank you so much for your words, visits and love. 

Try not to think of the leaving part, because our lives and loves are circles and spirals rolled into one glorious mess. Though I go it is to return, in this life or another. There is no stronger glue in all the known universe than true love and I see in your heart and mind that it is what we share. The separation can only ever be temporary even though it spans beyond this mortal existence. Love is the only path we should follow, so don't think of this as abandonment, sweet child, know that is the only sure way to be certain we stay together.

Let’s grow and shine and outlast.

Singapore! There we come!








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