I know we’ve all done away with goals and accomplishments the minute 2020 hit us with that pandemic—but I’m not willing to let it go yet. As you may know, I made this 30 Before 30 List of goals long before the pandemic hit, and I’m not about to hit reset on this determination due to a universally bad year. That, I know, is a very privileged thing to say—which is why I’m extremely grateful to be able to sit here and still have achievements to count.
Last year I made a note of the things I managed to check off as well. This year, for what it’s worth, for me personally, has been an incredible year. I accomplished something gigantic that I’ve been meaning to hit for a decade now—and I’m super thrilled at all the doors and windows that it has opened for me. It may be short in quantity—again—but it is unrivalled in quality to anything I’ve ever achieved thus far.
One thing has changed entirely, though, thanks to this catastrophic year: I’m no longer dead set on my goals anymore. It’s great if I can achieve them, but it’s not the end of the world if I don’t. Priorities shift, circumstances change; it’s all a part of life.
1. Graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree
Finally, after 10 years of going on and off uni, I GRADUATED!!! Nobody is more excited about this fact than I am, believe me. It has been such a gruelling journey, with a couple nervous breakdown and a full-blown quarter life crisis here and there. There were surely times when I felt behind from all my friends and like I was such a fraud and a failure.
There were definitely times when I wanted to just phone it in for the rest of my life and accept that I would never be, at least, adequate. Now, at the end of the tunnel, I feel so absolutely free. If the pandemic wasn’t around and graduation ceremony is still a thing, I might actually break down in tears as I receive my diploma in front of everyone.
Thank you so much to everyone who supported me throughout the whole process. I couldn’t have done it without you.
7. Become a Published Author
Okay, yeah, this one is definitely not accomplished yet, but I definitely feel it’s halfway there. As you might know, I wrote and designed a book for my thesis project at uni. It’s everything you need to know about the slow fashion industry in Indonesia and I’m super excited about it!
When I updated the progress of the behind-the-scenes of the book on my social media, a lot of people seemed to have an interest in getting the book, should it be available for purchase. So that has definitely been in the works. I’ve been weighing numerous aspects of publishing in regards to this book lately and I just need to tweak the book a little bit more to make it more suitable to be sold.
Please be a little bit more patient with me! I promise I’ll update you when I’m ready to open pre-order submissions, okay?
13. Build My (Portfolio) Website
I know I said this last year as well, but this time I’m doing it for real. My partner-in-crime Mawan is helping me set it up, as we speak. The website will be a combination of both my portfolio and this little ol’ blog—which is something I’ve wanted for so long. Perhaps I could even include an online shop for my future works, including the book I mentioned above.
You will see a whole new design and structure to it, but all with the same vibe. Well, at least, that’s the plan—as it hasn’t happened yet. For now, I hope you’ll be satisfied with this landing page that I got for free with my domain (lol).
19. Make an Actual Investment
It was actually about a month after my last birthday that I started to invest in Bibit. If you’re a 20-something Indonesian, you might be familiar with this amazing app. My sister told me about it a year or so ago and had been persuading me to use it too. It is basically an app that makes investment a whole lot easier for young people who know nothing about the stock market—like me. They offer a number of low-risk stocks, bonds and money market available for purchase that you can monitor on a daily basis.
In the year or so that I’ve been using it, I’ve lost on a few bets, but they’re never substantial enough to cause me any real loss. I’m not going to say I completely understand the stock market now—there are so many components that I can never truly comprehend—but it’s a step closer to the big dogs.
22. Get a Pension & Emergency Fund Plan
One of things that Agung taught me is how to manage money effectively—in fact, I almost wrote a blog post about this, but decided it may be too dull for anyone to read. He successfully made savings seem a lot less scary and intimidating. This has inspired me to keep to a routine of keeping a savings account and prepare for a rainy day.
To be honest, it’s still a long way from being even remotely enough to be a solid emergency fund—let alone a pension plan—but, you know, baby steps. I’m definitely still figuring out various ways I can save up money for future benefits in a somewhat lucrative way—but still legal and, obviously, safe.
24. Upgrade My Tools
This one is quite unexpected to have been reached. Of course, this will surely be updated overtime as well, but for now, this is what it looks like. You see, I bought this Macbook Pro 13″ (Mid 2012) in 2016—which, as simple math would tell you, was 4 years ago. For a while it worked out really well, but it started to slow down gradually. I thought it would be wise to sort this out before I started with my thesis project, which is why I asked around.
