“AND with that the 2025 season comes to an end, good night..,” plays a famous Tiktok audio as I scroll in my Facebook feed watching people’s year-end recap videos accompanied with a long–essay entry as a caption. 

I write this opinion article seated in a newly-opened cafe, feeling cold as I sip my iced Spanish latte, looking back on the last 364 days. Just like most people, there is this need to reflect, as we all anticipate what’s ahead. Reflect, as I anticipate what's ahead. 

There is always something emotional about the year ending. It is not just because of the ending of a calendar, but it is the realization of everything that we have lived through — the victories we celebrated, the losses we endured, and the events that changed us in more ways than one. Within a few hours before the year comes to a close, all of us are holding onto memories, both of which are beautiful and heavy. 

Just like any year, 2025 has tested many, all of us. But there is something about this year that brought something out of each one of us. It demanded us to be stronger on days when we felt tired, to keep moving even though everything around us may seem to tell us to stop, to pause. Days filled with uncertainty, for yourself, for your family, and maybe even for the country. The future became a bit of a blur, and the now felt overwhelming. 

Change became a thing. People left, jobs changed, and goods became expensive. The circumstances around us forced us to adapt in moments we weren’t prepared for.  

For others, dreams were delayed, for a few, plans did not push through, and for some, moments quietly slipped away. Yet through it all, you stayed. I stayed. We endured. Showed up. And found ways to keep going, to move — even when we did not exactly know how. 

From our own personal tribulations, such as broken relationships, unmet goals, self-disappointment, and doubt, to issues that affected all of us, the Alice Guo scandal, corruption in the government, and lives that were taken because of poor infrastructure, we faced them all. 

And for that I say, congratulations, pal. You did a great job. 

No one knows what 2026 will bring, but one simple truth rings true: we bring with us the lessons, the quiet strength, the subtle bravery, and the still courage we have gained from everything we faced. We carry with us the moments of hurt but also the memories that reminded us why we should keep on believing. 

Now we are at a crossroad, a few hours before fireworks light up the sky, looking ahead with cautious hearts and maybe even anxious minds. We write our resolutions, prayers, and wishes on a piece of paper, we eat twelve pieces of grapes under the table as we pray for a love life, and we wear the color of the year to bring in the energy of luck.  We do it all.  

And this is a sign of us — hoping. Hoping that all will be well, that perhaps, it will be a better year than what has passed. 

In 2024, I wrote an opinion article as I shared about the importance of hope. As I read it again today, I’m reminded of the lesson it carries: “What then, is hope? It is not just a four-letter word. When all seems lost, hope serves as a light, telling us that all will be well. It reminds us to believe again, to push forward despite the uncertainty of the future, and to press on knowing that things will be better.” 

Hope is powerful. It comes in many forms, it may be through God, our family, partners, a comfort meal, favorite shows, or even moments such as the new year that whispers to us, “Begin again.” 

As we welcome 2026, may we listen to that voice of hope. Despite how the world may tell us to feel sad, angry, and despairing, let us allow ourselves to start, dream, and believe that there is something to live for. And that there are brighter days, or a brighter year ahead. 

Between then and what’s next, I hope you choose to hold on — to hope, to believe, to pray, and to anticipate that there is something great, beautiful, and exciting waiting just beyond the now.