2025 is almost over, and I caught myself thinking:

It’s already November, and soon I’ll be flying to Singapore for an event. I’m really excited about it, but before I dress up and smile for photos, I want to sit with myself and be honest. Right now, I want to rate my life in a few areas: relationships, health & fitness, career/business, finances, and travel/adventure.

Before I do that, I want to remind myself of what I’ve actually done this year. Some of the things I’ve accomplished in 2025:

1. Lived in Osaka for one full year
2. Finished the interior design of my new home
3. Had my business, IStudentPlus, published and recognised by AUSTRADE
4. Decided to close the Makassar chapter and expand my team remotely
5. Chose to expand my business into different towns
6. Started growing my business portfolio into different industries
7. Obtained my USA green card

Relationships 

Family & Friends

I’ve always been someone who enjoys being alone. I like my own company. But this year, I learnt a hard lesson about friendship and relationships: sometimes you have to let people go on purpose.

If someone doesn’t fit your goals and values anymore, keeping them in your close circle isn’t “kind” – it can actually be harmful. It’s not about being picky but it’s about being intentional. I don’t just want to collect friends. I want to keep the right ones.

“Harmful” for me looks like this: people who never ask real questions about life – how I’m really doing, my business, my interests, my hobbies. They’re not curious, they just want attention.

I realised:

“You can love people and still choose not to carry them into your next season.”

Romantic Relationships & Dating

Dating in 2025 has been… interesting.

For a long time, I didn’t see myself as “fit for dating”. I felt like I couldn’t offer the kind of commitment a serious relationship needs because I was always moving: new countries, new projects, new goals.

At the same time, I was very curious. Living in Japan made me want to understand how love and relationships work there. Travelling to Uzbekistan and Central Asia made me wonder how couples build a life in that part of the world. So no, it wouldn’t be fair to say “I can’t commit”. I think it’s more honest to say: I was still learning what I actually want. After meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds, I’ve become much clearer about my type.

Relationship with Myself

In 2025, I feel much more grounded in who I am. I don’t feel that old strong need for outside validation as much anymore. But I’m still human. I still have that inner voice that says, “You can do better, you’re still not enough.” That side of me can be toxic if I let it run wild. So I’m learning to balance self-improvement with self-kindness.

I’m slowly shifting from: “I need to prove I deserve my place,” to: “I already deserve my place, and I’m allowed to grow at my own pace.”

My relationship with myself sets the tone for every other relationship in my life. And in 2025, that foundation feels stronger than before.

Health & Fitness

Health & Work / Study

Learning is part of my health – it keeps my brain alive.

For personal growth, I always read before travelling to a new place. I love learning about a country’s history before I land there. Work-wise, I kept myself updated by joining webinars and online learning, especially for education, visas and migration. I also realised I need to do more professional networking, so I understand regulations, the market and business trends not just from my laptop, but from real conversations.

One big shift this year: I finally accepted that I don’t need to know everything or do everything myself. Now I see that hiring people who are better than me at certain tasks is actually smart and healthy. My delegation has improved.

On the learning side, I also worked on my fourth language: Japanese (Nihongo). At first the sounds felt very foreign and hard to catch. But after living in Osaka, my ears slowly adjusted. I learnt that Japanese becomes much easier once you master hiragana, katakana and basic kanji. After that, it’s all about adding new vocabulary every day and being brave enough to practise with locals.

Mental & Emotional Health

I’m naturally someone who carries a lot of gratitude, but of course, there’s a “downside” too. I often feel overwhelmed in social situations and drained easily. After events or intense social days, I usually need a lot of quiet time to recharge. This behaviour has cost me some friendships. Some people took it personally, and I understand why. From the outside it can look like I don’t care. I can accept that I played a part in that. I need to communicate better about how I feel – being honest that I need space, without disappearing (haha!).

Fitness

It is about consistency, not perfection.

I’ve been walking or running almost every day, and that simple routine has changed a lot for me. I also added more self-care practices like regular sauna sessions and massages, which help my body recover and my mind relax.

