“These walls are funny. First you hate ‘em, then you get used to ‘em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That’s institutionalized.”
– Red, from the movie ‘The Shawshank Redemption’
Suddenly, it seems that there’s a white and empty boulevard ahead of me, and every tick of the clock resonates loudly.
I’ll be disrupting from my national service the week after, and starting school another week past that. From now until next Thursday, I’m clearing what leave and off I have accumulated over the course of this year.
It’s a strange feeling having so much free time all of a sudden. There’s no one to yell at you about where you’re supposed to be, what is it you’re supposed to do, and what is it you’ve supposedly done wrong. It is as if I’ve been kept in cold store for the past two years, and now I’ve been violently ejected out of it.
I’ve made myself adequately clear in the past how I disliked my period of military service, and the negativity of the experiences I had. Now that I’m outside, or almost outside of the system, I miss it. It is a routine that I’ve initially hated, but gradually grown accustomized to it, to the point where it becomes the norm.
It’s a strange world, isn’t it?
it’s strange isn’t it? but i don’t miss being in the military. not a tad at all. i miss the friends like you though. (altogether now, aww) but i guess it’s just a matter of getting used to the new (and real) world outside. all of us are going through this period of accoustomization now. we’re learning to deal with situations and decisions all by ourselves and there’s no one to tell us what to do or what not to do like in poly. or the army, which is a good but much criticized example. university is where you gain your independence, whether you like it or not. but rather than lamenting this ‘new life’, i reckon we should think positive and embrace it.
now, try imagining yourself going through the 2 years again, and tell me if you still miss it that much. good luck in what lies ahead for you, my coolest geek friend. :)