A lot can happen in a year.
In many ways 2025 has been a good one for me. When I sat down to do reflection and goal-setting, I could think of many more positives than negatives. But the highlights were mostly little glimmers, while the lows were big and all-encompassing.
How many poppies and fields of sunflowers does it take to outweigh a death, or months of pain and exhaustion? Does that calculus even work? I’m normally pretty sympathetic to the idea of aggregate utility, but so far the goods haven’t outweighed the bads, or vice versa. They just sit uncomfortably together, refusing to simplify.
And I guess that’s okay. I don’t have to say it was a good year, or a bad one. I can just let it be. So, without trying to come to any conclusion, here were some of the biggest highs and lows:
Highlights 🔗
- Getting to know my new nibling! Welcome to the world, little one ❤️
- Fields of sunflowers on the neighbouring farm… and being given a bunch for my birthday
- Rogaining in Christchurch
- Taking violin lessons and playing/performing in a public recital
- Multiple amazing museum/gallery visits:
- Taking my mum to the Century of Modern Art exhibit in Auckland. Mondrian, Monet, Modigliani… and a new favourite painting, The Shepherds Star by Jules Breton
- Going to the Ancient Worlds gallery at Auckland Museum, and finding examples of ancient Egyptian pottery I’d been reading about in archaeology journals
- Visiting the Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities in Christchurch. Highlights were a limestone relief of Ptah-Hotep and the canus mosaic
- Taking myself to Melbourne Museum. Incredible fossils, crystals, and an amazing exhibit on the Galloway Hoard
- Helping tile a friend’s bathroom
- Getting a new passport
- EAGx in Melbourne + my first afterparty
- Making new romantic connections
- Learning to swim!
- Running with kangaroos in Australia
- Growing poppies and daisies in my garden
- Making progress at the gym— and finally deadlifting my own bodyweight!
- Raising over $1.2M through EA NZ
- Visiting the ‘halfway down Dominion Road’ plaque
- Getting better at saying no
- My sister’s new insulin pump and CGM. Thank you Pharmac!
- So many good books
Lowlights 🔗
- The USAID cuts
- My friend Gabby’s death
- Struggling to find affordable/long-term housing
- Dealing with multiple health issues:
- [suspected] endometriosis
- gastric ulcer
- chronic pain and fatigue
- vitamin D deficiency
- anaemia
- B12 deficiency
- far too many colds/flus
- Missing the EA Summit (and many other things) because I was sick
- My mum’s head injury
- Two extended family members living with cancer
- Lots of long exhausting travel
- Low turnout at an event series I ran in Auckland. My [ex]boyfriend was often the only attendee
- Generally feeling stuck and behind in life