What’s important to you?

Posted by DottSG under Blogging, Lifestyle, News, Personal
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The enemy is coming. You only have minutes to escape from your home with just the possessions you can carry. What would you take?

Just 60 seconds to decide what to take with you ...

This was the assignment we gave to 25 secondary three students who took part in  the War on Wheels programme organised on Friday by yesterday.sg and Heritage Television.

The students were each given a list of 42 items to choose from. To put them under pressure as one would be in the above scenario, each was given just 60 seconds to choose five items. Find out what they picked:

Bottled water - despite its weight, was the fave choice with 21 votes. Oddly enough, 15 food-conscious girls said they would also carry a large tin of biscuits. Next on the list of must-haves were the obvious choices of a first aid kit and a pen knife (12 votes each) with another 10 opting for flash lights.

Passports – “You may have to flee the country” explained one girl – had nine votes – the same as disposable lighters. No there were no smokers in the group (I can tell …) but “One may need to build a fire or cook food.” … erm okay …

Six girls chose to take their birth certificates, the same number as those who opted for the comfort of a blanket (“It may get cold at night”).

I was glad to note that even when all hell was breaking loose around you, some students chose to take that which is irreplaceable – the family album. While not critical to survival, its warmth may do wonders for lifting the spirit!

Identity cards paled in comparison to passports and birth certificates with just four takers.

When being kept in the know is crucial, only two girls saw fit to take with them a portable radio and they were also the ones who chose to take spare batteries - now that’s planning ahead!

Wallet with cash … Only two girls regarded this as important on par with raincoats!

Only one girl saw the value in grabbing jewellery which in a war environment is often more readily acceptable than cash. Other items recording just a single vote each were a tin of sardines, a pair of sneakers, a tin of Milo, a credit card, handphone (surprise, surprise), a candle, a pair of slippers and a wad of sanitary napkins!

But to be fair to the girls, its hard really to say which were the right choices especially as we threw in a few red herrings just to frustrate … and it all boils down to personal choices and what’s important to each individual.

Rating: +4