Thank You, 2025. You Changed My Life.

Thinking about 2025 feels emotional in the best way.

I know so many people have said this year was hard. And while I won’t pretend mine didn’t start out rough, I can honestly say this has been one of my favorite years of my life.

Because this was the year everything changed.

This was the year I quit my job.
I walked away from the comfortable 9–5, the steady paycheck, the pension, and coworkers who had become friends. I chose to listen to the quiet, persistent voice in my gut that had been calling me toward something different for years. Something I worked toward every single day, even when I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to follow through.

Something shifted in me when I got pregnant the second time. I could feel it in my body before I could explain it in words. Motherhood didn’t just change my schedule or priorities, it changed my entire being. It made me stronger. It made my intuition louder. It made it impossible to ignore the truth that I didn’t have to keep living a life that no longer fit.

And for a long time, I tried to talk myself out of wanting more.

I told myself I had it good. That I should be happy. And I was grateful. Deeply grateful for what I had built and where I was. But underneath that gratitude was a quiet dread. A feeling that I was going through the motions, slowly disconnecting from myself. I felt like my soul was being drained while I smiled through it.

I knew that kind of living wouldn’t just affect me. It would affect my children too. A mom who looks happy on the outside can only fake it for so long.

This decision didn’t come easily.
There were hard conversations with my husband. There were tears. Therapy. Doubt. Fear. And then in March, I did something that scared me to my core. I traveled solo to Florida for a photography retreat.

I almost canceled. More than once. I almost canceled the night before.

But something in me knew I needed to go.

That trip was transformative. I met women who were living the life I wanted. Women who didn’t have it all figured out, but were brave enough to try. Women who showed me that everything I wanted was possible, even if it felt far away.

When I came home, my husband said the words I had been waiting to hear:
“I think you should quit your job.”

I didn’t hesitate. I went back to work the next day and signed the papers. I was terrified. Leaving stability when you have a family feels paralyzing. But that inner voice wouldn’t let me stop. It wouldn’t let me shrink back into comfort.

The day I left, I sobbed.

I was saying goodbye to people I had worked alongside every single day. People I had been through life with. People I had trauma-bonded with through long days, hard moments, and shared experiences. They wouldn’t be fully in my life anymore.

But the excitement outweighed the sadness.

For the first time a long time, I felt like I was finally stepping into my own life.

That first month on my own, I hit my goal.
When I saw the numbers, I froze. I did it. That was the proof I needed to believe in myself in a way I never had before.

But even better than the numbers, I started to find myself again.

I feel lighter. There are days I’m so happy it feels unreal. The tears now are tears of joy.

I get slow mornings with my boys. Days where I’m fully present. Evenings where I still have energy to give. I get to be the mom I always wanted to be while they’re still little and still really need me.

I get spontaneous coffee dates with friends on random weekdays. Date nights with my husband where I’m not mentally drained. Time to sit still. Time to do nothing. Time to pursue hobbies. And most of the time, I don’t feel guilty about it.

This year wasn’t just a chapter.
It was the goal.

And I reached it.

I will always be grateful for the journey, for the courage to keep going, and for the change I see not only in myself, but in my children too.

So thank you, 2025.
You didn’t just meet me where I was.
You showed me who I was meant to become.