So many things are happening everywhere at the same time, and it can be overwhelming. It IS overwhelming. There are days when I truly have to fight to get up and do my day. Sometimes, hopelessness sneaks in, but I know I must keep getting up and putting my heart out there. This is okay to feel at this moment; it’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed.

Well, we made it (sorta?). 2024 was no joke, and I have a feeling 2025 is going to be challenging for a myriad of reasons. I am a fatally optimistic person, so I have some ideas on how to get through what I feel will be a tricky year—a year where even more buttons will be pushed and we will be challenged in ways that we didn’t anticipate. I still think that after all of this, we will come out better people in the end.