As we turn the corner onto 2025, I wanted to take a moment to reflect and let you in on some of the things that have gone on this year for me. Some have been positive, some more difficult to handle but, along the way, I’ve learned a lot, so I thought it was worth sharing.

Health

Health has been a prominent topic of the year. I personally had some health stuff I was figuring out for the first half of 2024. It was something that led to a significant amount of stress and worry. When I finally was nearing the end of that, Mike ended up needing emergency surgery. There were also other health issues within the family but those aren’t my stories to tell. In general, it felt like life was hitting myself and those I love repeatedly. I recall one day where, after a particularly difficult few weeks (I’ll get into more on that in a moment), I stood in the shower just thinking that things had to get better. If they didn’t, I wasn’t sure I could understand how to be happy as a person given how much life was throwing at me.

This whole subject made me reflect on how short life is and how precious our health is – when it’s gone (either by permanent change or temporary illness), we really notice how much we take it for granted. I’ve personally already set myself some health goals and targets to reach in 2025 – not out of fear but out of trying to take sensible action to a healthier me.

Experiencing Grief

I was raised, in part, by my grandparents. I come from a family where my parents still had to work a fair amount throughout my childhood to be able to support the household, so I often went to my ‘Nan’ and ‘Grampa’s’ house after school or during holidays while my parents weren’t home to watch me. The three of us would go on holidays together, days out or simply to walk on the local beaches. I also used to spend Boxing Day at their house for a second Christmas of sorts.

In May of this year, my grandfather passed away quite suddenly. He hadn’t been brilliantly well in recent years, but I don’t think anyone expected it. The last loss I directly experienced within our family was in 2003, when I was seven years old, so it felt like a fresh experience. My mother and I, in no way, expected my grandmother -his wife of 60 years- to deal with things so we stepped up. We planned the funeral, helped her (and continue to help her) at home and did anything else that was needed. I also decided to return to work soon after as I felt like I needed to still be busy.

It was around six weeks later, when everything had settled, that things felt heavier. This time coincided with Mike coming back from hospital after the surgery and me finally getting some answers about the health thing I was worrying about. This feeling honestly made me understand everything I never had previously about grief. I was always someone who wanted to race through life, to ignore my feelings as best as I could until they disappeared and never resurfaced. This time was different. I felt hopeless because I’d lost faith in the world – why do humans have to experience everything constantly going wrong? I felt angry because I had a falling out with someone I thought was my friend around this time (unrelated to my situation, a separate issue) – couldn’t they see that I was struggling and just have some compassion rather than having a go at me? I also felt lost – my mind kept jumping to days at the beach as a child, playing ball games with my grandfather or funny times during summer with a tiny paddling pool in their back garden. None of it felt real, like some kind of warped dream that never happened. I’d be lying if I told you that writing this section wasn’t difficult as all of these emotions are still new to me too.

Something I’ve taken away from this is the strong realisation that I need a lot more space than I allow myself. I need the time to be away from other people, screens and generally, the outside world, to process and understand my emotions. I used to be good at that with activities like journalling so will be taking that understanding about myself into 2025 and beyond.

Getting Serious About Wedding Planning

On a more positive note, 2025 is the year Mike and I finally get married. It will have been 13 years since we first met. With that, comes the final stages of planning. We organised almost all of our major plans quickly after getting engaged. With a modest budget, we understood that there wasn’t much time to delay in order to secure the date at a price point we were comfortable with (waiting longer could mean being subject to price rises or package changes). The end of 2024 brought the very real parts – my make up trial, giving notice at the local register office and designing table décor. It still doesn’t feel real to me that I’ll be heading to my dress fitting in spring 2025 but I’m really excited.

A conversation I’ve had with Mike is about how I want us both to be as present as we possibly can be during this time – we’ll only experience this part of our lives once, so I want to fully live it.

The Sensation of Time Passing

As is clear by some of the articles on this site, I have a love for nostalgia. Looking back brings me a lot of joy, whether it be thinking about celebrity culture of the time or using a piece of tech I’ve picked up from that era. 2024 was the year that I truly noticed a shift in the world. While I’m a younger millennial, I personally feel a huge disconnect from those younger than me today. Fashion doesn’t appeal to me, music just doesn’t sound good, and I find myself leaning into what has always entertained or suited me. I no longer feel the need to adapt and follow the crowd towards things that don’t truly reflect my likes, dislikes and personal style. I also can’t help but smile when I see the older of gen alpha talking about enjoying music styles that were last popular back in around 2008 – one of my favourite years for style and culture.

I suppose, where I’m going with this is, it can sometimes be scary to understand how fast time moves but I’m also in a position of acknowledging what works and doesn’t work for me now. This, in turn, has strengthened my own personal identity which can only be a good thing in my mind.

Coming Back to Learning

Throughout the pandemic, I spent my time learning how to build and maintain this site and, once I’d reached a particular level of proficiency (enough to know what to do but understand when to ask for help) I felt like I just wanted to enjoy life for a while. As much as I have always loved learning, I took a break to do whatever I wanted hobby-wise. I also changed jobs and had other ‘life admin’ type stuff come up that meant I needed to focus on those.

Now, in 2024, I’ve found myself hungry to learn again. In the summertime, friends kindly taught me crochet and, slowly, I’ve been able to grow my skills with it.  More recently, I decided to investigate some other forms of learning (I won’t detail them here as they link to a bigger project). Overall, I’m glad I gave myself the break and feel it’s important to understand when it’s time to give the mind a rest in between big learning ventures. From that break, I’ve been able to come back with a true enthusiasm to learn.

Conclusion – 2024 Year in Review

As 2024 ends, I find myself reflecting on a year filled with challenges, growth, and new beginnings. From navigating health scares and the sudden loss of a loved one to embracing moments of joy and excitement like wedding planning, this year has taught me invaluable lessons about resilience, self-care, and the importance of being present. I’ve come to appreciate the fleeting nature of time, learning to embrace the person I’ve become while letting go of past pressures to conform. I’ve also rediscovered the joy of learning, balancing periods of rest with the drive to push forward. Looking ahead to 2025, I’m filled with hope and gratitude, eager to continue evolving, pursuing health goals, deepening relationships, and living more fully in the moment. Life may be unpredictable, but the lessons learned this year have given me the strength to face whatever comes next with a renewed sense of purpose.