4 Things That BMT Has Taught Us to Appreciate

Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:56 pm

Basic Military Training (BMT) is a rite of passage that every Singaporean boy has to go through after enlisting into the SAF. We all come out with different things, some of us becomes more disciplined, some of us learnt to be more independent, most of us built bonds that might just last a lifetime and some fat ones slimmed down drastically.

I believe that there is one important thing that everybody brings out from BMT; that is the appreciation for simple things that we have right now, things that we used to not really notice but realize the importance after we book-out from Pulau Tekong.

Lights
You will never realize how beautiful the street lamps of the road and the lights of White Sands shopping mall are when traveling on the shuttle bus from the ferry terminal to Pasir Ris; at least not until you have spent a week in the outfield where there are no lights and you cannot see your hands after 8PM. You will grow to appreciate how well lit Singapore is when you have to depend on your torchlight to navigate in the dark and even then, you have to make it tactical.

Weekends
Yes, everyone treasures weekends since it’s the only time where you do not have to worry about school, but trust me when I say that going into BMT will take this appreciation to a whole new level.; after all, compared to school where you can go home everyday, weekends for NSFs are the only 2 days that they get to return home.

Your mom or your maid
Okay, this might vary from person to person but if you don’t do household chores at home, you will find yourself appreciating your mom or maid more when you have to clean your own bunk and toilets.

Freedom
The incredible feeling that you get when you don’t have to turn in at a certain time, nor do you have to wake up at an ungodly hour when you book out for the very first time after you enlist; it can feel incredibly liberating when you have the freedom to make these simple choices.

Now that you know our take on the 4 things that BMT has taught us to appreciate, do you have any other things that BMT has taught you to appreciate?