Today, I woke up to the most devastating news ever. Even though I've never met Mr Lee personally, everything around me - the HDB flats, our soldiers, the Singapore River, everything echoes his name and his contributions to the country. Without this man, we would be living like a third-world country full of political and social unrest, our schools will not be filled with the facilities they have today, and our lives will be full of fear of what tomorrow may bring.

Mr Lee was one of a kind. Yes, he may have been a little ruthless during his rise to power. But if he did not take the measures he did back then, imagine how much different life would be now. Will we still be a democratic society? Will we still be almost corruption-free? Nobody's perfect, not even him. But despite all his imperfections, he did whatever he could for the greater good of the people, people whom he did not know, people like me who had yet to exist. He sacrificed his life for the generations of people to come who may not be appreciative of his actions, criticise him and wish ill on him, but he did it anyways, he did it for his love for Singapore.

Now, to all those people who have been posting negative things about Mr Lee, especially today, think about how you will feel if your friends, or even strangers, posted negative and hateful things when you are mourning over the passing of your close relatives. Is PM Lee and his family not people to you? Do they not have feelings like the rest of us? And what gives you the right to say such things if you're just there being a 'hero' behind the screen? If you think you can lead a country better than Mr Lee, be my guest. If you're so unhappy about how high taxes are here, or how the government is always 'hiding things from you', you're more than welcome to live somewhere else, because it's such a waste for this country to be wasting it's resources on people like you. Is it that difficult to respect this man, as a person, as a fellow human being, and let his family, friends, and people who respect him mourn in peace?

All that aside, I'm truly blessed to be able to call Singapore my home, and will be eternally grateful for everything Mr Lee has done for our country. However, I am also very saddened that a lot of us take the stability and peace that we have for granted and only start to appreciate things when someone important is severely ill or passes away. We should always be thankful every single day of all the people and things we have in our lives.

Mr Lee, thank you for everything. You time with us may have ended, but your legacy will be passed down through generations, and the people you sacrificed your life to build this country for will always be able to remember you as the man you are. As you return back to your wife, your one true love whom you've dearly missed, I hope that you'll enjoy your time wherever you are as you no longer have to suffer in pain and heartache. May you rest in peace.

x.