2025 Recap
A.K.A: bunch of excusesā¦ and some pictures āŗļø
At the beginning of this year, I shared my very realistic 2025 goals here on Substack ā and that post ended up being a āviralā one. It had over 100 likes and lots of comments ( I consider that to be a viral post here).
Now 2025 is technically āover.ā I mean, weāve all gotten our different app wraps (I even heard thereās a ChatGPT wrap š). So I think itās only fair that I share how the year actually went, since I shared the goals here.
I wrote this on the 10th of December, but was too lazy to edit. It basically took me 18 days to get this tiny essay out. So please, like comment and share. Love youuu š«¶
Go outside
One of my biggest goals this year was to say yes to more plans and leave my house more.
Did I do that? Yes.
Was it as much as I expected? No. š
When I wrote that goal, I imagined myself going out 2 - 3 times a week (I donāt know what I was thinking š). I was extremely busy, and my pocket was not smiling. So going out that often wasnāt possible.
But I still did way better than last year and thatās a win. More of this next year please.
Dress better
Last year I didnāt put in much effort into my appearance, and I said Iād do better this year.
I didnāt do shit. š
I failed woefully here. Even though I dressed up more than in 2024, I still wouldnāt say I ādressed better.ā I was lazy about my appearance.
But the good thing is: I invested in jewelry and I fell in love with it. Now I feel weird going out without wearing some, which is definitely progress.
We could have definitely done better. I want to see more in 2026
Prioritize skincare
My skin behaved for most of the year. Even when I wasnāt doing much skincare, I still liked how it looked. It cooperated with me, and I loved it! Toward the end of the year, I became more serious and consistent, and it responded well to that too. Whatever happened with my skin this year, I want even better next year.
Buy more books
My goal was to buy at least 12 books this year. I ended up buying only 3 ā and my excuse was delivery fees (I know, I know š„²).
But honestly, thatās still progress, especially because they were my first physical copies. Iāll do better next year.
Read more
If thereās any goal I failed at the most, itās this one.
I didnāt really read. I read a lot of academic books (which wasnāt what I meant when I wrote this goal), but maybe that still counts? š
I went through different reading slumps and didnāt even reach 30 books ā meanwhile, the goal was 100 š. But considering I prepared for four brutal exams, I donāt blame myself. I had more serious reading to do.
Iām not setting a reading goal next year. Weāll just see how it goes.
Save money
I didnāt save shishi šš. I might have even entered debt ā but letās not talk about that.
Eat more fruits
I failed woefully here too. I even forgot it was one of my goals until now. š„²
We move next year.
Journal
Oh boy, I outdid myself here!!
I journaled so much ā different books, my journal app, my notes app, even audio journaling. I went through a lot this year( thanks to everyone who contributed to this, my God will judge you āŗļø), and I wrote through so many of those moments.
It was so beautiful going back and seeing the different phases I passed through. Iām grateful for this. More of it in 2026.
1k subscribers on Substack
And we did it!! š„¹
Even with my inconsistency, I hit 1k thanks to you guys. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. š¤
Be a good person
I wanted to improve my character this year ā and honestly, I think I tried. The devil tried to use me several times, but I refused. Iām proud of me.
Other goals I didnāt write here but achieved
Take more pictures:
I took so many pictures this year and I love it. I look at my gallery and think, āWow, see fine babe!ā More of this in 2026.
Graduate:
The way I feared final year ehn? But nothing went wrong. I graduated ā and Iām so happy. And let me just say: life after school is sweet! Donāt let anyone lie to you!š¤I wake up smiling because thereās no class, no test, no exam, no result waiting to shock me.
The only downside is not having money, and thatās not really an issue for me. I spend less now that Iām at home, since food and photocopy/printing is what I spend most of my money on in school. I no longer have to spend on those.š¤
Clear all my professional exams:
This was huge ā and I passed. š„¹
Travel somewhere new:
I actually traveled to two new places this year.
Honestly, I think I did good. Iām not mad at this at all.
What about you? How was your year? Whatās one major thing you wanted to achieve and did? Share with me in the comments.
Seeing your recap reminded me that Iāve been downplaying my own year too. It wasnāt perfect, but it was full. Thank you for sharing this, it genuinely pushed me to finish my own recap and put it out there.
And we actually did a lot this yearāfrom uni stress to professional exams, to graduating and induction, all side by side.
More wins for us in the coming years, babe āØā¤ļø
well done sis, funny how I can remember your goals. I stumbled on the post few months ago, it reminded me that I set goals at the beginning of the year š„²
congratulations on your induction also, sorry it's coming late. what. a year