Childhood memories by Benjamin Khoo (28)

I was born Benjamin Khoo on 17th March 1992 (St Patrick's Day) at Thomson Medical Centre in the wee hours of the morning. I was the firstborn in the family and would later have a younger sister. My name was taken from the bible as my parents found the name very meaningful and suitable. The boy's name Benjamin is pronounced BEN-ja-men. It is of Hebrew origin, and its meaning is "son of the right hand; son of the south. (But I'm left handed.)

Family life was good and my parents were caring and protective. When I was born, I had jaundice and had to be warded for around two weeks, much to the worry of my parents. After I was discharged, they would take turns to carry me and simply just feel the joy of having a newborn in their hands. When I grew older, I was placed with my grandparents as my parents had to work. I attended the nearby childcare centre but I hated it there as the schedule tight and routine. The arrival of my sister meant I had to learn responsibility and look after her as she came to stay with me at my grandparents place not to long after.

My grandparents spoke in dialect and gradually, I picked up the language just by listening to them. My days were usually spent in front of the television, watching the cartoons that were available. I was an avid reader and could spend few hours on a book, especially mystery books. I was told that I loved doodling and would doodle on any thing that I could lay my hands on.

Due to both my parents working, I couldn't see my parents during the weekdays and I would call them up to talk to them whenever I felt lonely. During the weekends, my parents would occasionally bring me out to make up for the lost time and enjoyed every minute of it. I used to stay in bishan but moved to hougang when I was around 5 have been there every since.

I was on good terms with my block neighbors and we would have a game of soccer every now and then. I was very clumsy when I was young and I remembered once, during a festive occasion, I didn’t see where I was going and rolled down the flight of stairs. Luckily, I did not sustain any injuries.