On the last day of 2025, I linger a little longer than usual, as if holding the year by its sleeve before it slips into the dark. There are goals I didn’t reach and chapters I meant to finish, yet life has already shifted quietly beneath my feet. My mindset changed more this year than in any year before it—so much that I sometimes feel like I’m meeting a new version of myself for the first time. Responsibilities gather like clouds on the horizon, and for once, I can feel their weight in a way that’s strangely grounding. A year used to feel long; now it dissolves in my hands like water.
The last two months were filled with setbacks—unexpected turns, small disappointments, moments that forced me to pause. But somehow, I’ve grown lighter, even happier. Maybe it’s the way I’ve learned to steady my own heart, to breathe through the noise instead of letting it swallow me. A few years ago, I would’ve broken under the same pressure. It’s astonishing how a single shift in perspective can redraw the entire map of your life. One thought can pull you under; another can bring you back to the surface.
As 2026 approaches, I know I can’t control the tides or the storms that will come. Life will rise and fall on its own rhythm. But I’m learning to move with it—to walk through the rain without rushing for shelter, to trust that even in the chaos, I’ll find my footing. Maybe that’s what growing up really is: not avoiding the storm, but learning how to stay open-hearted while it passes.
