2025

To quote The Mountain Goats, “I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me.” (Spoiler alert: I did, in fact, make it.) Even though this year has felt, at times, more like an affliction than a span of time, I’m so proud of everything I’ve accomplished. Some of my small victories in 2025 have felt just as meaningful as my big wins. 

SMALL VICTORIES:

• Started going to a new church •  Blogged throughout the year • Bought myself a Nintendo Switch • Saw My Chemical Romance live for the first time • Went to see the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” live (also for the first time) • Got back into running • Kept consistent with journaling all year long • Read lots of books • Started dressing more authentically to my personality • Went on tons of mental health walks • Enjoyed a girls trip with my family

BIG WINS:

• Got promoted at work •  Got out of an abusive relationship • Refinanced my car •  Took a social media break in January • Saved money • Worked on myself a lot in therapy • Strengthed relationships with my family and friends • Started feeling like me again • Didn't give up

My words for 2026 are “analog” and “free.” (2025’s were “heal” and “kind,” if you’re curious.) The former boils down to simply wanting to be more offline. I feel like I have been screaming saying this to myself since the dawn of time, but it’s my biggest goal for this next year. It’s just plain necessary for my mental health.

I want to intentionally cut back on the online pursuits that steal my focus (social media, shopping, scrolling) and replace them with analog activites that make me feel like me — listening to records, reading magazines and books, doodling in a notebook, running in the park. Basically, anything that offline 10-year-old Erin would do, I want to do. (Execpt for maybe climbing trees. And having bangs. But hey, you never know!)

And now, please allow me to present my list of the following items, media, people, and/or experiences that I could not have endured 2025 without, in no particular order, and with zero context:

• “Message Man” by Twenty One Pilots • Subway • Suja green juice • “Sinners” •  Running • Jesus • This live performance of Conan Gray’s “Vodka Cranberry” • Native’s sugar cookie body wash • “The Summer I Turned Pretty” series •  These cozy matching sets • “I’m Yours” by Jesse Jo Stark • Girrlscout socks • YouTube videos from Lexi Dahlia • Dan and Phil’s relationship reveal •  My local library • This sketch • “Schitt’s Creek” • Animal Crossing • Lunchables • Lily Allen’s “West End Girl” album • Bandanas • This “Survivor” clip that reignited my obsession with the show • Learning that it is actually possible to make quinoa IN THE MICROWAVE • “On the Floor” by Perfume Genius • My blog • Netflix documentaries • Matcha • Button Poetry • Dark chocolate • Matthew 11:28-30 • The Therapy & Theology podcast • My family • “Hannah Hunt” by Vampire Weekend • Steven Furtick sermons • This masterpiece that gave me so much serotonin • Selena Gomez’s album with Benny Blanco • The Google Weather Frog

Now, if you’ll please excuse me, I’m going to be holding my breath until the end of “Stranger Things” debuts.

Off to make a vision board,