silly comparison

my ORD date coming soon.. roughly about 20 more days and i'll be off the full time national service. long and crazy and interesting journey it has been. my point today is nothing really related to NS but something i really see clearly and understand through NS. however, don't get me wrong, this is pretty applicable even in other areas. the "this" i'm talking about is comparison.

well, it is definitely natural for people to compare with one another from time to time but i realise that when comparing to others, one would be better off to shut up if you don't really know what to say or comment about it. i'll give you two examples, the first one is something i picked up during NS and the other is something i picked out chatting with friends from NS and uni at the same time.

example 1: -
there are many different types of vocations and units in NS. the demands and intensity of each vary a lot from time to time. when talking to other NS friends from different units and/or vocations, we usually would not leave out talking about the craziness of the life we live in camp day in day out. to be honest, i find couple of them really way crazier than mine and few more slack than mine. more often then not, some of us will start comparing and complaining who has the worst life in NS, expecting to be crown champion and gain everyone's sympathy at the end of the discussion.

example 2: -
during a chat with my group of friends consisting of some currently serving NS and some currently studying in the various universities, Girl A suddenly, apparently without putting much thought, exclaimed about the stress she was facing and wish she could sign on NS after seeing Guy Z said that he could rest. the time of the event was about 10pm.

so my point is, many a times people might talk about or share stories about their lives and for sure you would not have the chance or have not even live through it as he/she has. like i don't understand the stress of a university student or the physical demands of a friend in an infantry unit. likewise, my female friends don't understand the lives of NS though guys tend to have few minutes before lights out to really slack and what not.

this leads me to my initial point about comparison. yes, you will tend to compare here and there but if you can't find the right words to respond, no one will label you as a mute. all we can always do, as friends or buddies or boyfriend/girlfriend, is to stand by them and listen to them before encouraging them. don't go like "ohh please you think your life sucks? mine is worse like this...". this will definitely throw the whole talk into a war zone thanks to some silly remark from a mere small comparison in your head. be sensitive, not blunt and foolish.

one life

you can't hate this song.

all of me