2025: What a ride. Pretty much all year, whenever someone would ask me how I was doing, the answer was always something along the lines of, “micro: pretty good; macro: not so great.” There’s a lot going on in the world, and I’m doing my best to stay informed and do my part in making things even just a little better.
But personally, it was a year of positive growth, change, and connection. And that’s what I’ll focus on in this recap.
By the numbers
I read 12 books. My favorite of the year was Death’s End by Liu Cixin, the third and final installment of the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy, following The Three-Body Problem and The Dark Forest (which I read in 2021 and 2024, respectively).
I ran 431 miles across 106 runs, including one race: the Catamount Climb Half Marathon in April (my fourth time running it!). I gained 18,843 feet of elevation and spent 84 hours and 57 minutes running.
I joined the comma club for strength training on Peloton (meaning I’ve done over 1,000 strength workouts on the platform). This year, I completed 102 weight training workouts and spent 75 hours and 41 minutes pumping iron or my bodyweight (and stretching afterwards).
I didn’t hike as much as I would have liked this year, but I did manage to accomplish a hiking goal I set for myself, which was to hike the entire Western Carolina University trail system in one go. Happily, I did that first thing on January 1.
Work
The big news is that I was laid off from my job as Associate Director of Customer Success at Meetup. Meetup was acquired in January 2024 and I knew I was going to be laid off eventually, but I didn’t know when; and in May 2025, I learned that my last day of work would be Halloween 2025.
Because I knew it was coming for so long, I was able to soul-search, plan, and quietly execute my plan for what I’m calling Career Part II. I decided not to go back to public health (what’s left of it) or stay in the tech or community industry and instead learn a trade: gemology. I started taking classes and even finagled my way into an apprenticeship at an established and respected local modernist jewelry gallery, Hamilton Hill! I started in mid-November and am happy to report that I survived the holiday season in retail. In 2026, I’ll be taking more classes toward my Graduate Gemologist diploma and learning more on the job.
I’m also still slingin’ jewelry over at TAFF Jewelry Co. on Instagram and Poshmark, but have been focusing on the j-o-b (though yes, they complement each other).
Travel
2025 kicked off with my 40th birthday celebration in Puerto Rico! While there, we hung out at the beach, in Old Town San Juan, and even went on a hiking and body rafting adventure on (in!) Rio Tanamá. It was the perfect destination for the middle of winter with a great group of revelers.
In February, Richie and I went to San Francisco for the Glaucoma Research Foundation’s annual gala. I ended up not going to the gala, but happily explored SF and caught up with friends and family. I especially loved visiting Lang Antique Jewelry and seeing the Kathleen Ryan installation at ICA SF.
In May, we visited Boston for a friend’s celebration of life. While the circumstances were sad, it had been so long since I had returned to my college stomping grounds and it was great to be back. I did a lot of window shopping on Newbury Street, walked through Northeastern’s campus, and visited one of my favorite museums, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
After a series of medical complications, my dad’s mom died at the end of May, just shy of her 97th birthday. In June, I made the trip to attend her funeral in Fresno and stopped in Phoenix on the way to visit family and pick up my brother for the journey. I wasn’t particularly close with my abuela, but she was my last living grandparent, which felt significant. It was nice to see my cousins and be there for my dad, but the best thing about this trip was getting to spend some quality time with my brother. I visit Phoenix a couple times a year, but we hadn’t gotten any real 1:1 sibling time in years. We now have a new set of inside jokes that will last us a while.
One of my buddies from grad school moved to Seattle a few years ago, and Richie and I finally made good on our promise to visit her and her husband there in July. We lucked out with the most beautiful weather, and our friends were incredible tour guides. Highlights included Anacortes and Deception Pass State Park, Washington Park Arboretum, and exploring on foot (both running and walking). We also met up with other friends in the area for coffee, cocktails, and vintage shopping.
We visited St. Louis in September, and while I had been there twice before, those were work trips that didn’t give me a lot of time to explore. This trip was to see Richie’s team of specialists at WashU, and we managed to see more of the city. I especially enjoyed exploring Forest Park and sampling the fare at the food hall at City Foundry.
Finally, we ventured to Phoenix for Halloween, which is something I’ve been wanting to do ever since our oldest niece was born. We decided to do a group costume and the girls picked witches and wizards, which was great, especially trick-or-treating in their neighborhood as a big coven.
Looking Forward
Now that my work schedule is less flexible and in-person in Durham, I have to be really intentional about how I spend my free time. I have to make a concerted effort to take Gloria for her walks (Rosie is a homebody) and get my workouts in before I start work, and we can’t escape to the mountains and work from there as often as we did before I started my apprenticeship (well, Richie still can, but he needs a ride). But that’s part of the deal when you start something new, right? I’m already learning so much and having a blast—I’m excited for more of that in 2026! I’m also excited to see what career goals take shape as I learn more about the possibilities in gemology and the jewelry industry.
I’m also continuing to focus on community—whether it be with my neighbors, through friendships near and far, contributing on the board of the nonprofit Uncomplicated Kitchen, and through mutual aid during a time when more and more people need it because of policies that directly harm them.
You can take the girl out of community (as a job), but she will always work to cultivate and nurture it as joy, resistance, and resilience! Let’s go, 2026.
