Do you remember when you were a kid, what were the biggest events to happen to you in your school life? I remember 9/11 (which was a very abstract tragedy in a distant land) and then the SARS outbreak, which ended relatively quickly. In fact, the 'worries' I remember was being bullied by a few of my classmates, which made me thankful for the few friends I had left in secondary school. I remember struggling with stage fright playing Hamlet and then after, it was just academics and prom night.

The average secondary school student today has to deal with the growing up stuff, amplified by social media, growing up in a world that's showing itself to be more divided and fragmented by the minute, having to deal with global level competition, and soon they'll know that the 'deal' they're getting won't be as sweet as the one my generation got. A HDB flat, already expensive now, will be unthinkable when they come of age.

And add to this 2 years of COVID that takes away 2 of the supposedly fun years of your life, having to come to terms with e-learning (let's be honest, learning by webcam is unnatural), no overseas trips or service learning. Can't play truant with your friends and can't have huge class gatherings. That was all bad.

Then you think of the kids at River Valley High today... You get to see or hear of your schoolmate taking an axe and ending someone else’s young life... All before the age of 16? What is happening to our world today? So the next time you feel tempted to call the younger generations 'soft' or "strawberry", give yourself a tight slap to the face.

V's Dear Diary