My friends told me it would be helpful to upgrade the RAM to a bigger module and perhaps change out my old HDD with a sleek, new SSD card. I’m not an expert, so I went to a shop to have it done. One of the RAMs has been replaced with an 8GB one—while it used to both be 2GB—and that has improved the speed significantly.
I didn’t stop there and went ahead with the upgrade to SSD—512GB—and it was the best choice I’ve ever made for my equipments. Still very satisfied with my choice!
28. Downsize My Wardrobe
Yeah, I know, I had this on the list last year too. But, what can I say? I want to keep doing this every year. This year, as you know, I joined the #MulaiDariLemari movement. One of the things that I ended up doing was decluttering my wardrobe. It was my first time since the breakup—which you will again read below—and somehow became very emotional. Well, anyway, I ended up discarding a lot of clothes and putting the rest up for sale on Instagram. There were a lot of clothes that were sentimental to me, one way or another, and became quite hard to say goodbye to—I almost cried in a lot of instances. But I realise that these are clothes that no longer speak to me and mean to me the same way they used to. Isn’t it better for them to go to someone who’ll adore them? Like you, perhaps 😉
Other Things I Did at 27 Years Old
Okay, let’s cut to the chase—I’ve accomplished many life-changing things this year. Some were expected, some were a complete surprise. Heck, you can even say that 27 is my best year yet! You may look at some of them and feel sad or sorry for me. You may look at others and feel elated and happy for me. But, rest assured, all of these are achievements—meaning, I’m so glad they all happened.
For what it’s worth, I now feel a lot less attached to the ideals I used to have when I was younger. They feel irrelevant and futile now, especially since life has a way of catching us off guard. So, keep that in mind as you read on.
First ever birthday surprise
Is it still an achievement when you’ve done literally nothing? Well, I’m counting it. In all 27 years of my life, I’ve never had anyone surprise me on my birthday—at least, not successfully, or well crafted. Last year was my first ever birthday experience while working at an office and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My team got me cake, threw me into a pool and, because I wasn’t equipped to treat anyone for a birthday meal, they pulled together and bought chicken wings for all of us.
The sweetest co-workers or what? I swear I had never felt more cherished and loved on a birthday than I did last year—although this year I would do with just a chill day of daily routines, to be honest.
First ever office outing
Around two weeks after my birthday last year, I went to Yogyakarta with the first office I worked at—including with my beloved, Agung. It wasn’t too far away, like the previous year, I’m afraid. I’ve also been to Yogyakarta before, so I wasn’t too excited to go back again.
However, despite my reservations, I actually had much fun during the outing itself. We visited a lot of places I’d never been to before—Mt. Merapi, Ulen Sentalu Museum, Ratu Boko Temple Garden—and I loved it.
Looking back at it now, it feels a little melancholic, as most of the people that were there with us at the time had already moved on—including those in the photo above.
First office collateral designs
Oh my Gosh! When I received the assignment to create lanyard and ID card designs from my supervisor at the time, I was so excited. If you’re a fellow designer, you might understand the exhilaration of having your design applied to objects that a lot of people will use. This being office collateral means that some people will be required to wear it at all times—and that gets me squealing from glee!
Honestly, I’m very fond of these designs, especially the lanyard. I’m so very proud of having come up with it and—at least for some time—even if I’m no longer with the office, as long as it stands, I knew these designs will still be utilised. That, in itself, gives me immense joy and pride.
Sadly, I never actually wore these items as long as I worked at the office. Moreover, the people in the photo above have all resigned. So yeah.
Started a loving, healthy & supportive relationship
If you’d told me that my best friend from work would one day become my soulmate—as several of you did, actually—I would literally laugh in your face—which I actually did. Yet, lo and behold, here is Agung—the once goofy, aloof and jerk of a best friend—now the love of my life.
Of course, the implied notion here is that I ended the previous relationship I was involved in—but I talked about it 2-3 times on this blog already, so I don’t really want to bore you with the details of that anymore.
We have been going strong for almost a year and I cannot be happier. I swear, I never thought I would meet someone who seems so different from me, yet somehow understands almost completely how I feel and what I’m going through. Love you so much, you silly goose!
Became the ambassador for a social campaign
Around the middle of this year a local, ongoing campaign called #TukarBaju started a sub-campaign called #MulaiDariLemari, in which I became one of the ambassadors. From 15 July to 15 October, I did my utmost to try to get people to commit to a shopping ban for 3 whole months. Each week there is a special theme, about which I would usually have to talk about and take actions for.
It was really fun coming up with numerous posts to inspire people to really look at the clothes they already own and stop them from purchasing more, as well as exchanging ideas and resources with all the other ambassadors. It was quite an experience like no other.
