Things That Stayed With Me in 2025

When I take a look back at 2025, it was indeed a year made up of both extraordinary and ordinary things. There were inspirations, conversations, decisions, and pauses that stayed.

They may not be highlights. They were not incredible milestones.

But they are things that lingered and became part of how the year felt.

1. Reflections on Resilience: Inspired by Ejae's Journey

Source: Threads

Have you heard of Ejae's story? 12 years of training, multiple near-misses, and the heartbreak of not debuting in a K-pop group; all before finally releasing Golden. What resonated with me most wasn't her eventual success, but her profound resilience during the wait.

She stayed in the music industry despite the heartbreaking experience of not debuting after 12 years of hard work. Before the eventual success of Golden and Huntrix, she refused to give up; instead, she sharpened her production skills, wrote tirelessly, and strategically leaned into her strengths. Ejae's journey is proof that talent and grit eventually shine and her current impact is only the beginning.

There is something deeply human about that kind of patience. You can feel the vindication and triumph in every record Golden has broken across the globe.

I'm letting her story sit with me as a form of quiet motivation.

2. Rose's "You've Got You"

Source: Facebook

Rosé's MTV VMAs Award acceptance speech crossed my feed at some point, and one line stuck: "you've got you." It wasn't delivered dramatically. It didn't feel rehearsed.

That sentence surfaced quietly throughout the year, especially during moments when decisions felt personal rather than strategic. It wasn't about hype or confidence. It was about self-trust, in a very understated way.

3. Leaving Corporate, Returning to Digital Agency Life

This year, I resigned from corporate and went back into digital agency life while continuing my Master's.

It wasn't a bold leap or a dramatic exit. It felt more like choosing an environment that fit who I am now: how I think, how I work, how I show up. There was relief in that, and also a sense of familiarity. Like returning to a room I already knew how to breathe in.

4. Continuing my Master's Quietly

I didn't talk much about my Master's this year. I just kept showing up. I met up with my lecturers to thank them for their continuous support.

Reading, writing, submitting. Sometimes tired, sometimes motivated, sometimes simply consistent. It wasn't hustle. It wasn't grind. It was something I carried alongside everything else, without needing it to define me.

I guess I did the right thing, as I was recognised as the most active student representative for my intake (March 2024) in Sunway University's MMKT ODL programme.

5. Making a Personal Choice for Myself

I signed up for the Curas Hybrid Laser treatment at Pure Touch Clinic this year. Not as a statement, not as a transformation story, just as a choice.

It felt less about appearance and more about the decision to listen to my body. Deciding without overexplaining. There was something quietly affirming about that.

6. Travelling My Heart Out

I travelled a fair bit this year, so if there's a recurring theme from 2025, it's me travelling with people who matter. And here's the list:

Anniversary trip to South Korea & Macau with my husband.

Trip to Taipei with my sister.

Work trips (Jakarta and Guangzhou) that blended into shared routines.

Family trips (Club Med Phuket, Ipoh, Kuantan & Pulau Kapas, Muar & Melaka, Legoland Malaysia) that moved at a gentler pace.

The places were different, but the presence mattered more than the destination. Travel became less about seeing and more about being with.

And instead of overplanning, the snippets that I could remember go like this:

By a pool. In a lounge. At a hotel bar. In a mini mart aisle. Eating noodles. Drinking coffee. Holding a cocktail. Watching the sky change. Doing nothing.

I wasn't planning of capturing scroll-stopping content angles. I was collecting moments that didn't ask for performance.

That pattern of sitting, eating, drinking, noticing... felt totally ME. Unforced. Enough.