2025 In Review, 2026 Upcoming

Sitting at the airport waiting for my flight, I want to take this time and do some reflection of 2025 and 2026 :)

2025: A Year That Quietly Did a Lot

2025 didn’t arrive with fireworks.
It showed up, moved some furniture around, asked a lot of uncomfortable questions, and left me standing in a much cleaner room.

It was a year that touched everything: identity, career, relationships, but without the drama of a “reinvention arc.” Nothing needed to be rebuilt from scratch. What changed was what I stopped carrying: identities borrowed from labels instead of values, career paths chosen by inertia rather than curiosity, and relationships that required ongoing boundary setting just to stay intact.

The General Theme: Calibration

If I had to summarize 2025 in one word, it would be calibration.
I spent a surprising amount of time adjusting internal dials:

• How much energy something actually deserves

• When curiosity is productive versus just cleverly disguised distraction

• How long to sit with uncertainty before acting

• When effort is noble and when it’s just misplaced optimism

Identity: More Portable Than I Thought

One quiet realization from 2025: identity works best when it isn’t tied to anything external.
Titles change. Jobs come and go. Money fluctuates. Plans get rewritten. What mattered was knowing that even if all of that disappeared, something essential would remain: resilience, kindness, genuineness, curiosity, and a persistent desire to learn and grow.

I also learned that identity isn’t something I can announce. It’s something I build through repetition through how I show up on ordinary days, what I choose when no one is watching, and what continues after motivation wears off.

In other words, identity turned out to be a practice, not a possession. Comforting. And surprisingly practical.

Career: Same Brain, Better Questions

Professionally, 2025 wasn’t about chasing the next shiny thing. It was about asking better questions with the same skill set.

What kind of work actually holds my attention long-term?
What environments make me sharper instead of just busier?
Who do I want to work with to continuously get inspired?

Midway through the year, those questions stopped being theoretical. I came out of a sabbatical during one of the hardest stretches of the year, locked myself at home for two months, and prepared relentlessly with interview after interview, day after day. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was focused. I landed a role I was genuinely excited about, not only because it checked boxes, but it also aligned with how I want to think, build, and grow next.

That same clarity also reopened a long-held ambition. I felt a strong pull to return to school as an intentional expansion. I applied to master’s programs at institutions I once dreamed about as a kid, this time with a grounded sense of purpose rather than fantasy.

This year shifted my focus from speed to direction, from urgency to intention. Experience stopped being something I accumulated and started being something I applied.

It turns out progress compounds much faster when it isn’t fueled by panic.

Relationships: Fewer Plot Twists, More Signal

2025 was the year I learned to tell the difference between a relationship that’s interesting and one that’s viable.

Chemistry still matters. Depth still matters. But peace, consistency and actions are far more important than sweet words. The most meaningful shift wasn’t about romance, it was about boundaries. I got clearer about what I need, what I can give, and what I’m no longer willing to negotiate. That clarity filtered out noise quickly and without much drama. The right connections require less interpretation and far fewer plot twists.

Looking at 2026

The work of 2025 wasn’t loud, but it was structural. It clarified how I want to build, how I want to relate, and which timelines are actually worth respecting. That foundation matters more than any single outcome.

The focus ahead is thoughtful, sustained, and aligned execution. Building things that compound. Choosing depth over breadth. Letting curiosity lead without letting distraction take the wheel.

I’m entering this year with more patience for long arcs and less interest in forced urgency. Not everything meaningful needs to arrive quickly to be real. Some things improve precisely because they’re allowed to take their time.

Most of all, 2026 is about consistency. Showing up as the person I already know how to be, without needing pressure, performance, or a countdown clock to justify the pace.

No reinvention. No dramatic declarations. Just forward motion, on purpose.
AND I'M SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!! :)))))