I've taken up gaming with my mates, says Malala Yousufzai reflecting on life in lockdown

From a virtual graduation at Oxford University, to chatting with Twinkle Khanna, Mira Sethi and the Duke and Ducchess of Sussex, education activist Malala Yousufzai has had an overwhelming year.

Reflecting back on what all she learnt, the young leader wrote down her thoughts about how things were different from what she had initially planned for herself.

“At midnight on 31 December 2019, I was standing on the streets of London with my friends — a small, happy crowd in a much larger one. As we watched fireworks light up the sky, my head and my heart were full of grand plans for the new year — my last days at university, graduation, travelling to places I’ve never seen," Malala opened up in a note penned in Vogue.

"None of it turned out as I imagined."

However, the young Noble Laureate said she found alternatives to connect with her friends and family.

"I’ve had to adjust my social life from cafés and holiday trips to group chats on HouseParty," she admitted. "For the first time in my life, I’ve taken up video games, playing Among Us with my mates. And though I’ve very much missed seeing friends and making new ones, in some ways, I think we’re all closer now," she revealed.

Malala also acknowledged how the pandemic had affected everyone in every corner of the world.

"I hope that what we gain from this shared experience is a commitment to empathy, to the safety of our global community, to human rights and dignity, to our welfare, to health and education,” she wished.