Every year, there are 5 occasions where the official offices and residences of the president of Singapore, the Istana are opened for the public’s viewing. Members of the public who enter the gates of Istana are greeted by enthusiastic scouts, looking to welcome them to the Istana. Five times a year, groups of scouts will volunteer their time and effort to welcome the public to the Istana and ensure that their visit to the Istana is a pleasant and wholesome experience. These scouts have all sorts of responsibilities such as crowd control, assisting the physically handicapped, promoting the Istana merchandise and providing useful information about the Istana in general. The experience allowed me to understand that I should always try to put others needs before mine, and that respect is expressed mutually. If I talk to the visitors politely, they will respond back with a smile and a nod of acknowledgement, even the small act of changing how I greet them will change how they view me and scouting as a whole. I have also realised how important it is to be able to communicate with members of the public, as throughout my five services, I started to open up gradually after every service, and being able to communicate with them allows me to provide more detailed and in-depth information about what they want to know. During these occasions, the Istana is open to all members of the public, thus I have learnt to remain vigilant to try to spot any suspicious looking characters, in order to ensure the safety of the visitors. I have also learnt that we have to be prepared at every moment and adapt to a situation as it changes, such as unexpected weather which can be a huge hurdle for our plans. Standing in the heat for five hours may be tough, but knowing that I may be of service to someone, or make someone’s day better, makes it all worth it at the end of the day. The services I have done have allowed me to learn how to see things from the perspectives of others and not just my own, and think through my actions before I do it. By seeing things from another angle, I can reflect on my own mistakes and improve on them the next time I go for the service. Dates of duties, 5 hours each 1. 2nd August 2015 2. 10th November 2015 3. 6th July 2016 4. 30th July 2016 5. 25th June 2017