What I love about reading history books is that it’s like looking at the possible future. The world, in fact, runs in patterns. Just like any story, there is always a beginning, a peak, and an end. A rise and a fall. Growth and decline. What happened years ago might happen again today. What we find new might have already happened in the past. What we find surprising and confusing might be something normal to others.

The benefit of living in the 21st century is that we already have a huge repository of collective knowledge from thousands of years of human civilization. Knowledge about love, life, work, family, relationship, business, and so on. Then around 30 years ago, humans invented the internet, which makes knowledge more accessible to anyone and anywhere in the world. And now we have AI, which makes things even faster.

Of course, we cannot exactly predict what comes next. A story might be misleading. A theory might be wrong. A fact might be a hoax. With that in mind, we should keep learning and refining our understanding. We can look at patterns of how history unfolds and use them as a map and guide for whatever comes ahead. And start building the future we want to achieve.

The choice is ours to make.

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Happy New Year!

2025 has been so kind to me, and I didn’t give them enough credit.

Even though it was not the perfect year, what should I expect? There is no such thing as absolute perfection.

Life itself is already a blessing. Either we feel happy or sad. Excitement or boredom. High or low. Win or lose. Those are momentary and normal parts of life. Cycles of life.

Then, why are you still head down with the one and only life you have? Life is uncertain. The only thing that is certain in life is death. So cherish it, every day. Every second.

After a morning walk in Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, I went to a coffee shop with a friend and wanted to order two lattes for us. I also wanted to use my Japanese, testing what I’ve learned in the past six months and seeing if the barista would understand me or not.

The conversation was something like this:

me: 「カフェラテを一つお願いします。」(kafe rate wo hitotsu onegaishimasu – “One cafe latte, please.”)
barista: 「はい、かしこまりました」(hai, kashikomarimashita – “Yes, certainly.”)

But then, the barista only made one latte instead of two. I was so confused (I showed her my confused face!) and asked her if she made a mistake.

barista: 「あ、すみません。一つだと思っていました。二つですね？」(a, sumimasen. hitotsu da to omotteimashita. futatsu desu ne? – “Ah, I’m sorry. I thought it was one. Two, right?”)

I just realized that I mistakenly said 「一つ」(hitotsu – “one”) instead of 「二つ」(futatsu – “two”). That’s why she made only one latte! So I ordered another one and proceeded to payment.

It feel amazing when the person you speak understand what you’ve said, and don’t switch to english right away. it feels like you already part of the community, even though that language is not your native language.

And that what I felt that day. And yes, I made a mistake, but I’m so proud of what I just accomplished!

Last November, I had the chance to visit Japan for the second time. I spent my first two days in Kanagawa, visiting a school where I teach English online, and finally met my students in person after three years of seeing them only as little boxes on a screen. Then, I took the JR Shonan–Shinjuku Line back to Tokyo to attend a 4-day event. I also wanted to visit my friend in Nagano, but sadly I didn’t have the time to go there. 

Last time I was in Japan—It was two weeks before COVID hit. I went to the west side of the country. Cities like Osaka, Kyoto, and Wakayama. I’ve also gone to Hiroshima and took a boat to Itsukushima Island. 

This time I don’t have much time for traveling. My main agenda was to attend the Be The Change Celebration (BTC), which happened in Japan this year. It was my third time attending this event. My first time was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2022. Then in Ahmedabad, India, in 2023. 

Be The Change Celebration is an annual international event for K-12 students organized by Design For Change. It was founded by Kiran Bir Sethi, a designer who is very passionate about reforming education. She started her own school in 2001, The Riverside School, which won the World Best School Prize for Innovation in 2023. They developed an approach called FIDS (Feel-Imagine-Do-Share), powered by the principles of design thinking. In 2009, Kiran started Design For Change (DFC), a global organization whose network spans to over 70 countries and regions. DFC is also a community for children to learn, share, and grow together as global citizens. 

Its spirit reminds me of AIESEC, a youth-led organization which I joined in 2017 until 2020. I was a university student at that time, and started as a volunteer in my local chapter. Then in 2020, I had the opportunity to work in the global office and became part of the team creating the new design for the brand of AIESEC globally.

I was so happy to find out that there are organizations that shares similar goal. A place where people from different countries, languages, and backgrounds can gather, exchange ideas, and work together to improve the way we live as one, big community. Humanity.

Dear friends, welcome to my website. Writing has been my hobby since childhood. But as I grew up, I became less confident with my writing. So I kept most of them private. But now, that has to change! I want to show the world that I love writing. So I started this blog. 

During my darkest and confusing times, I always sought answers from books and articles that were written by people before me. I found their stories and experiences really comforting, helping me to connect the dots of my scattered world and grow as a human being. 

So now, it’s time for me to contribute to society. I will share my thoughts in the form of writing more and post it every Wednesday. I hope my writing could also help you connect the dots of your own world.

So, thank you for checking in. And please, enjoy.