This year I picked up a new hobby: tennis. I’m still a beginner, but I enjoy it. It reminds me it’s okay to be “bad” at something new and still have fun.

Physically, I lost 5 kg and reached about 20% body fat. I still want to improve my numbers, but more importantly, I feel lighter and stronger.

Food & Habits

Food has been one of my biggest changes this year. I started to quit sugar, alcohol and chips. I don’t do it perfectly, but my default now is very different from before. When I eat with other people, I don’t force myself to finish my food just to be polite. If my body says “enough”, I stop.

2025 is the year I can honestly say: I started treating my body with more respect – in how I move, how I rest, and what I feed it.

Career & Business

Career Journey & Identity

“My career is not one straight line – it’s a collection of skills, risks and experiments.”

Career-wise, my work as a migration and education consultant is growing. It’s a job that never stays still because Australian rules and policies keep changing. At the same time, I’ve started my photography journey more seriously.

Building a Business (IStudentPlus + Others)

IStudentPlus is my biggest teacher. From 2024 to 2025, things have been steady. This year I made a big decision:

  • To pause the Makassar market and
  • Plan to move our office focus to Bangka and BSD in 2026

I have a solid team, but I know that to grow them to the next level, I also need to grow my own mindset. I can’t ask them to level up if I stay the same. So I see this as my own leadership homework.

I also started to focus more on the rental and Airbnb business. I hired a co-host who already owns her own Airbnb and learnt more about budgeting, money allocation, and guest experience by paying attention to small details to make the stay better.

Money, Risk and Responsibility (Business)

This year, I learnt a very important lesson:

Earning money and managing money are two different skills.

I make a good income, but I also have debts and serious responsibilities. I have a team whose needs I must meet. I can’t think only about myself anymore.

To manage risk, I try to:

1. Follow a budget
2. Build different income streams so I’m not relying on only one basket
3. Plan ahead for big payments and slow seasons

I purchased a few properties, and the mortgage is real and I also use some of these properties for refinancing and long-term strategy.

Two things I always remind myself: build a good relationship with your banker, and keep your credit score clean.

Leadership, Team and Boundaries

My team is my direct feedback mirror. How they act, speak, and perform often reflects my leadership.

I don’t like walls in my team. I prefer transparency, clear autonomy in their roles and freedom to work without being micromanaged. Because I don’t like micromanaging, I realised I actually need to hire people who are good at structure, follow-up and operations. In the past, I didn’t think about this clearly. I also used to think it would be hard to find people to work with. Now I see finding people is not the hardest part. The real challenge is how to keep them long-term like keeping them motivated, growing, and aligned.

Finances

Money & Emotions

“Money, to me, is not just for comfort. It’s for growth, options and responsibility.”

On the practical side, I’m learning to stick to a basic system in my head: needs, wants, savings, business. Plus: being ready for a good month vs bad month. Emotion-wise, I’ve changed a lot. I’m getting better at handling how I feel about debt and spending.

I think my tolerance and mindset around money has grown because:

  • I have more leverage in making money now
  • I have options to live in different countries
  • I can see that my income can come from different places, not just one

Right now, I mainly spend on:

  • My health (food, movement, self-care)
  • Experiences and self-education (travel with purpose, courses, learning)
Quick tip: Don't label things as “expensive” or “cheap” because they are very subjective and, honestly, not very attractive to say. If you earn more, of course you can spend more. If you love good quality, then sometimes what looks “expensive” is actually inexpensive when you see how long it lasts and how it supports your life.

Travel & Adventures

Minimalism & Moving Cities

2025 taught me one big lesson about travelling and moving: you can live a whole life out of one suitcase.

Moving cities for study and visas meant packing everything again and again. Each time, I realised how little I actually needed. This is where my idea of minimalism really started.

“Don’t let what you keep control you.”

If I don’t let go, my “luggage” just gets heavier – on the plane and in my mind. Letting things go doesn’t delete the memories. The memories stay in my heart, my journal, and my photos.

