2020: A Year of Catastrophe, But Not for Me
See positively, learn positively, and a year of a pandemic is not bad either.
As I scrolled down through my Instagram weeks ago, I saw many people grumbling that 2020 is the worst year ever. Covid-19 has taken away everything: we can’t hug our dearest; we can’t visit our closest; and the safest way to have a holiday is to be at home — which many people find boring.
Nevertheless, I found a lot of “best of the best” experiences in 2020. I learned and realized many things that weren’t coming in the previous years. There are at least three things I took from 2020.
Be grateful for every person that has stayed with you no matter how hard the situation is
Most of us realize that university is a stepping stone to a better future, including myself. Though I also believe that success comes from yourself, not others, I find it necessary to have good connections and relations — which you can find in universities. That motivated me to enroll in a good university in Singapore.
It was about March 2020 when the announcement struck me. It broke my heart into pieces. I had worked and prayed hard for hours, asked everybody how I was doing, and thought about what I could do better to get into that university. However, God has another plan for me. I was not destined to be there, yet.
I was afraid that I disappointed my beloved ones, but I was mistaken. They do not blame me nor are disappointed in me. Instead, they encourage me to rise up and come back stronger.
There, at that moment, I saw things that I had never seen before. It made me grateful for all people that had chosen to stay, that had embraced me, and that had loved me even in my darkest moment.
Work hard, study hard, and pray harder
Everyone has their definition of success. For me, it is to make my beloved ones proud of me. To achieve that, I must not give up at any cost.
Moving on to August 2020, I was accepted at one of the best universities in Indonesia. My dearest, including my parents and sisters, were proud and glad to hear the acceptance. It made me understand that God has a better plan than mine.
Here, I find many incredible people with a bunch of achievements. That motivates me to do better and to be the best version of myself. Work hard, study hard, and pray hard. The best is yet to come.
Learn from the mistake, but do not regret it
2020 is a year of a roller coaster for me. I lost one of my closest friends because of my negligence.
Imagine losing someone you dear so much, but only having a little hope for them to come back. Every memory that comes back every night has undoubtedly stabbed my heart over and over again. They had been very close to me, had gone through a lot with me, and had tears and laughs together. Yet, I was not able to talk and apologize properly because of the pandemic.
It was about the end of November 2020 when that happened. At first, I did regret and blamed myself for doing such a thing, but then I realized that humans are learners. We learn when we make mistakes, so never regret when you did them. Everything comes and goes for a reason, welcome them and let them go.
Of everything that happens in 2020, be grateful and don’t regret it. More importantly, as Javanese philosophy says, “Urip iku urup,” — that our life should be a “light” to others — that’s how we should live our life.
