And your point is…?

Heard it loads of times, but now, with my pending enlistment looming on the horizon, I hear it more than ever. People who have already enlisted would tell me things like ‘Enjoy your civillian life!’ or ‘Haha happy now, so enjoy it while it lasts’ or ‘Trust me, you WILL feel differently once you’re inside’.

(The only exception are my brothers who know me well enough to know what I’m capable of.)

But this isnt about me. Ratherm this was triggered by seeing what everybody is telling Dion on facebook. Telling him to enjoy the easy time while it lasts etc etc etc.

And I finally have to post because I cannot hold it back any longer. I have to declare now that I get extremely pissed off everytime this happens. Do you know why? Because it is extremely condescending.

Speaking to me in such a manner assumes that I am clueless about what lies ahead. Even, given, that I am completely clueless about what you had gone through, you are also assuming that I will find it as difficult to cope with as you.

In other words, you put me at your level or lower.

Let me just say this. They were wrong when they told me I should consider taking up something else besides running because my physiology and asthma are not suitable.

They were wrong when they told me I could not juggle such a taxing CCA with my Poly studies.

They were wrong when they told me I can’t possibly run 42km because I used to fail my 2.4.

They were wrong when they told me I will stop training during 6 months of internship because the going gets tough.

They were dead wrong when they told me that there is no point to training so hard during internship because I ‘can’t win anymore’ after 6 months of decreased training.

They were wrong on many other accounts.

By all means, you are welcome to join them, if you assume that I will find field camp difficult, or start wishing for my civilian life back, and other related NS experiences.

Because as I like to tell my guys (or, LIKED, since I’m no longer Captain) ;

The only reason someone will tell you that you cannot do something, is because they can’t do it themselves.

Give THAT some thought.

P.S. This post may sound to some people like I am being overly prideful or overestimating my own capabilities, but I assure you, it is not. It is more of a retort to those who started it in the first place by figuratively ‘looking down’ on me by talking in such a manner.