Despite those challenges Ida still displayed more ambition than the average Balinese teenager. After Ida graduated from high school she traveled to the island of Bintan off of Singapore to find work but had to return home several months later due to her lack of success in obtaining a job. The challenges finding work continued upon her return and unable to find a career or start a family, Ida began to feel lost and depressed. In hope of finding guidance, Ida sought out her great uncle, a Hindu Mangku, who instructed her in the basics of meditation as a way to balance her emotions.