A year in review

2025 Has Been a Wild Ride. This year has been one for the books, a book that belongs on the shelf. I’d like to put the onslaught behind me.

The terror known as 2025 included the horrors of the inauguration of Trump 2.0, the collective rage about health care after the United Health Care CEO was shot in late December 2024, and a systematic and sinister dismantling of our federal government via Project 2025. If that was not enough, under the current orange maniac’s regime, we are moving towards an all-out race war carried out by ICE. On a personal level, the year has also been hellish. I found myself stuck in a big home that I could not afford, which I sold at a loss after much drama and dismay. In April, I was laid off from one of my all-time favorite jobs. In other places, I found myself too committed to projects to back out, and exhausted from my own sense of loyalty. Largely I have been operating this year under a sense of the blues.

Over the years, I have honed practices to ground me when times get difficult. As I am getting ready to send 2025 away, I turn to these as part of my annual reflection. I write good moments and put them in my happiness jar and I journal nearly every day. From these two tools, I reflect back on the highs and lows of the year, as I take cues on what to plan ahead.

Bike Bounty

Adventures by bike made a strong showing in my happiness jar. Bike riding, and the community around it are consistently bringing me joy. This year, I was happy to see fellow artist and cyclist behind the BikeDork zine selling merchandise. I also returned to New Orleans for the World Naked Bike Ride. This year, the crew from Atlanta was around 20 cyclists, up from just three of us in 2024.

I entered my first bike race, an alley cat, this year. Points were issued by marking off places on a bingo card, with sites chosen based on monuments and mementos for women in the city. I found myself lucky that the race seemed beginner-friendly. I managed to join with a bad-ass woman who excels at GPS. She plotted us to points; I won some Red Bike& Green bike socks. We all had fun!

Book Clubbers

The only club I attended this year was a book club. In fact, I inadvertently started two clubs of readers. My first group of unbridled enthusiastic book nerds became closely knit and not ready to take on casual readers. I realized in our December meeting that we can serve as an anecdote to the big ugly overpowering forces of capitalism. I noticed that the majority of this crew of readers has a graduate degree, and are involved in works making the world a better place. Together, I feel we are like the Earthseed community in the Parable of the Sower; we grow the future by sharing humanity through literature. I have always wanted to read with a small group of friends and for me this group is an absolute dream come to fruition. Together, we feel seen, learn nuances, and consider alternatives to our status quo.

3. Artsy Aspirations

I have had the unexpected privilege of seeing a variety of shows this year. While I normally don’t always have tons of disposable income, I have worked some meaningful shows into my budget. I saw Sammy Obeid, a Palestinian comedian with a crew of irreverent friends. I watched an afro-futurist play, enjoyed an 18+ puppet show, a one-woman play, and some standup comedy. I also performed twice this year: a soliloquy at Joy Deficit, and two of my own poems at the Soap Box Gallery. The last show I watched was a clown show at Dynamic El Dorado. It was a timely reminder that absurdism can create powerful parody in these times.

4. Nature & People

Nature has long been a balm for my soul. In my happiness jar, two of my camp trips were rainy. Although wet, they were still a pleasant relief from city life. Thanks to my favorite adventure partner, I had a surprise hike along the East Palisades trail. It was a surprise because I cannot believe I’ve lived in Atlanta the majority of my life without having trekked along the Chattahoochee like that. While I was doing my visits in nature, the trees and scenes reminded me that we people are like plants.

We thrive by reciprocal care. I realized that I am done with one-way relationships where I’m the only one doing the watering. The emotional work of caring for one another is watering. Together, this the work of love; it comes from reciprocity of effort and attention. I found that in many places, I was doing the heavy lifting alone. In the upcoming year, I am done with treks across town to feel ignored and unseen. Forget it. I learned long ago that it is much better to be alone than to be with the wrong company. I am grateful for the plants who reminded me: Draining your own power is a sin unto yourself.

With these few insights and lessons from 2025, I move with excitement towards 2026. In good news, I note that as a Fulton County voter in District 2, I finally have a representative who represents my values! While my personal world and the conundrums in political affairs have pushed me towards the edges of my capacity, I still remember that we are more than the absolute disgust of 2025.

Trump 2.0 can continue to baffle us with stupidity, criminality, and callous inhumanity. Nonetheless, there are those of us that will continue to remember the efforts of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. We may be disappointed by western imperialism and the hypocrisy of colonialists, but still there are folks willing to get back on boats and demand reciprocal relationships, with their government, from their friends, and towards Earth.