Over the last few years of making yearly themes, I’ve generally had a few ideas come to mind and need to choose a winner. This year, only one came to mind before the new year even arrived. I spent more time than expected trying to dig up other contenders, but EXPRESS is the one option for the theme for 2026.
Express Thoughts and Feelings
As last year came to a close, I found myself in a bad place mentally. Bouncing back a few days later, I started putting together my thoughts for the year end post and reviewed the email thread I sent to my brother throughout the year. Time after time I was reliving moments where my mental health was a wreck. I knew it was time to start looking for proper professional help.
Last month, I touched on my inability to clearly ask for help and believe this is tied to why I’ve put off therapy for so long. I’ve long been an independent person who often enjoys or is at least indifferent to some degree of struggle.
I hope to highlight this issue using two instances of having to take a long walk home. One day while riding my bike to the gym, my tire blew a flat. This was one of multiple flat tires I’d gotten in a short period of time. Frustrated and experiencing one of those mental health breakdowns on the side of the road. I then texted my other climbing friends if any of them were going to the gym that day and if so, could I get a ride home? No one was, but one friend offered a ride. From there I ghosted the group and just walked all the way home.
Contrast this half-assed request to just taking a similar long walk home late one evening. After a roller derby event in the city, I was taking a bus that normally goes right by my apartment when it came to a stop around 5 miles from home. Turns out that was the last bus that day, so it was out of service. It was around 11 PM and pretty cold, as it was early December. I considered ordering a rideshare or calling a friend, but I was feeling alright and decided the walk would be fine. What I didn’t do was reach out, confirm it wouldn’t be an inconvenience and maybe ask for a ride if it really wasn’t a big deal.
All this to say, I want to shed that old habit of not clearly asking for help when I need it.
Express Ideas
Another big win last year was getting back into the habit of publishing posts regularly. Prior to that, I hadn’t fully stopped writing but committing to publishing really forced me to be far more consistent. While not every month last year was a glowing success, I found trying to get something out there at about that rate was a good practice to get moving. I’ve occasionally thought about returning to the trial format this blog was started on, but really haven’t found any “experiments” I’ve wanted to try out.
There were a couple instances I felt what I was writing junk to meet the deadline, and so I am winding my target down to 10 total posts this year. This gives me some breathing room to develop ideas I’m excited to share, rather than put out some mediocre ideas just to hit an arbitrary count.
On the writing front, I also want to develop better skills as a media critic. From movies to games to books, I’ve written reviews on various platforms or had discussions with friends, but I’ve frequently felt times that I lacked either the vocabulary or reference to really explain my thoughts on a given piece. For years, I’ve watched reviewers, mostly for movies and games, but haven’t really expanded my own skill in that area.
I’m targeting around once per quarter to write and post a thorough review of a piece of media I felt impacted me – be it on a technical and mechanical level or it’s narrative and story. After writing my own thoughts, I then plan to look to other critics, taking in their perspectives and learning from what elements they highlight and language they use in their reviews. I hope this develops my skill as both a critic and writer in general.
Keeping Momentum
While 2025 is over, there are a number of things I want to continue into this year – keep the swing going if you will. For one, my brother and I are continuing the regular email thread. This was a great practice to record not only the events of the year, but also thoughts and feelings at the time.
Otherwise, I’m also looking to plan at least one more train trip. Riding the Empire Builder line up to Seattle was such a great time. I’m hoping to explore other train lines and cities, comparing the experience to last year’s trip.
The new year offers a cultural time for change, and I’m excited to continue with the theme concept as we make our way into 2026.
Trying Out Before Buying In 