I think am still in a place where I don’t want to track, count, or measure things. I want to give myself grace, rest, space this year. So no specific projects and open to what might come.
Here are some themes I plan to focus on and we’ll see what form they take.
Coming Home: I had a really wonderful time with my project last year so I will continue that this year but I am not sure I will post any of it, we’ll see.
Art: I have done so so much art in 2024. I really hope to continue to do that. Watercolors, sketching, whatever else I might stumble upon.
Random/Reflection: Only intermittent reflection in 2025. When I am in the mood for it.
Reading – I read a lot this year. I continued to read netgalley/edelweiss ARC books as well as audiobooks from the library and audible. I plan to continue this next year. I will continue tracking them on goodreads.
Cooking – I am thinking of doing a 100 days of cooking project this year, if I do it, I will post them.
Here’s to a year of continuing to do what brings me joy and continuing to explore and find ways to create my own magic and come home to myself.
Another excellent read for 2025. If you like character-driven novels you will absolutely cherish this story of Martha Ballard who is the most kick ass midwife you will ever read about. Well written, and wonderfully narrated, this story was a complete joy to read and will stay with me for a long while.
Even though I read this novel in one single swallow, I think it was mediocre. Besides their obsessive love for each other, we knew nothing about either character. It was a romance without the depth and a mystery without the depth. It was still eminently readable as with all of Modglin’s novels so I swallowed it up in one day.
What an excellent, excellent start to the new year. I don’t know why I hadn’t heard of this book and I haven’t read enough of Maynard to seek all her stories but maybe I should because this multi-generational family story was one of the best books I’ve read in a while. I love character-driven stories and this one gave me characters in heaps. I loved every single moment I spent with it.
How does this make you feel? It gives me the chills. I cannot wait to spend more time at home with myself. And to keep coming home to myself again and again so I can get better at it.
How will your word support you in 2025? I want to live fully grounded in who I am and fully inside my own body and skin. This word will remind me to come home to myself. To ensure I don’t abandon myself and, for me, it’s the clear and obvious next step in living myself authentically and getting closer and closer to peace.
If you embodied this every day in 2025, what would you do differently? I would be the true and authentic me. I would be checking in with myself to ensure that my choices and words and actions come from inside myself. I would be peaceful.
What one thing could you do daily to anchor your word(s) into your routine? I can do a quick meditation every day. When I am not sure, I can close my eyes, put my hands over my heart and take a deep breath to ground myself in this moment and check with myself to see how I feel.
What are you looking forward to in 2025? I am looking forward to practicing coming home to myself.
What are you feeling apprehensive about? The unknown. I am most apprehensive about all the things that are awaiting me that I don’t know about and thus can’t “solve” and also if I learned anything this year, it’s that there’s no choice in life but to take things as they come. And I will continue to do whatever’s needed. I am also weary of possible changes that put my kids at risk. But again, if it does happen, I will do whatever’s needed.
In which areas of your life are you ready for change and growth? I think this year I want to spend less energy changing and maybe even growing and instead focus on being who I am truly. And as I need to grow, I know that I will.
What parts of yourself will you nurture in 2025? The parts of me that need grace. The parts of me that I felt like I needed to hide. All of me.
Fast-forward to December 2025. You’re sitting in a café, musing over the last 12 months. Where do you want to be…
… in your head? (work, dreams, goals) I want to continue to be happy at work and continue to do my best and support my manager in the best way possible and my team with all my strength. I want to continue to try to hold a high bar and also love all the people deeply.
… in your heart? (relationships, family, friends) I want to figure out what kind of relationships I want in my life and what really feeds my soul. And then I want to do more of that. I want to create boundaries that serve me and help me be whole. I want to do things because I love to and not out of obligation, worry or pressure.
… in your soul? (beliefs, practices, self-love) I want to be at peace. I want to be my open, generous and loving self. I want to really know who I am and find a way to connect with myself deeply and meaningfully so I can step into it fully.
… in your physical world? (home, health, hobbies) I want to go back to exercising in some meaningful way. I want to practice cooking healthy food and taking care of my body. I want to continue to do art. More than anything else, I want to give myself however much time I need and be gentle with myself and to remind myself that I’ll get there when I am ready.
air
Identify 3 unhelpful beliefs about yourself you’re ready to release:
It was my fault.
