Happy Holidays!

The holiday’s felt different this year, and there’s a lot of different reasons for that sentiment. Which ones I truly believe, that’s still up in the air.

But I’ve noticed some of my friends feel the same way, too. I’ve heard most describe it as “rushed,” some even said they felt numb watching the clock strike midnight. We’ve said goodbye to another year, but we’ve also said goodbye to so much else. Beyond the calendar, we're shedding the weight of old routines, fading places, and the moments we’ve finally outgrown. It also means releasing people, by choice or otherwise. It feels like I’ve just run a marathon, yet there’s no break between this last one and the new one. This is life, and, as the saying goes, the world keeps turning.

I wouldn’t say I’m struggling with leaving 2025 behind; I’m actually relieved to begin again. I’ve learned in the past few years that you can always start over. But it can be exhausting facing a blank calendar, knowing I have to ‘do’ it all over again. It feels overwhelming not knowing what’s going to happen, even if that in itself isn’t a surprise.

I don’t want this to be a completely sad reflection to start the year off. I had a wonderful holiday with my family and loved ones. I finished a pretty rough semester, went to my first Bears game (AND they beat the Packers IN Chicago!) I ate a lot of good, home cooked food, went out, of course, too, reunited with friends in Florida for a bowl game, and enjoyed ample time relaxing. This was a much needed refresh.

In the past few years, I’ve started a tradition where on New Years Eve night, I compose a list of resolutions with a glass of sparkling cider. This year, I watched the live broadcast of the ball drop in Chicago with my little brother before tucking in for the night and switching to Heated Rivalry. Although it was different, it didn’t make it any less special.

I’m still working on those resolutions, but I still want to reflect on what I attempted to do last year. I tried to read fifty books, but I only made it to ten. I wanted to work out more and continue challenging my body, so I ran my first 5K and became a new member of HOTWORX! I wanted to grow in my faith, and I feel like I’ve become a lot braver and bolder in my relationship with Christ. And I wrote, a lot. One of the best resolutions was this, my blog. I want to do so much more with it, and you don’t know how excited I am to transform those ideas into reality.

New Year’s is bittersweet. I’m still grieving parts of 2025, but I’m also learning to smile not because it’s over, but because it happened, and there’s still so much good to remember. While it’s overwhelming walking into this new chapter not knowing much besides what I took from last year, I’d rather not be spoiled the ending. I’m blessed that I still have today, and I will look forward to tomorrow with the same hope, maybe even more, than last year.

Kaleigh