ripped from jacob

Hoo boy. i just love what Jacob has said. Gets me thinking of all my frens who have flown away never (or at least for a long time) to return. My fear of stepping out of my own shell, the banality and hyprocrisy and cynicsm ive grown to hatehatehate so much. so im ripping it off and pasting it here so tht it i can be mine to read:

Coming here has made me realize (other than homesickness), that people back home can be so so different. What do I mean by different? Well, I mean that cooped up in our little island, most of us have been conditioned not to venture beyond our comfort zone, to only see issues from a SINGAPOREAN perspective, ignoring the cultural context in which these issues develop. Cooped up in our little island, we fail to see beyond the economics of our own humanity, choosing rather to seek out an education for economic purposes rather than for the quest of knowledge. Are we too pragmatic that we have failed to be blind to that rainbow? Do we like the adults in Peter Pan, fail to believe in Tinkerbell after we grow up? We love to push the blame on others, the government, the education system etc, but we fail to blame ourselves and see that the 'accursed education system at NUS' treats us so because of how we might perceive it to be. I am not saying that the system is perfect. What I am saying is that our perspectives on how politics and education SHOULD be, shape the direction of these Institutions.
Somehow, I am afraid that when I graduate, I might have to face the 'Singaporean reality', getting a job, a girlfriend and what-not. I was speaking with 2 of my floormates the other day and they said that Valentine's day is not widely celebrated here in Germany or europe for that matter except between couples who would have some quiet time with each other. I see the opposite back home where, pressured to conform by a self-serving mentality that emerges from people, couples would go out in droves on the streets on Feb 14 just to show their affection for each other. Its only on Feb 14 that couples act MORE lovey dovey and are MORE prominent in our landscape. Its on Feb 14 that you as a single feel ostracized. Why must we feel that way? IF we want to change things...we have to take the first step. Only then will the political landscape change. The narrative of hardwork dfoesnt work out anymore. We have been fed a series of lies. If you want to achieve satisfaction for your life...make your own goals and go for them. Dont conform to the narrative of cash,car,creditcard..etc...it would probably ruin you and make you cynical like what it has done to others before us.