I am unworthy.
I am not good enough.
(and all the “I can’t”s because I can do anything I put my mind to.)
Decide 3 duties or commitments you feel ready to let go of in 2025
Holding other people’s stress.
Feeling responsible for others’ happiness.
Absorbing and accepting blame.
List 3 skills you’d like to learn or improve in 2025
I am always working on improving my art and I always want to journal more and take more classes so I am not going to call them out explicitly.
I want to try the shuffling class or something around dancing this year just to see.
I want to practice cooking to see what I like and what I don’t.
I also want to find a pilates or yoga practice I’d love to do consistently.
List 3 books you can’t wait to read this year: Like all years, I will read hundreds of books this year.
How could you bring more awareness to your actions this year? Journaling was truly life changing in 2024 so I plan to do that again. I also want to do meditation, yoga and pilates.
feeling
Identify 3 things about yourself you cherish & value
I am deeply kind and dependable.
I try to do what’s right as often as possible.
My capacity is unusually high.
Decide 3 ways you could be kinder to your body this year
I can feed it nutritious food.
I can exercise kindly and consistently
I can put moisturizer and sunscreen more often
I can take off my makeup!
Brainstorm 3 ways you could deepen connections with loved ones in 2025
I can tell them specifically how I am so grateful for them.
I can take time to experience things with them.
I can check in more regularly.
List 3 people you could extend compassion to (friends, family or strangers)
People struggling at work. G2G.
Myself.
My kids.
How could you expand your capacity for love this year? I think my capacity for loving others is already pretty high so I would like to spend energy expanding it inward to myself this year.
creating
Identify 3 interests you’d like to explore more in 2025
Cooking, getting good at quick and healthy dishes
More art + sketching.
Some sort of new exercise.
Choose 3 ways you’ll nourish your imagination this year
Taking new classes.
Maybe learning something new?
Reading.
Brainstorm 3 ways you could bring more creative joy into your world
Watercolors + gouache
100 day projects
Classes.
Write down 3 dreams you’d like to bring to life this year
Learning some sort of dance.
Getting more comfortable with cooking.
Growing ranunculus.
How could you bring more playful energy into your life this year? Dancing, music, cooking with A.
being
Identify 3 ways you could infuse more calm into your mornings
Short meditation.
Going to bed earlier.
Snuggling with Sadie.
List 3 ways you could cherish your home this year
Clearing out some of the spaces that overwhelm me.
Maybe cleaning out some of the garage.
Keeping up my christmas tree.
Decide 3 ways you could connect more deeply with nature in 2025
Sitting in my yard with the firepit.
Taking longer walks with Sadie.
Going to the pond more often and watching the sun set.
List 3 places in your city, town or neighborhood you’d like to explore
Honestly. I don’t really connect with this question. I don’t have this desire. I do still want to learn to drive to the airport but it’s not at the top of my list.
How could you bring a sense of groundedness into your life this year? Journaling, Meditation and taking long walks.
Back in 2013, our January OLW assignment involved setting intentions and I really enjoyed that, so I thought maybe I can do that instead.
January: Hello: What do I want from 2025? What to leave behind, what to welcome? What to continue, what to do more of and less of.
February: Nutrition: Cooking, My relationship with food. Exploring my habits and figuring out what I want and why. What I truly enjoy, What is a habit, and what I want to learn.
March: Movement: Exercise. Strength. Are there sports I might like? trying actual movements, giving up what I don’t like, what do i want to learn? where can i go deeper?
April: Body: what more can i do with my body to feel at peace with it? do i need to read more about it? watch videos to understand how to accentuate? what do i still hate and when do i feel at peace with it? when do i really hate it?
May: Parenting: what am i doing right? where do i want to do more? Are my kids okay? what do i want from my parents? what am i willing to let go of? what do i want more of?
June: Time: ways to spend my time. where do i still want to grow? what hobbies do i want to try? gardening? fixing my yard? italki? are there things i want to change in what i do with my time? where do my choices come from?
July: Learn more: what else do i want to learn? if i make it to the end of 2025 what do i want to have learned? half year check in, what worked and didn’t work so far? what more do i want?
