Letter to Singapore

by Mitch

Dear Singapore,

It’s been three years since I first got to know you. You were new and exciting when we first met. The next new thing. So much promise and potential. Everyone told me how great you were. How you had blossomed into adulthood. How anything was now possible. Some people warned me however. Told me not to expect too much. I ignored them and gave us a chance.

Made a go of it we did. There were some fun times. Things that told me how great you could be. Times when I thought it couldn’t get better. Yet we were different you and I. Our priorities weren’t the same. Our values, as you kept reminding us, were different.

There wasn’t one thing that that told me this wouldn’t work. But after some time, I knew. The boasting. The defensiveness. The way you wouldn’t let anyone else have their say. The fact you never admit a mistake. It was like walking on eggshells, being with you. It’s not what I w ant us to be about. It’s not how I want us to be.

I still believe in you (though sometimes I question why). I still think you can be great. But I suppose you need to take your own time to get where you want to go. In all honesty, it doesn’t matter what I think. It’s what you want to be. It’s how you want to live. I can’t decide that for you.

So I won’t. But don’t expect me to tell others how great you are. I demand the freedom to disagree.

So you go ahead continue to do things they way you want. And that’s up to you. But don’t always expect others to follow. If you do, then don’t expect us to be here with you.

We have to make our own decisions. And respect those of others. I’ve made mine. And it doesn’t include you.