Coming Home (Again and Again)

I’m still a traveller, but I’m slowly learning how to build a home base at the same time.

Wherever I live, I try to bring a few things that stay the same:

simple daily habits (walking, journalling, coffee, reading)
being kind and curious
staying open, like an open book

I talk to people as if I know nothing, and let them teach me about their city and their culture. After a while, something special happens: the café you visit every week, the train station you always pass, the cashier who starts to recognise your face… All these small things make each place start to feel like another home.

My life now is not “home vs travel”. It’s many small homes, again and again.

My 2025 in Simple Snapshots

At one point I asked myself:

“Wait… what did I actually do this year?”

Then I looked back month by month and realised… I did A LOT. 😂

Here’s my 2025 in simple snapshots:

  • January – Qatar & Morocco with family Started the year with camels, markets, mint tea, and family jokes. I wasn’t just travelling; I was remembering how good it feels to be a daughter, sister, friends.
  • February – Back to Indonesia Returned to Indo, worked with a school from Melbourne, and spent proper time with my team.
  • March – Tokyo with my cousin and friends My cousin visited Tokyo, so of course I went too. Late-night konbini runs, bars, happy hearts.
  • April – Hanami & Hokkaido, Yokosuka Cherry blossoms in full bloom. My mother and I visited Hakodate, ate good food, and watched flowers fall like slow pink rain.
  • May – China, Uzbekistan, Russia From fast-paced cities in China to deep history in Uzbekistan and Russia.
  • June – Hong Kong Short but intense. Dim sum, tall buildings, and that humid Hong Kong air that hugs you as soon as you step outside.
  • July – Korea & goodbye Osaka Spent time in Korea with Chloe and I lost my phone too (haha), then closed a big chapter: leaving Osaka after one full year. I packed not just my luggage, but a whole version of myself.
  • August – Indonesia again Back home. Back to familiar food, language, chaos and comfort. A month to reset and reconnect.
  • September – Green card & back to Sydney Big milestone: I got my USA green card. Then returned to Sydney, one of my many “homes”. My life now has multiple countries in it, and I’m still processing that.
  • October – Indonesia, China, Seoul, back to Sydney Another round of flights. Indonesia, China, Seoul, then back to Sydney. Work, family, and a bit of “who am I and where do I actually live?” in between.
  • November – Singapore
  • December – still unwritten This month is my blank page. Maybe I will rest. Maybe I will plan 2026. Maybe I will just breathe and be grateful I survived this year of airports, decisions and new stamps.

When I put it all together, 2025 feels like: a year of movement.

Sometimes we don’t realise how far we’ve gone until we sit down and list it out like this.

“You have already lived so many versions of yourself this year. Be proud of every one of them Cin."

To add to all of this, 2025 is my last year in my 20s.

I’ve lived, I’ve tried, I’ve made mistakes, I’ve loved people, I’ve worked hard – and somehow I’m still grounded.

Here’s what I’ve actually accomplished in my 20s so far:

  • Lived long-term in Indonesia, China, Australia, Japan – and soon, the USA
  • Gained 2 permanent residencies (Australia & USA) and keeping Indonesian citizenship
  • Enrolled in a Bachelor of Laws and Graduate studies in Migration Law
  • Started and sustained multiple businesses
  • Owned properties
  • Spoken at events in Taiwan, Indonesia and Australia
  • Work published in the USA, UK, Australia and Indonesia
  • Learning a fourth language (Japanese) and now understand Bahasa Indonesia, English, and Chinese
  • Lost 10 kg
  • Kept a daily walking/running habit since middle high school – movement as the longest routine
  • Travelled to around 30–40+ countries

When I put it all together, I see a girl from Bangka who dared to live many lives in one decade – student, worker, founder, migrant, traveller, almost-lawyer, language learner.

Stepping into 2026 and my 30s, I don’t feel like I’m “running out of time”. I feel like I’m building on a strong base I’ve worked very hard for.

C.

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