While I wasn’t very good at keeping active in the group chat that we had going on, I got to know a number of people I wouldn’t otherwise have met. Truly an experience I shall cherish!
Helped Stepmom’s catering business
A few months ago, my Stepmom started a regular catering business for a café nearby, owned by a neighbour and friend. She came up with a set of menus for the whole week and changed it up every week. She thought it was a good idea to offer the service to my colleagues as well, so I helped her do so.
My role was as such: offer the catering to everyone, post the weekly menu, note down the number of orders, relay them to my Stepmom, deliver them to the office, collect the empty containers, wash the containers, bring them home. And repeat. Everyday, if not every week.
While I mostly did the managing and brainstorming ideas with my Stepmom for the weekly menu—and, you know, none of the cooking—it was a really fun, albeit tedious, task to do, well…while it lasted anyway.
Started a new job at an agency
Honestly, this is probably the second biggest thing that happened to me this year. After personally saying goodbye to a relationship, I had to do it professionally too. If you’d asked me a year ago, whether I would do this or not—which my previous supervisor did, actually—I wouldn’t have been to tell you. I knew I wasn’t going to stay long, but I thought when I moved on, it would be a no-hard-feelings decision. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
For the nth time, I felt like I had to move on since home didn’t feel like home anymore—only a far too familiar feeling for me, I’m afraid. Somehow, I landed a job at Flock Creative Network, which is a creative agency I’ve been admiring for a while, and have been slowly calling it home now. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
This year may be universally bad—with the rapid pandemic, roaring climate change and chaotic politics all around—but it was an amazing year of growth for me. I can’t tell you when was the last time I felt so utterly at peace—actually, probably never. Last year, I wished myself nothing but growth, maturity and accomplishments. And, you know what? I scored high on all three accounts.
The biggest thing that I noticed about myself as of late is how little I care about what other people do and think. I no longer expect them to be a certain way, I no longer wish them to like me more. Finally, I could let go of the ideals that have been weighing me down for years. If you didn’t like me or my choices, then I’m sorry you feel that way, but I’ll move along. If you like me for who I am and what I decide to do, then I’m very grateful for your presence and constant support, and I will make sure to return the favour.
This year may not be eventful in the conventional, festive manner, but it has been a huge learning curve, for me. And it’s all thanks to you who still decide to be a part of my life, one way or another. Thank you.
I know we’ve all done away with goals and accomplishments the minute 2020 hit us with that pandemic—but I’m not willing to let it go yet. As you may know, I made this 30 Before 30 List of goals long before the pandemic hit, and I’m not about to hit reset on this determination due to a universally bad year. That, I know, is a very privileged thing to say—which is why I’m extremely grateful to be able to sit here and still have achievements to count.
Last year I made a note of the things I managed to check off as well. This year, for what it’s worth, for me personally, has been an incredible year. I accomplished something gigantic that I’ve been meaning to hit for a decade now—and I’m super thrilled at all the doors and windows that it has opened for me. It may be short in quantity—again—but it is unrivalled in quality to anything I’ve ever achieved thus far.
One thing has changed entirely, though, thanks to this catastrophic year: I’m no longer dead set on my goals anymore. It’s great if I can achieve them, but it’s not the end of the world if I don’t. Priorities shift, circumstances change; it’s all a part of life.
1. Graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree
Finally, after 10 years of going on and off uni, I GRADUATED!!! Nobody is more excited about this fact than I am, believe me. It has been such a gruelling journey, with a couple nervous breakdown and a full-blown quarter life crisis here and there. There were surely times when I felt behind from all my friends and like I was such a fraud and a failure.
There were definitely times when I wanted to just phone it in for the rest of my life and accept that I would never be, at least, adequate. Now, at the end of the tunnel, I feel so absolutely free. If the pandemic wasn’t around and graduation ceremony is still a thing, I might actually break down in tears as I receive my diploma in front of everyone.
Thank you so much to everyone who supported me throughout the whole process. I couldn’t have done it without you.
7. Become a Published Author
Okay, yeah, this one is definitely not accomplished yet, but I definitely feel it’s halfway there. As you might know, I wrote and designed a book for my thesis project at uni. It’s everything you need to know about the slow fashion industry in Indonesia and I’m super excited about it!
When I updated the progress of the behind-the-scenes of the book on my social media, a lot of people seemed to have an interest in getting the book, should it be available for purchase. So that has definitely been in the works. I’ve been weighing numerous aspects of publishing in regards to this book lately and I just need to tweak the book a little bit more to make it more suitable to be sold.
Please be a little bit more patient with me! I promise I’ll update you when I’m ready to open pre-order submissions, okay?
