I’ll say it. Twenty-twenty-five is off to a tough start in more ways than one. I have a couple of confessions I’d like to get off my chest. Last year, I could have done better, and this is by no means a list of resolutions. This is an honest listicle of some haunting truths that some folks can relate to or will make them feel so much better about themselves.
Alright. Let’s get into it.
I really dropped the ball with my Christmas gifts this year. They were not nearly as intentional as I usually hope to be. I gave out a coaster set…more than one coaster set.
I make a lot of spelling errors at miserable times. I am a graphic designer, and I work in marketing and communication. Last year, we did a lot of print media. I may have made a spelling error in at least three pieces of work. What haunts me the most is a name I spelled wrong on a shirt that sold out in our store. I spelled Lilly Library wrong. Several editors didn’t catch the mistake. Maybe it was misplaced trust, but I think about this more often than I should.
I miss having housemates. Listen. I live alone, and while I love it, I miss having housemates. I’ve lived with some pretty great little weirdos, and I miss the shenanigans and knowing that the creaking night sounds are probably them and not someone sneaking into my apartment to kill me.
I ghosted my therapist. Now I know what you’re probably thinking, and you might be right. I do have some coping skills that need work, and therapy would only help. But hear me out, when the therapy scheduling system isn’t automatic, it is very easy to let that shit fall by the wayside. I got busy, and my Mondays at 3 pm got less and less regulated.
I like playing Fortnite unironically. Hear me out. This game is FUN, and yes, I have spent real money. This is also the only way I can talk to some of my friends from college. We’re not the “hopping on the phone and chatting real quick” kind of friends; the idea of calling this man does make me want to throw up a little. But if I were to call this friend to play a round of Fortnite while we only talk about what’s happening in our lives, that is good soup.
Sometimes, I wonder if I’ll ever want a relationship with someone. Twenty-twenty-four was a tough year regarding relationships for me. I was dating this girl, and for the first time, I understood what people meant when they said they had a spark. We’d gone on a slew of dates, and I thought that just maybe I didn’t want to be seeing other people. That’s when she told me she was seeing someone else and that it was going better. Brutal. But honest, which I always appreciate. I’m still dating and going on dates, but sometimes I wonder if I will ever want a relationship again. I value my peace, my space, and the life I’ve built for myself. Adding someone and making them a part of my life will change these things. Also, hear me out, rejection sucks.
I’m in so much debt. School, sleep debt, etc. Fun times. I should have listened more during my high school’s Dave Ramsey math unit.
I bought about twenty plants at the beginning of last year…all of them are dead. Including a huge elephant ear plant; it’s just a stalk now.
Every year I get older, my first thought is almost always, “Well, one less year to do something amazing to get on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.” This thought feels wildly selfish and narcissistic to me, but it’s honest. I don’t know when achievement and recognition for achievement became so subconsciously important to me. It could be around the time I first got recognized for something. I know this is not where my worth or the worth of my work comes from. But there’s something so seductive about a public list of folks to watch. However, recently, I told one of my best friends that this was an intrusive thought of mine, and she said, “NO WAY, ME TOO.” Thanks, Kels; you’re on my “Forbes Under 30” list.
And I’ll end this with…I am wildly avoidant.
New year, new me? That’s what the kids are saying, right? Hopefully, I will be a better read, more politically active, old me with new jeans and better coping skills. Cheers.

Izzy Nunez graduated from Calvin in 2022 after studying graphic design and sociology. Today she lives in Durham, North Carolina where she is a graphic designer for Duke University. She is growing to love Durham and all its southern charm even if she complains that its breakfast choices aren’t as good as they are in the Grand Rapids.