August: Friendship. how do i make new friends? can i explore a few real avenues this month? who do i let go of for good? what do i believe about friendship? what are my expectations? what needs to be let go of?
September: Me. How I think of myself, my worth, my stories of both who i am and who i am not. how do i come back to myself when i am lost or when i am not my best self. how do i let go of what i don’t want to carry anymore? What more do i need to let go of? How can i be free?
October: Home? What do i believe about what a house needs to look like? Do I need to tidy up? What’s left? How do I like my space to look? What works for me and doesn’t work for me? Can I make a spot in the house I love? What about the yard?
November: What else? what am i still holding on to? What feels unsettled? What’s feeling heavy? What do I still need to work on? How do I want to head to 2026?There are still days left to do what i want to do, what’s on my list?
December: Good + bad, another year is over. Get really quiet. What is calling to you now? How can you meet your needs in this moment? Come home to yourself and stay here. You belong here. Sit with it all.
The Wrap-Up
This year I will say NO to doing things out of expectations and obligation.
This year I will say YES to coming back home to myself.
I wish for 2025 to feel peaceful.
What do you REALLY want this year? Name it here! I want to connect with myself as often as possible
I wholeheartedly believe that everything is possible in 2025.
Time TravelClose your eyes for a moment and imagine stepping into the shoes of you from December 2025, one year from now. You are one year older and one year wiser and you’ve lived every day of 2025 fully and completely. You have a message of encouragement about 2025. There’s stuff you want to share… stuff you’re eager to tell yourself.When you’re ready, open your eyes, pick up your pen, and write a letter from your future self, starting with Dear (your name): Dear Karen, you made it. I am so proud of you. Look how far you’ve come. You got this.
I usually pick words to sit alongside my olw. And to do that I follow Danielle Laporte’s Core Desired Feelings framework, but this year, the words came to me really quickly without even having to do any exercise. These words speak to me deeply at this moment in time. And they are all ways I deeply want to feel in 2025. Because home is a more inactive word in of itself I think these are all active words that help me come home to myself. It’s actions I can take to come home to myself.
Release: I had to pick this word to carry it with me since I truly believe it’s one of the most consistent ways I will be able to come home to myself. Letting what’s not true to me go.
Ease: Making things lighter for myself. I love the idea of leaning into ease.
Brave: This is one of my all-time favorite OLWs and I think I would like to keep it close for 2025.
Strong: I feel the desire to keep this one really close this year, too.
Kind: What will forever feel truest to me. Being the kindest version of myself. Being kind to everyone including myself. Holding everything with kindness.
So there you go: release, ease, strong, brave and kind are the group this year that will ride shotgun alongside home. Here’s to hoping this year comes bearing good gifts and good news.
I walked into December completely sure of my word for 2025. In fact, I’d picked it months ago. Actually I’d picked it in 2023 for 2024 but then as 2024 got closer, explore decided it needed to be my word so I figured I could save “release” for 2025. So it was reserved.
I was so sure I was picking it that I bought myself a balloon necklace to remind myself to release. I started a pinterest board, collected quotes and more.
But then on December 20, I read through Susannah Conway’s “Find Your Word” booklet. I read each word on her list. And when I came upon the word “home” I felt an actual chill in my body.
Home.
Yes, that’s what I wanted. Sure I wanted to release all the baggage I was carrying and all the ideas and thoughts of right and wrong that weren’t mine. But really it was all in service of coming home to myself. So the feeling I was after was being at home with myself. And I thought release was the path to get me there.
But reading that word made me realize if there was a different way to get there, that was fine with me too. Because the true goal, the end goal, was being at home in my own skin, in my own body. Being at home with myself.
I tried to fight it for a few days. Because come on I’d bought the balloon necklace. I’d been carrying the word “release” for two years now. And was I really going to change my word 10 days before the year ended.
And then I happened to be listening to Byron Katie’s book “Loving what is” and at the very end of the audio, she said:
Just keep coming home to yourself, you are the one you’ve been waiting for.
And that did it.
Home it was.
Apparently I really was going to change my word 10 days before the year started.
This is the third book my friend Jess gave me. It’s 3.5 stars for me mostly because it was so long and I kept losing focus on and off but I loved the main character and just like her other two books the dialogue is exquisite!