13. Build My (Portfolio) Website
I know I said this last year as well, but this time I’m doing it for real. My partner-in-crime Mawan is helping me set it up, as we speak. The website will be a combination of both my portfolio and this little ol’ blog—which is something I’ve wanted for so long. Perhaps I could even include an online shop for my future works, including the book I mentioned above.
You will see a whole new design and structure to it, but all with the same vibe. Well, at least, that’s the plan—as it hasn’t happened yet. For now, I hope you’ll be satisfied with this landing page that I got for free with my domain (lol).
19. Make an Actual Investment
It was actually about a month after my last birthday that I started to invest in Bibit. If you’re a 20-something Indonesian, you might be familiar with this amazing app. My sister told me about it a year or so ago and had been persuading me to use it too. It is basically an app that makes investment a whole lot easier for young people who know nothing about the stock market—like me. They offer a number of low-risk stocks, bonds and money market available for purchase that you can monitor on a daily basis.
In the year or so that I’ve been using it, I’ve lost on a few bets, but they’re never substantial enough to cause me any real loss. I’m not going to say I completely understand the stock market now—there are so many components that I can never truly comprehend—but it’s a step closer to the big dogs.
22. Get a Pension & Emergency Fund Plan
One of things that Agung taught me is how to manage money effectively—in fact, I almost wrote a blog post about this, but decided it may be too dull for anyone to read. He successfully made savings seem a lot less scary and intimidating. This has inspired me to keep to a routine of keeping a savings account and prepare for a rainy day.
To be honest, it’s still a long way from being even remotely enough to be a solid emergency fund—let alone a pension plan—but, you know, baby steps. I’m definitely still figuring out various ways I can save up money for future benefits in a somewhat lucrative way—but still legal and, obviously, safe.
24. Upgrade My Tools
This one is quite unexpected to have been reached. Of course, this will surely be updated overtime as well, but for now, this is what it looks like. You see, I bought this Macbook Pro 13″ (Mid 2012) in 2016—which, as simple math would tell you, was 4 years ago. For a while it worked out really well, but it started to slow down gradually. I thought it would be wise to sort this out before I started with my thesis project, which is why I asked around.
My friends told me it would be helpful to upgrade the RAM to a bigger module and perhaps change out my old HDD with a sleek, new SSD card. I’m not an expert, so I went to a shop to have it done. One of the RAMs has been replaced with an 8GB one—while it used to both be 2GB—and that has improved the speed significantly.
I didn’t stop there and went ahead with the upgrade to SSD—512GB—and it was the best choice I’ve ever made for my equipments. Still very satisfied with my choice!
28. Downsize My Wardrobe
Yeah, I know, I had this on the list last year too. But, what can I say? I want to keep doing this every year. This year, as you know, I joined the #MulaiDariLemari movement. One of the things that I ended up doing was decluttering my wardrobe. It was my first time since the breakup—which you will again read below—and somehow became very emotional. Well, anyway, I ended up discarding a lot of clothes and putting the rest up for sale on Instagram. There were a lot of clothes that were sentimental to me, one way or another, and became quite hard to say goodbye to—I almost cried in a lot of instances. But I realise that these are clothes that no longer speak to me and mean to me the same way they used to. Isn’t it better for them to go to someone who’ll adore them? Like you, perhaps 😉
Other Things I Did at 27 Years Old
Okay, let’s cut to the chase—I’ve accomplished many life-changing things this year. Some were expected, some were a complete surprise. Heck, you can even say that 27 is my best year yet! You may look at some of them and feel sad or sorry for me. You may look at others and feel elated and happy for me. But, rest assured, all of these are achievements—meaning, I’m so glad they all happened.
For what it’s worth, I now feel a lot less attached to the ideals I used to have when I was younger. They feel irrelevant and futile now, especially since life has a way of catching us off guard. So, keep that in mind as you read on.
First ever birthday surprise
Is it still an achievement when you’ve done literally nothing? Well, I’m counting it. In all 27 years of my life, I’ve never had anyone surprise me on my birthday—at least, not successfully, or well crafted. Last year was my first ever birthday experience while working at an office and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My team got me cake, threw me into a pool and, because I wasn’t equipped to treat anyone for a birthday meal, they pulled together and bought chicken wings for all of us.
The sweetest co-workers or what? I swear I had never felt more cherished and loved on a birthday than I did last year—although this year I would do with just a chill day of daily routines, to be honest.
First ever office outing
Around two weeks after my birthday last year, I went to Yogyakarta with the first office I worked at—including with my beloved, Agung. It wasn’t too far away, like the previous year, I’m afraid. I’ve also been to Yogyakarta before, so I wasn’t too excited to go back again.
