Growing up is an integral part of a person's life. Whether you are rich or poor, short or tall, thin or fat, smart or stupid you'll eventually grow up, age and finally, the Grim Reaper will take its toll.
Have you ever wondered why do people only reminisce about their childhood or schooling times? Those were the times that we were the happiest and most innocent. I'd certainly choose to experience childhood once again if given the chance.
All we had to do when we were young was just do eat, study, play and sleep. No stress of not having enough money, the rising cost of living or even not having enough money in our CPF.
I, like the others, still miss childhood times. I remember I had no computer for my entire primary school life, except for those super old ones which broke down after a month or so. All I did at home was to watch TV all day long. I did not even study, but I was able to get good results back then. Guess this applies to lots of people too.
Remember the times when we played erasers that had flags of various countries on it? Or the times when $1 was all we had in our wallets and it was all we had? Who remembers putting 2 staplets at the bottom of the erasers to enable them to spin? How about indulging in a bowl of delicious prawn noodles from the school canteen for only $0.50?
In the past, $1 could already last us for an entire day. I still remember the first dish I had in my primary school was fried noodles from canteen stall 6, served in a light purple plate and costing $0.40. I eventually became good friends with the owners of the stall and always got extra from them. I still remember the curry marinated chicken breast which sells at $0.30 a piece or $1 for the whole thing. Ah, the wonders of the school canteen! Now, did I mention the cup of bandung from stall 8 that cost only $0.20?
The kids growing up in the 1990s are very different from those that grew up in the present decade. We did not have iPhones back then. We did not even own our own handphones till we reached secondary school. I remember I was very happy when I finally held my first handphone ever on 25 February 2004. It was a Nokia 3310, one of the most popular phones back then. So who remembers playing snake on that phone (or even the Nokia 3210?) or even holding on to your parent's phone for an entire day just to see a black strip of pixels dashing across the screen to grab the food?
I remember being able to use a computer was a great luxury back then for me. My primary school had dedicated computer corners with about 4-5 computers each for us to use, with a game that I remember vividly till now. Although I do not remember the name, it was when you had to control an astronut in space and guide him to the correct answers for the maths questions. Interesting game, I must say.
Enough of remembering childhood. Now back to the modern world where the MRT breaks down 10 times a month and eating outside could cost you $10 a meal.
