Cinta Laura Kiehl: Driven and in Demand

Balancing work and study commitments means it's challenging for actress and singer Cinta Laura to find time to relax but when she can, she makes sure it counts, with fun chats, good food and charity.

My idea of the perfect Sunday is a homework-free and work-free one.

As I'm a morning person, I would ideally start the day off at the gym, in order to eliminate all the school stress I've accumulated throughout the week. Then I'd hang out with my friends at the mall, watch a movie and eat at a sushi restaurant. In the evening, I would enjoy dinner with my parents at a nice restaurant in the city and have a soothing conversation about anything interesting happening at school or in my life.

However, the "no-homework" part occurs very rarely, and often I can be busy on a Sunday, like doing a show in Surabaya or taping a commercial. When this happens, I leave my house before 6 a.m. and return around 10 p.m. I'll still need to prepare for school the next day, so I won't get to sleep until around midnight. Luckily, I am aware ahead of time of such commitments so I'd have already done my weekend homework on Friday or Saturday.

I do enjoy singing or taping commercials but I'd prefer for it to just fill up one day. Some commercials take two days to shoot, which I cannot abide. Nonetheless, as a whole I have grown used to this and cannot imagine having a free weekend.

Furthermore, due to the IB Diploma, which is known for its insane workload, I spend most Sundays that I'm not working doing homework the whole day. If I'm busy throughout the weekend and the workload is incredible, I would divide my homework between Friday and Saturday. Any unfinished things are done on Sunday nights when I arrive home it is usually past midnight. Sometimes I do not get enough sleep, but this does not bother me because I aim to do the best I can at school and so far I thank God that my grades are living up to my expectations.

The IB Diploma also means that I have little free time during the week. My weekdays are purely dedicated to school and sports like basketball and track and field. I typically spend four to eight hours doing homework every day. Yes, I'm a little nerdy!

When I do have free time, my favourite way to relax is hanging out with friends and chatting about typical teenage girl stuff. I also like massages to release my tension, and surfing the net and chatting online. I'm into sports, which is why I play basketball and participate in track at school, and whenever I have the opportunity I like to do water sports like jet skiing, flying fox and para-sailing.

Finally, if I can find the time, I visit the schools that my mom's foundation has built in Bogor. I would play interactive games with the kids that hopefully will help enhance their problem-solving and English language skills.

Cinta Laura's latest film SKJ (Seleb Kota Jogjakarta) is currently showing nationwide.

- As told to Sara Veal

Source : The Jakarta Post