"What the #$&@!?"

Looking back on the past year, it was a year of many difficulties in all aspects of my life: personal and professional, online and offline. My mental health reached lows that it hadn't seen in the better part of a decade, and there were times when I struggled to see reasons to continue living. However, the year ended on an upswing after starting a new depression treatment, and after much soul searching and time of reflection, I am ready and raring to face 2025 with renewed vigor and interest. As we go into 2025, there are three words that I want to assign as the theme of the new year: This mantra, which was taught to me by my therapist, represents my intention as I enter the new year to commit to finding value in the things I bring into my life, in the actions and behaviors I commit myself to, and, perhaps most importantly, in myself. If I am doing an activity that is not bringing me value, or that I do not find value in, I pledge to reexamine my commitment to that activity, and to reassess whether I need to continue keeping that activity in my life. I will commit my effort to the pursuit of new avenues to find purpose and passion in the way I am spending my time. I will focus on the relationships and partnerships that I value, and will be an equal part of maintaining those relationships and partnerships. Every year, I set intentions for myself, and I continue to lose sight of those intentions as the year moves on. However, I hope that these three simple words— which boil down to two simple concepts: commitment and value— will be easy enough for me to hold onto throughout the course of 2025.