I have read and loved all of Rubin’s books. I liked this one, too, but it was much more simplistic than I was expecting. Perhaps that’s my fault for not reading the blurb closely but it’s not super clear that this is mostly a book of single sentence truths from Rubin about different topics.
There are some real gems in this book and some beautiful thoughts that will stay with you. Just don’t expect it to be a big idea book like several of her other ones.
with gratitude to Crown and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
As always, I want to start by saying that this is going to be a long post. These reflective posts are how I make sure to live my life intentionally. They matter to me and I love being able to look back on them in future years. I know that this might not be interesting to many (if not any) of you, so please feel free to skip it. If some of you find it interesting, all the better.
This particular exercise is following Susannah Conway’s Unraveling 2025 sheet. You can download it right here. I split the reflective questions looking back on 2024 in and the questions to help clarify goals/dreams for 2025 into two posts. This is part I, part II comes next week. All questions are Susannah’s and are copyrighted to her.
Describe 2024 in three words: intense, a lot, change
If the events of 2024 were made into a film or a book, what would it be called? It is time.
Describe the story and main characters of 2024. Any unexpected plot twists? I feel like I’ve been saying this for a few years, now, but alas 2024 was likely one of the hardest years I’ve had personally. Harder than I would have been able to imagine if I were trying to imagine things. But alas. I made it through.
Did you have a word, words or a phrase for 2024? explore.
If you did, how have they guided and supported you through the last 12 months? As 2024 was the year I turned 50, I was determined to have this be the year that I spent a lot of time exploring who I am and how I can do the work to figure that out as much as possible. I came up with this whole project and I am so incredibly grateful that it was a resounding success. I figured a lot of things out and I made a lot of progress. I think that project gave me a way to methodically work through and it helped me in significant ways.
How have you evolved over the last 12 months? What feels different now? A lot. I found what I like to wear, how I like my home, what kind person I am on the inside and what feels truest to me. What I like to spend my time doing and why. I feel more grounded in who I am a result of all this exploration.
When did you stand up for yourself in 2024? (And when didn’t you?) Hmmm. There were instances where I really tried to hold on to my boundaries and be clear in communicating who I am and what’s ok. And there were times when I really lost it and wasn’t the truest version of myself. There are times when I allowed more than I would like to have. And I am giving myself grace for all of it. I am navigating a new normal for myself and I have decided to give myself grace through all of it.
What’s supported you most in 2024? What’s really helped? Art. Art quiets my mind. Sadie. Sadie’s love has really been wonderful. Books, they always rescue me. My manager at work and my previous manager at work. They are both wonderful. People who have shown up for me again and again. My kids. Therapy. People’s kindness. And myself. I helped myself. I had my own back.
What drained your energy in 2024? Did you notice at the time? What drained my energy the most is when I was unwilling to see what is and accept it. When I fought the truth. When I tried to change it. When I tried to understand it, the truth is that there are no “reasons” for the hard things. They are what they are. When I worried about things that didn’t matter. When I decided to take on others’ stress as mine. When I tried to absorb it and it wasn’t mine to take on. And there were times things really got hard. And that’s just life. And also, the unknown. The unknown and unknowable always drains me.
What did you let go of this year? And how do you feel about this? I let go of my idea of how I wanted things to turn out. I let go of controlling the outcome. I let go of so much this year. I am still letting things go.
What new priorities have you uncovered in 2024? Big or small. Well I got Sadie this year, so she’s a new priority. I invested time in learning how to sketch houses. I invested more in Korean. I changed jobs and went back to investing in being a good manager. I spent a lot of time supporting my kids. In ways new to me. I decided grace is a major priority and I also decided it’s more important to understand and be who I am.
Which connections have you cherished the most in 2024? My kiddos. Sadie. Ruth and Ellen. Beth and Angela and Evelyn. Jess and Audrey and Michelle. My team at work. I am so grateful for everyone who cared about me and checked in on me and showed up and held space. In all ways big and small. I am so lucky.
What ambushed you in 2024? How did you deal with it? Well hard to say anything ambushed me when of course I’d seen it coming for several years even if I didn’t want to. Wait, that’s not true, the news on President’s Day definitely ambushed me. It changed our lives forever. We are still dealing with it. This year had some of the toughest moments of my life so far. Here’s to hoping I don’t get to say that again for a long, long time.
