Dear Sims,

Where do I begin? For as long as I can remember, you have been a part of my life.

Do you think it’s silly that I would like to express my love for The Sims, yes, the computer game, in a letter? My brother certainly thought my love was silly too. At least, he thought that my passion for you was “idiotic” enough to be captured in a picture and labelled as “husband and wife”. Before I really started paying attention in school, The Sims was my teacher. Basic as it was then, the simulation game taught me what I needed to know to fit in and understand life.

Sims, you taught me about relationships. When my Sim neglected their friends, it was you who taught me that relationships are “…like plants. If you don’t water them, they wither and die”. You taught me that it was easy to make friends. Because of you, I’m less afraid to come up to someone to say hi, to start a friendly interaction. Because of you, Sims, I know how to take care and monitor my relationships because I understand that they require consistent care. Perhaps I may have taken my learning a bit too far on this one though, for I remember my answer to a question I took in my primary school English test on comprehension, “What is the relationship between John and Jason?”. I scratched my head during the test, thinking about how Sims showed me relationship bars from 0 to 100 based on how strong they were. I could not see any numerical values within the comprehension passage. I shrugged and wrote 100%. (The answer they were looking for? Father.)

Sims, you gave me my love for stories. When Sims 2 was released in 2004, I was nine years old. I had just started devouring storybooks then. I remember the pure ecstasy and wonder I felt when I learnt that in Sims 2, my Sims would live, really live. Babies were born, they would grow to children, to teenagers, to adults, and finally pass on. They had memories! The simulation of life became so much more raw, and the pre-made families all came with stories that you could read in a little blurb that introduced the neighborhood and family. Before I started reading Nancy Drew, the real mystery that consumed my life was the question, “Where did Bella Goth disappear to?”. As I played Sims 2, my love for stories grew. I created stories not just in my head, but I could write the stories down as I captured screenshots of the game. My first fiction stories would always be with the Sim families that I had.

As I grew older and delved into the world of non-fiction, self-help books, I found myself easily agreeing with Carol Dweck’s “Mindset”. Innately, somehow I understood I had been living by the growth mindset throughout my life. Sims, it was you again. You gave me the right mindset for life. As I played and watched my Sims do their homework, practice the guitar, read a skill book, and jog on the treadmill, I had also digested the consistent results that hard work always delivered. It became a truth universally acknowledged, to me and my Sim world, that you get out what you put in. Because of you, I’m not afraid to try, to practice, and to put in the hard work. You gave me a growth mindset long before Carol Dweck put her pen down to paper.

Sims, we have a beautiful relationship. You give me so many things, and I give you so many hours of my life. Hearing your theme song, especially those from the 2000s era, gives me a sense of nostalgia and quiet happiness. As with many love letters, I could go on forever about all the things you have given me. You give me an escape when I need a break from reality, even now as an adult. You gave me a head start in vocabulary. Heck, you gave me my first sex education lesson.

Perhaps most significantly, you have given me something I doubt anyone, or anything else, can ever give me. “You can be anything, but you can’t be everything,” was a quote that scarred me as I came of age. I want to experience the world, I want to be a teacher, but I also want to live my life at sea. No! I want to be a wanderer, travelling the world and living out of a van. The pain of this life is that we can only choose one. Nothing can be as good as experiencing it in real life, but Sims, you sure give me a great alternative. Challenge everything.

Love, me.
(72% style)