Dear 2020: It's The Little Things That Count

In our ‘Dear 2020' series, students of SIM pen their heartfelt letters as they share their personal struggles and joys of what has been an unprecedented year.


Dear 2020,
When you began, I was excited and ready for all sorts of challenges. I was about to embark on an internship back in my hometown, Jakarta. One of the things I was looking forward to was going out to work and meeting my colleagues. I was also hoping to spend some quality time with my friends back home. However, COVID-19 completely changed that.

By the second week of my internship, Jakarta was issued a lockdown. I had no idea how I was supposed to cope with being cooped up in my house for months. Everyone knows me as someone who loves meeting with people, so this was definitely a challenge. However, I chose to make the best of the time that I had. During the lockdown, I spent my time learning new skills such as social engineering, conducting onboarding for new employees and raising security awareness at the workplace in my role as an Information Security Intern. I was fortunate to have a loving group of colleagues who kept in touch with me all the time and organised Netflix parties online as a way of relaxing.

Soon after my internship ended in July, classes at SIM started. COVID-19 cases were still at an all-time high. While we had classes online, I couldn't help but reminisce about my time back at SIM where I would hang out with my friends, stay till late to work on our assignments and study in the library. I realised how I had taken all those times for granted and wished that I could go back to relive those moments- especially now that we have been told that there will be no physical classes till next year.

In total, I have spent eight months in Jakarta going in and out of lockdowns. It has been tough as I was desperate to interact with others. I ended up spending my birthday in lockdown but I was fortunate enough to have my family and friends send me their wishes, flowers and cakes to cheer me up.


Dinner out with my dad.


Being surprised with flowers from my friends on my birthday.

The best thing 2020 has taught me is to take time to bond with my family. We generally lead pretty busy lives. While we usually have things to do on our own, the lockdown has helped us realise that it is important to slow down to appreciate the finer things in life. Instead of typical nights of going out to eat and drink with friends, we now spend our time at home, ordering in, playing games and watching movies together. Although the year has had its ups and downs, I am still forever grateful to be able to spend time with my family since leaving Singapore to study three years ago. I also hope to be able to come back to Singapore soon and begin my normal routine of going to classes and hanging out with all my friends. Here's to a better 2021!

With love,
Pavitra Krishnan