January 1, 2026
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
Picasso
I used to methodically reflect on past years — assessing my performance across dimensions, scoring each category, summarizing with letter grades. I wanted clarity, intention, and accountability. I brought the same level of rigor from work into my personal life. For many years, it served me well.
Now, on the first day of January 2026, I reflect on 2025 as a great year. Most of my goals revolved around surviving in this season of life: single parenthood to two young kids, evolving myself toward a higher sense of self in service of others, and to trying to stay afloat professionally in an intellectually honest way, redeeming some hard-earned poker chips in the process.
And as I turn toward 2026: I hope to exit the year with health and peace for myself and my family, unconditional love and patience for my kids who continue to be my best teachers, unwavering commitment to the people who have entrusted me professionally, and a bit more wisdom and compassion than I started the year with. It may not sound like much, but to me, it’s everything.