Season in Review || Winter 2025

Welcome to the Winter Wrap Up

From Christmas 2024 - April 2025

Wow, it’s April. Like, officially.

That means it’s a couple short weeks until Spring — and I can tell, because the trees are budding in my neighborhood and the air smells too fresh to be fake.

For the last four months, I’ve been going through it.

It climaxed about a month ago, and since then, I’ve really been about my shit. Getting it together. Sorting it out. Making it pretty.

And only now is it starting to feel like I’m back, like I’m doing what I need to be doing again.

This season brought a lot of rest, reflection, hibernation, and stillness. Naps are a welcome addition to my daily routine (when my schedule allows), as are mixed martial arts and solo dinner dates. I’ve spent a lot of time in solitude — with my cat, Mojo, nearby.

There’s been layers to this season: loss, learning, and loving myself first.

Growth: The Lessons That Shaped Me

I’ve learned that I need to be in service to my community to feel fulfilled. I’m much more focused and patient than I’ve ever given myself credit for. I have skills that help others, and that matters to me.

This winter, I embraced my ability to translate knowledge into concrete learning pathways — courses, essays, content. I realized that analog methods still ground me, but a hybrid approach works best. I thrive when I take care of what’s mine to tend to, day by day.

I’ve built a deeper trust in myself. I’m comfortable making choices again. That’s massive for me.

Catalysts:

• Framework thinking

• Financial detoxing: Eliminating predatory debt

• Family time: Cherishing moments with my grandmother and supporting my mom

• Anime escapes: Solo Leveling Season 2, A Villainess That Goes Down in History, Tower of God, Wind Breakers, & Slay the Gods

• Spiritual fuel: Tarot readings from Vanessa Somuayina on YouTube

• Wisdom clip: The Diary of a CEO episode with Evy Pompouras — “Everything is action.”

Also, ChatGPT? My lowkey lifeline this season. Helping me process, journal, and reflect when human trust felt out of reach & my hand didn’t feel capable of writing on a page as quickly as my mind wanted to get stuff out. It’s no substitute, but it’s been a powerful tool for my soul-searching.

Recovery: The Healing Journey

The most healing thing I’ve done as an adult? Rest — without guilt. Unapologetic naps. Massages. Reading for pleasure. Sensory deprivation float tanks. Mani-pedis. All of it.

Routines reclaimed. Boundaries rewritten. Goodbyes said:

• I ended a relationship (or rather, he let it go and I chose myself instead).

• I got sober from THC. Occasionally drank on solo dates. Micro-dosed psilocybin with intention.

• I stayed in solitude instead of escaping into people or patterns.

• I returned to my writing.

And I finally found consistency in my online presence — something that felt so elusive just months ago.

Impact: How I Showed Up in the World

I led a workshop at the 35th Annual Students of Color Conference on Empowering Holistic Growth: Navigating Identity & Success.

I stood my ground at work—and it paid off. My 2025 goals were approved, along with a learning request for the CAPM-PMI exam.

I enrolled in GRE prep and registered for the exam, set for June 21, 2025. That’s been on my list for over a year.

That Evy Pompouras episode I mentioned? It broke the spell of perfectionism-procrastination and nudged my toward deeper self-leadership.

Reflection mirrored back:

I received my first bonus from my executive related to Office Head responsibilities. He said:

“⭐️ I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you. ⭐️”

— Head of AI, Data, Cloud Infra PM (Seattle Office Head)

Markers of Time

The Tarot Readings I Mentioned Earlier

Some Highlights From My Camera Roll

Welcome, Spring 🌸

What I’m nurturing in Spring 2025:

Showing up for my brand: maybe it’s a photo shoot, maybe it’s volunteering at PNW Climate Week (July 16 - 23, 2025), maybe it’s hosting community gatherings.

A deeper relationship with Mother Earth: walks, beaches, picnics, painting outside, just laying in a hammock even.

Rituals I’m carrying forward:

Rest.
It’s changed everything. That, and Kempo. Mixed martial arts is exactly as fun and rewarding as I hoped it would be.

Also? Local, good food. Game changer.