Quiet Lessons from 2025
It’s hard to believe that we’re approaching the end of 2025 and, somehow, still no flying cars. So much has happened this year: Donald Trump was inaugurated, Labubus rose to prominence, Katy Perry went to space, and hundreds of other headlines.
For me, however, 2025 was mostly about growing up in quieter, more unexpected ways. I finished my sophomore year studying abroad in Paris, turned 20, started my junior year, moved into my first “big girl” apartment, and somehow managed to visit 13 new countries along the way. It sounds exciting when I list it out, but most of the growth didn’t come from the big moments; it came from the in-between ones.
Looking back on the year, a few lessons stand out as having truly shifted my perspective on myself, the people around me, and the world. There’s always more growing to do, but these are the lessons that stayed with me as I entered my twenties and stepped into a new chapter.
1. Learning to Enjoy My Own Company
“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.”
If you had told me a year ago that one of my favorite hobbies would be going to museums alone or showing up to workout classes on my own, I would’ve been shocked. But learning the true value of alone time is easily the most important thing I took away from 2025.
Starting the year abroad played a huge role in this. I arrived in Paris in mid-January knowing only two other people, and for the first time since coming to college, I had my own room. Don’t get me wrong, I met so many people and formed new bonds, but schedules didn’t always align. Instead of waiting around, I started doing things on my own. I took myself on solo museum trips, café dates, long walks through parks, and even solo trips to new countries. It’s surprising how much you learn about yourself when you take the time to sit with your own thoughts. Being alone in those moments never felt lonely; it felt intentional.
That mindset stayed with me when I returned to New York, whether it was wandering through MoMA while listening to music, taking myself to a Broadway show, or walking into a workout class alone. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself is to choose your own company.
2. It’s Never Too Late to Change Things
“No wind favors the ship that has no direction.”
When I came back to New York after being abroad, I realized I wasn’t really an active member of any clubs at NYU, since I spent most of my time outside of class working. At first, I told myself it was embarrassing to start joining things “now,” as a junior, as if there were some invisible deadline for growth.
But that mindset is exactly what keeps people stuck. It’s like putting off a big assignment; you tell yourself you’ll do it later, but “later” usually turns into never. In a city that never pauses, waiting for the “right time” just means watching life keep moving without you. This year taught me that it’s never too late to try something new, but it’s very easy to talk yourself out of starting.
3. It’s Okay to Lose Friends
“Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.”
For a long time, I held onto certain friendships simply because they were long-standing. There was shared history and comfort; we knew so much about each other and shared countless memories. But over time, some of those relationships started to feel more like obligations than genuine connections.
Something no one really tells you about college is that you suddenly lose a lot of friends in your junior year. This year taught me that it’s okay to grow out of people. It’s okay not to be friends with everyone. If you leave every interaction feeling worse about yourself, something is off. A friendship shouldn’t drain you just because it once had significance. It’s okay to walk away; people grow, change, and sometimes grow apart.
As you get older, quality matters more than quantity. Time is too valuable to spend with people you don’t genuinely enjoy being around. I often remind myself that some people are only meant to be in certain chapters of my life.
4. Rest Is Not Wasted Time
“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
The city that never sleeps never really stops moving. Especially within NYU culture, a school filled with overachievers, and NYC culture more generally, it’s easy to feel like you always have to be doing, producing, or moving forward. Rest starts to feel like laziness instead of something necessary.
I used to feel guilty on days when I hadn’t been productive, even if rest was exactly what I needed.
But rest is not wasted time. It is fuel. Taking a day off, staying in, or doing nothing are the moments that make it possible to keep going. You are not lazy for needing rest. You are human. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is take a step back and reset.
5. Learning to Show Up Instead of Being Shy
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
Confidence changes everything. At some point this year, I realized something oddly freeing: no one is paying as much attention to you as you think they are. Especially in New York, a city of over 8.5 million people, everyone is far too busy living their own lives to be scrutinizing yours. Once I internalized that, so much pressure lifted. I stopped overthinking how I was being perceived and started focusing on how I wanted to show up.
This realization hit especially hard after I received feedback during a casual coffee chat that I came across as timid. When I told my mom, she pointed out how strange it was to describe “me” and “shy” in the same sentence. She was right.
Showing up confidently, whether in interviews, class discussions, presentations, or conversations, matters more than having the perfect words. Confidence carries you. And once you stop worrying about how you’re being perceived, you actually start showing up as yourself.
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A reminder I kept coming back to this year: what you are not changing, you are choosing.
I’m not here to give life advice. These are just five things that helped me grow in 2025, quietly, imperfectly, and in ways I didn’t expect. I’m entering 2026 with so much still to learn, and I’m excited to see what comes next.
