On The Horizon for 2025
Things I'm looking forward to and planning for in the upcoming year, as well as reflections on my 2024.
1/3/20255 min read
Happy New Year!
The start of a year is one of my favorite times because it signifies a fresh start. I understand that it's just like any other day, another number, but is it really? I love embracing beginnings because it symbolizes potential for change. And for me personally, 2024 was a challenging year so it's actually quite a relief to move forward to a new year. Between losing my sense of self and navigating life, it was a hard year even though my year looked vibrant from the outside.
"Solitude," Ocean Beach, San Diego 2024. My photo of the year!
My intention of the year: "Discipline"
Every year, I pick a word to represent what I'm moving towards.
In 2023, it was "Connect," because I was striving to reconnect with others more after being so isolated and cut off from friendships due to depression and life circumstances. I am continually on my journey towards connection.
For 2024, my word was "Build," because it was the year I wanted to rebuild my life from scratch. I moved across the country, moved twice actually, reached new heights with my photography, started my YouTube journey, made new friends, and more.
This year, I'm moving towards "Discipline" as I'm once again changing the course of my life. With everything I learned in the past year or so, I want to improve my boundaries with others as well as with myself. Discipline is self mastery, which is something I always strive towards.
"Set Sail," The Star of India ship, Little Italy, San Diego, 2024
Highlights from 2024
2024 was challenging and busy for me. Here are some of my personal highlights:
I moved to San Diego in February, and it is there that I took the best photos of my life so far. I had just bought myself my Fuji X-T30 for Christmas and it, combined with infinite west coast sunsets and beaches, made for some of my favorite shots. It really helped me solidify my photography/editing style, finally, after starting my photo journey in 2018 (my style is vibrant and whimsical).
Got into reading even more! Started a reading playlist on Spotify. Finally bought myself a kindle, one of the best purchases of my life. I read both romantasy novels as well as nonfiction works, enjoying the best of both worlds.
I read more tarot for self reflection and became more in tune with my intuition and sense of self instead of being afraid of and suppressing it.
I finally started my YouTube channel to pursue a lifelong dream of mine. It's my goal to create the kind of videos I want to see more of, while inspiring others and creating a community in the process.
A new friend I made in San Diego inspired me to start rollerblading again. I love the idea that you need at least 3 hobbies in your life: one to make you money, one to keep you creative, and one to keep you in shape. Now I have all three!
Proved to myself that I can restart again as I slowly made new friends in new cities.
Showed myself my resilience with hard things in life, even though it cost me my mental health. Also showed me the depths of my compassion and love.
It was the hardest year of my life, but I like to stay receptive so I was actively looking for lessons. So I really learned a lot in 2024.
Did a writing challenge in November which shed a lot of light on my authentic self, since I've felt I have lost myself over and over again in the past decade.
Ended the year birding and felt peace again for the first time in a long while. It feels like everything is murky and then you finally feel clear waters again, I guess that's what peace feels like to me. The peace was so palpable, it was amazing.
"Sunset Vibin'," Bankers Hill, San Diego, 2024
Current new things in my life
The violent transition from 2024 to 2025 has brought new things into my life.
I've been exploring new music lately, specifically indie music. One day, Instagram showed me an ad for a song and I really enjoyed it. Apparently, the algorithm said "Okay, bet," and I've been adding new music to a shiny new playlist. My love for music only grows, and I'm enjoying supporting smaller artists and the unique messages they have to share.
After losing myself for so long, I finally started to pull up my boundaries. As a recovering people pleaser, this is a big deal. It's weird to say, but I don't experience the emotion of anger often. But now, I'm leaning into it more because anger is there to help you find and assert your boundaries. This plays into discipline, my word of the year.
Last year, I started taking more videos of every day scenes using the eye I've built up with photography. I now have a cache of clips to draw from, and I'm focusing more on video this year to move towards my dream of becoming a successful YouTuber (my definition of success is inspiring others through my videos).
Journaling more, pen to paper. I alternate between analog and digital journaling, but bought myself a beautiful leather journal that makes me happy to write more.
"r/liminal spaces," Carlsbad, San Diego, 2024
Goals and wishes for the new year
And now, I'd love to share some of the big things I'm looking forward to this year!
Switching careers. It's really daunting and scary, but I avidly believe that as long as I'm alive and breathing, I can change my life and not feel trapped in my current circumstances.
Growing my YouTube channel. I'm taking all my knowledge and experience and putting my all into this lifelong passion project.
Be ruthlessly and authentically myself. I know it's a hard road, especially with where I've been, but I've fought tooth and nail to get my sense of self back and am fiercely protecting it.
Stay in touch with friends and family. A big priority after feeling extremely isolated and lonely for a very long time.
Move my body more. Through yoga and the gym!
Smaller goals include:
Read 30 books
Embracing anger
Get back into photography
Consume more art and analyze it
Yearlong photo project: Connections and Reflections
More nature in my life
Improve my processes and routines
"Looking beyond," La Jolla, San Diego, 2024
Thank you for reading!
That was a lot to go through, but if you stayed until the end... Thank you so, so much from the bottom of my heart. I can feel it in the air: I'm about to have the hardest comeback from the slums of my depression. I'm creating the kind of things I wish I had when I was really going through it. Hopefully it helps you as much as it helps me!
Until next time,
"Suspended In Time," Banker's Hill, San Diego, 2024