2025: What My Word Meant for Me

Every year, I pick a word to guide me. Nothing fancy, just something to remind me of the direction I want my life to lean. For 2025, I chose SOAR.

Honestly, it felt a little ridiculous at the time. I picked a word about rising and freedom and big energy while I was starting the year feeling completely weighed down.

Work was draining the life out of me. I was burned out, overwhelmed, and scared to leave because, well, bills exist. On top of that, I was holding a lot emotionally. My son was going through a divorce and figuring out single parenting from an entire continent away. My daughter felt so far from me, and I kept wondering what I could have done differently to stay connected. And somewhere in all of that, I was navigating the guilt of letting myself be happy with someone new while still grieving the husband who had been my anchor and my biggest supporter.

So if we’re being honest, I didn’t feel like someone who was ready to soar. I felt like someone who was just trying to keep her head above water. But the word stuck with me anyway.

Then June came.

And I jumped.

I quit the job. I launched a business. I changed the plan a few times. I had moments where everything clicked and I felt proud of what I was building. And I had moments where it all felt shaky and uncertain.

But here’s what I’ve learned this year: Soaring isn’t always graceful. It’s not a perfect flight. Sometimes it’s a messy takeoff, a sudden dip, or a moment where you swear you’re falling.

Some days I absolutely felt like I embodied SOAR. Other days I felt like I dropped straight out of the sky.

But I kept going and I kept trying. I kept choosing the version of myself who wanted more than she had at the beginning of this year.

SOAR wasn’t about flying high all the time. It was about saying yes to myself even when I was scared. Trusting the jump even when I didn’t know where I’d land. Letting go of the stories that made me feel stuck.

And before I choose my word for 2026, I needed to acknowledge this:

Even with the ups and downs, even with the pivots and the hard days, I did soar. Maybe not in the way I imagined, but definitely in the way I needed.