Thank You For Your Support: A Personal Recap of 2025

Snow has fallen in my neck of the woods, and I am here writing. The sun is now shining, and I am appreciating the beauty that winter storms bring.

It’s December, the time of year when everyone contemplates the meaning of their lives and anticipates the new year.

This year has been difficult for so many people, not only in the US but also worldwide. It feels like the world is heading in the wrong direction, away from basic human rights, and it makes me freeze in my tracks sometimes.

Despite all that, today, I want to acknowledge you. I want to thank you for reading my writing here and on Medium. Thank you from the bottom of my restless heart for your support. I thank you for reading stories from other writers, too, because, like me, they need to write. And all writers want to be read.

2025, a difficult year

What will 2026 bring? That is a scary thought, sometimes, isn’t it? But we can still hope. We can move and continue to put our hopes into action to improve life for all people, and not allow the crazies to win.

Not all is lost, as they say. Sure, it looks grim sometimes. But we are fighters, survivors. And we will not give up. And we will remain thankful for the good things in our lives.

It’s important to acknowledge that many of us have struggled so much this year. Most of us are in dire need of huge changes that will improve our anxious lives. Many people have lost their jobs, are struggling to find a new one, or are one step away from homelessness. Many are sick and can’t afford medicine, hospital stays, or surgeries. Others are mentally ill; some seek help, and some don’t. Most are angry, and rightly so.

All of us are emotionally exhausted. And some of us couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the holidays. I get it.

Which brings me to where I am these days. 2025 has been one of the worst years of my life (2020 might take the cake!). I’ve been depressed off and on since January. Many days, I’ve struggled to get out of bed. I somehow managed to snap out of my funk, though, to write, publish, and appreciate the beauty around me.

Even though it’s been a hard year, I feel privileged. I have food on my table, running water, a place to call home, a loving man at my side, a small family I love, and so much more – some things that money cannot buy. I’ve been in dire situations in the past; I know what it’s like to struggle, live in debt, and worry about money. I’m a person who wants basic human rights for everyone. No one should lack housing, food, water, and healthcare. I fight for these things and more. I write stories hoping to inspire a better world for all.

I got outside a lot this year and hiked with my partner. We have a goal of hiking all the state parks here in Colorado. I went to potlucks, meetups in the hopes of meeting new people, watched lots of good movies, traveled around my state, read great books and blogged about them, cooked delicious vegan food, and wrote on many topics, in addition to politics and culture in the US.

All of it felt like a temporary escape from the relentless barrage of hell coming from the current White House. Can you relate?

In April, I broke my wrist by falling down the stairs. I didn’t immediately go to the ER because I didn’t want to spend the money. I suffered in horrible pain for three days until I figured I had better get it checked out. Long story short, I had to have surgery to insert a plate in my wrist and then go through months of rehab.

Have you ever had to use only one arm? Or one leg? It sucks. I could not even put on my bra by myself! If there is anything I learned from this awful experience, it is that it gave me full compassion for the disabled, especially those who do not have full access to their limbs.

Holy shit, they are now my heroes!

Once my wrist was healed, I broke my toe at home. It turned blue, so I had it checked out and discovered I had a small fracture. I sobbed. I then cried again in the arms of my partner. Not because of the pain, but because I didn’t need this insanity after healing from my wrist fracture.

The toe thing also added to our medical bills.

On a more personal note, I walked away from a sibling due to her support of the republican party and the U.S. president. I could not allow someone in my life with opposite values and ideologies, or someone who voted against basic human rights for all people. I don’t think there is a future for us.

This makes me very sad, but it is what it is.

On a positive note, I suppose since I write full-time now, I will give myself credit for publishing and writing more than ever this year.

As mentioned earlier, I don’t know what 2026 will bring. There is a tiny bit of hope somewhere deep inside my mind. I will pull it out and hold onto it tightly. Maybe you can, too.

One thing I will do in 2026 is keep writing. It is my mission, my passion, and I have plans, so stick around! Writing is a need that I cannot walk away from. When writers are asked why they write, they respond with the following:

“Writing is my way of expressing – and thereby eliminating – all the various ways we can be wrong-headed.”

– Zadie Smith

“Why does one begin to write? Because she feels misunderstood, I guess. Because it never comes out clearly enough when she tries to speak. Because she wants to rephrase the world, to take it in and give it back again differently, so that everything is used and nothing is lost…”

– Nicole Krauss

I don’t remember deciding to become a writer. You decide to become a dentist or a postman. For me, writing is like being gay. You finally admit that this is who you are, you come out and hope that no one runs away.”

– Mark Haddon

“Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself. It’s a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of his divine discontent.”

– Harper Lee

“I don’t know why I started writing. I don’t know why anybody does it. Maybe they’re bored, or failures at something else.”

– Cormac McCarthy

“Writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence.”

– Gao Xingjian

“I just knew there were stories I wanted to tell.”

– Octavia E. Butler

I can relate to all of these.

From my heart to yours

I sincerely wish you peace, happiness, and a restful holiday season and new year, no matter how you celebrate, or even if you don’t celebrate. If you are stressed about the holidays, here is a reminder of what is important . Do the holidays bring back unresolved pain? You are not alone. Read here on how to reframe those memories.

Thank you for reading my articles and blogs. I appreciate you more than you know.

Sending lots of love from the Rockies.