If your body could talk, what has it been saying this year? I am here to support you and I know that when you’re ready, you will do better.
How have you taken care of yourself physically? What’s worked? What needs work? I did a terrible job taking care of my body this year. I stopped exercising all together early on in the year and never got back into it. I do walk a lot more now thanks to Sadie but I have a long way to go. I want to do better. I want to do the type of exercise that helps me stay inside my body and to make it stronger without feeling like I have to punish myself.
How have you taken care of yourself mentally? What’s worked? What needs work? I did a lot this year. Took a lot of classes on a wide variety of topics: more art, more korean, ifs, gouache, even signed up for the shuffle class though I haven’t done it yet. I started a new job. I’ve been working hard on trying to make sure I can be good at it.
How have you taken care of yourself emotionally? What’s worked? What needs work? I did a lot of therapy and work on myself this year. I did a lot of journaling. I did this whole project on exploring. I cried, I lashed out, I sat with it. I let myself feel my feelings.
The Releasing – Go gently with this next section. This is the space to remember the losses, the goodbyes and the struggles. Did anything happen in 2024 that needs to be forgiven, perhaps? Use this space to note down the more difficult moments of 2024 and keep going in your journal if you feel ready to untangle your feelings further. As I mentioned, 2024 was the hardest year I’ve had by a long margin. My life changed in ways that will never be the same. And so much of that has brought grief with it. Even though much of it wasn’t necessarily my “fault” I still have to live with the consequences and the aftermath of it all. Which has been and will continue to be hard. And also I have faith in myself that I will get through this. I will do what’s needed because I always do. And I am strong and brave.
The Gratitudes – Use this page to record everything you’re grateful for from this wild and unpredictable year. Big things, little things, the profound and the everyday. What are you grateful for? I am so grateful for my kids. I am so so grateful for Sadie. For everyone who has had my back and has checked in on me. For therapy. For my pink Christmas tree. For all the skirts and scarves I bought that I love. For my job that turned out to be such a gift. For still being employed in this climate. For my kids having good friends who see them and love them. For giving myself the endless grace I need right now. For spending time getting to know myself. To be healthy and loved. I am grateful to be 50.
What are you proud of yourself for in 2024? I am proud of being a good mother to my kids. Always growing and trying to be a better version of myself. I am proud of getting Sadie after wanting a dog for so many years. I am proud of working on doing a good job at work. I am proud of how much effort and time I am putting into drawing. I am proud of who I am trying to be and how much I continue to do my work and grow.
When did you feel most like yourself this year? I think I am feeling more and more like myself each day. I’ve had more days feeling most like myself this year than before.
What have you healed this year (or identified needs healing)? I think I am still working on healing and the more I work on it, the more things I identify. I don’t think this will ever be a “done” thing for me. But I am making progress and I am proud of it.
What questions and explorations are you taking with you into 2025? I am taking everything I learned with me and planning to come home to myself even more in 2025.
What’s deepened in your life? What’s changing in ways that delight you? Being who I am. What I wear, how my house is, seeing when people are kind to me, getting closer to who I am in my core, deeply connecting with what actually matters to me.
Who are you becoming? Does it excite or scare you? Hold space for the feelings…I had come into 2024 wanting to discover who I am and I know so many people thought it was a bit of a joke that I could do that “on command” but I did. I did so much of it. I know so much more now. I found out so many things. I cemented many others. It really was a profound year for self-exploration even in the midst of some really really horrible moments. I am so excited to be more of who I am. And to shed all of what’s not true to me.
Before we finish with 2024, take a few minutes to write out anything else you want to say to the old year. You might like to say some final goodbyes and thank yous…
Dear 2024, let’s hope I don’t have another year like you in a long, long time. Let’s hope I don’t experience grief and shock like this for many, many years. And also thank you for the many gifts you brought, too. For all the ways in which I learned so much about myself. For Sadie. For all the love and laughter and friendship that I experienced. Even for all the low moments that of course have been teaching me how strong I can be if needed. Thank you for your gifts, and please please let’s have 2025 be uneventful. I promise I will continue to work on myself and grow.
