A New Year Reflection

This past year has been shaped by both loss and learning, often in the same stride.

Losing my father altered my relationship with time. Some days it compresses everything; other days it opens unexpected rooms of memory. I miss him constantly, yet I am also aware of how present he remains in conversation, in story, and in the ways we continue to speak his name. There is something quietly sustaining in that, and something worth tending to.

Alongside grief, this year also required more of me than I anticipated. I completed my Positive Psychology studies with a distinction and 100%, was invited and paid to speak about my research, and am now developing that work into both a journal article and a white paper. These milestones were not simply professional achievements; they were acts of meaning-making during a period when meaning felt especially vital. They gave shape and structure at a time when much felt unsteady.

I welcomed the new year with Stranger Things, a story that has accompanied me through several challenging chapters of my life. This time, it offered more than comfort. It sharpened questions, highlighted patterns, and began to influence the direction my research now wishes to take, deepening my interest in narrative, memory, and the ways stories help us live alongside what cannot be repaired.

As this year turns, I find myself returning more fully to client work, not as a reset or a fresh start, but as a continuation. My work as a therapist has always been shaped by story, by listening closely, and by sitting alongside complexity without rushing it toward resolution. Grief has not taken that away. If anything, it has deepened my capacity to stay, to attend, and to hold what is unfinished with care.

These experiences continue to shape how I work both therapeutically and academically, strengthening my commitment to narrative, meaning-making, and creating spaces where complex stories, including grief, identity, and change, can be spoken without being simplified.

I begin 2026 carrying grief, pride, curiosity, and gratitude together. Still walking. Still listening. Still attending to the stories that shape us.

Wishing you a year that is kind, steady, and offers moments of quiet awe.