Rays and Days

They say what crosses your mind in the quietest hour of the night is the most honest truth. If that’s the case, then I must admit: 2025 was a tough year. So much happened—the fun parts, the exhausting parts, the joyful parts, and the deeply vulnerable ones. There were times I laughed freely in crowded rooms. There were times I screamed silently in the very same rooms I once enjoyed. I cried in the car. I bawled at my desk. I sobbed in bed. I wept in the bathroom. Peak quarter-life crisis, isn’t it? Have you noticed how every light is always accompanied by shadow? How the sun must set so the moon can have its time to shine? Here are my personal takeaways from 2025—both the beautiful and the painful. *** 1) Be Brave There is a rare kind of privilege in being tired from building the life you want—and that exhaustion is worth every unpaid minute. A simple “yes” turned into something unimaginable. I was incredibly grateful when someone scouted me to join their hackathon team. I ...