Blackberry Thumbs of the world, join hands

SO I got myself a Blackberry (BB) recently. Unfortunately, it turns out that I’m not as adept at multi-tasking as I thought I would be.
I’ve fiddled with my BB so much so that I’ve missed bus stops, (almost) entered the ladies’ toilet and taken the wrong lift to my home.
Not to mention, I actually suffer [...]

For mall rats, the maze just got bigger

LIKE any Singaporean, I love spending my time in the cool cocoon of a shopping centre.
Getting around these vast complexes, however, should not be a hassle, as is the case with several new and done-over malls. Like mazes, some of the new additions to Orchard Road seem designed to trap unwitting consumers within – and [...]

The challenges Singapore faces

Earlier this month, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong posed 10 challenges for the next generation to Cabinet ministers, families and the young. YouthInk writers choose the challenges most pertinent to them and tell us how they’ll deal with them.
Genetic sequencing for all
SM Goh: Can the Health Minister stamp out diseases linked to an affluent lifestyle, [...]

Do we need a civic minder?

Do our youth need to be nannied by a higher authority to become more civic conscious? Or can they do what’s right by themselves? Here’s what YouthInkers have to say
The mice will always play
WE ALL like to believe that we are naturally capable of practising common courtesy. But my suspicion is, no one actually bothers [...]

Should I stay or go?

Stay in Singapore, or fly the coop for a life overseas? YouthInk writers say what goes into their reasoning about taking either route.
Seeing it for ourselves
I RECENTLY bumped into an old friend who had just completed his degree in the United States.
He was due to return here to serve his scholarship with a local statutory [...]

Keeping the young in touch with grassroots reality

Get our heads out of the clouds
HOW can tomorrow’s leaders be attuned to the grassroots community if many of us are confined to our privileged backgrounds and elite schools?
If all we fret over is getting first class honours or organising chi-chi parties, we will never understand how some struggle to put food on the table.
Many [...]

Service jobs: Menial or rewarding?

Nothing wrong with service jobs
AFTER working part-time at an ice cream shop for almost a year to supplement my income, I see nothing wrong with work in the service sector.
Despite having to stand for seven to eight hours four days a week, plus the less than glamorous cleaning duties and having to work on some [...]

I will survive – as my parents did

MY PARENTS’ tales of their early struggles have stayed with me.
As baby boomers, they and the majority of their peers had to toil hard to rise up their career ladders – without university degrees. They knew tough times and enabled their children – those of my generation – to stand on their shoulders.
They gave me [...]

What’s worth giving up your life for?

Defence is key
I FEEL strongly about securing the military defence of our nation, not only for the present generation, but also for generations to come.
This era of the 3G (Third Generation) Army has profound meaning for me as a Basic Military Training instructor in the Singapore Armed Forces.
My duty is not just to train [...]

Clipping Cupid’s wings

Job first, love can wait
VALENTINE’S Day may be just around the corner, yet I cannot even fathom its significance, having neither a significant other nor a full-time job.
Socialising is expensive in this downturn, particularly on a part-time salary of around $50 per day. For instance, dinner at a French restaurant in the CBD area could [...]