However, despite my reservations, I actually had much fun during the outing itself. We visited a lot of places I’d never been to before—Mt. Merapi, Ulen Sentalu Museum, Ratu Boko Temple Garden—and I loved it.
Looking back at it now, it feels a little melancholic, as most of the people that were there with us at the time had already moved on—including those in the photo above.
First office collateral designs
Oh my Gosh! When I received the assignment to create lanyard and ID card designs from my supervisor at the time, I was so excited. If you’re a fellow designer, you might understand the exhilaration of having your design applied to objects that a lot of people will use. This being office collateral means that some people will be required to wear it at all times—and that gets me squealing from glee!
Honestly, I’m very fond of these designs, especially the lanyard. I’m so very proud of having come up with it and—at least for some time—even if I’m no longer with the office, as long as it stands, I knew these designs will still be utilised. That, in itself, gives me immense joy and pride.
Sadly, I never actually wore these items as long as I worked at the office. Moreover, the people in the photo above have all resigned. So yeah.
Started a loving, healthy & supportive relationship
If you’d told me that my best friend from work would one day become my soulmate—as several of you did, actually—I would literally laugh in your face—which I actually did. Yet, lo and behold, here is Agung—the once goofy, aloof and jerk of a best friend—now the love of my life.
Of course, the implied notion here is that I ended the previous relationship I was involved in—but I talked about it 2-3 times on this blog already, so I don’t really want to bore you with the details of that anymore.
We have been going strong for almost a year and I cannot be happier. I swear, I never thought I would meet someone who seems so different from me, yet somehow understands almost completely how I feel and what I’m going through. Love you so much, you silly goose!
Became the ambassador for a social campaign
Around the middle of this year a local, ongoing campaign called #TukarBaju started a sub-campaign called #MulaiDariLemari, in which I became one of the ambassadors. From 15 July to 15 October, I did my utmost to try to get people to commit to a shopping ban for 3 whole months. Each week there is a special theme, about which I would usually have to talk about and take actions for.
It was really fun coming up with numerous posts to inspire people to really look at the clothes they already own and stop them from purchasing more, as well as exchanging ideas and resources with all the other ambassadors. It was quite an experience like no other.
While I wasn’t very good at keeping active in the group chat that we had going on, I got to know a number of people I wouldn’t otherwise have met. Truly an experience I shall cherish!
Helped Stepmom’s catering business
A few months ago, my Stepmom started a regular catering business for a café nearby, owned by a neighbour and friend. She came up with a set of menus for the whole week and changed it up every week. She thought it was a good idea to offer the service to my colleagues as well, so I helped her do so.
My role was as such: offer the catering to everyone, post the weekly menu, note down the number of orders, relay them to my Stepmom, deliver them to the office, collect the empty containers, wash the containers, bring them home. And repeat. Everyday, if not every week.
While I mostly did the managing and brainstorming ideas with my Stepmom for the weekly menu—and, you know, none of the cooking—it was a really fun, albeit tedious, task to do, well…while it lasted anyway.
Started a new job at an agency
Honestly, this is probably the second biggest thing that happened to me this year. After personally saying goodbye to a relationship, I had to do it professionally too. If you’d asked me a year ago, whether I would do this or not—which my previous supervisor did, actually—I wouldn’t have been to tell you. I knew I wasn’t going to stay long, but I thought when I moved on, it would be a no-hard-feelings decision. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
For the nth time, I felt like I had to move on since home didn’t feel like home anymore—only a far too familiar feeling for me, I’m afraid. Somehow, I landed a job at Flock Creative Network, which is a creative agency I’ve been admiring for a while, and have been slowly calling it home now. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
This year may be universally bad—with the rapid pandemic, roaring climate change and chaotic politics all around—but it was an amazing year of growth for me. I can’t tell you when was the last time I felt so utterly at peace—actually, probably never. Last year, I wished myself nothing but growth, maturity and accomplishments. And, you know what? I scored high on all three accounts.
The biggest thing that I noticed about myself as of late is how little I care about what other people do and think. I no longer expect them to be a certain way, I no longer wish them to like me more. Finally, I could let go of the ideals that have been weighing me down for years. If you didn’t like me or my choices, then I’m sorry you feel that way, but I’ll move along. If you like me for who I am and what I decide to do, then I’m very grateful for your presence and constant support, and I will make sure to return the favour.
This year may not be eventful in the conventional, festive manner, but it has been a huge learning curve, for me. And it’s all thanks to you who still decide to be a part of my life, one way or another. Thank you.