I’m already late for sharing my annual review, but here it is nevertheless.
I feel deeply thankful for everything this past year has taken from me and everything it has given me. I trust God and the Universe’s plan more than I ever have before.
This year, I decided to change how I share my annual review. Instead of my usual three questions, I am answering four meaningful ones.
- What were the best moments of the year?
- What am I thankful for?
- My aspirations for the new year
- What I learned in 2025 (In another part)
What were the best moments from the year?
Table of Contents
1. A picnic on 1st January with my family by the riverside. What a beautiful way to begin the year.
2. Celebrating my 32nd birthday with my wonderful friends and sisters in Kolkata, who made my day feel so special. Even though I was away from home, it was truly a memorable birthday.
3. Celebrating my post-birthday again with my family at home and having such a lovely time with them.
4. Moments of cuddles with my two cats, Elsa and Ariel, and Missy.
5. Adding another pet to our home- our first boy dog. His name is Dolo, and he is the naughtiest yet sweetest dog, full of hyper energy! He is such a boy!
6. Lehenga shopping for a friend’s wedding. It was a task, but a fun one!
7. Attending my friend’s wedding. Sony got married to Rishabh this April, and it was so nice to reunite with old friends from school.
8. Himachal again. This time on a bike trip, a first for me! (Me in the pillion)
9. Spending time with my friends’ mum, Dikcha, and Lyangmit.
10. Visiting Hyderabad to see my boyfriend, who was waiting for me at the airport with a bouquet and a placard, waving happily the moment he saw me. I still remember that moment so vividly. I was so shy, I turned red, and I couldn’t even take a video of that sweet moment. Lol. He truly has such golden retriever energy.
11. Successfully syncing dates to meet friends as adults. It is always such a wonderful feeling.
12. Laughing with loved ones: whether with mummy, friends, sisters, my boyfriend, or anyone close. Togetherness is always the best.
13. A special mother-daughter trip to Sikkim in October.
14. Going to the fair with my brother.
15. Eating at Korean restaurants. Soy Yum is my new favourite in Kolkata.
16. Attending Sajjan Raj’s concert with my best friend and getting a free VIP pass on request. What a night!
17. Visiting Bodhgaya with my family and sitting under the Bodhi Tree, meditating. It’s always so peaceful. I could sit there all day.
18. Celebrating Christmas with mum and my sisters, Nongkit and Peggy, in Kolkata.
19. An end-of-the-year picnic with mum and Peggy sis.
20. Being home: sitting in the porch, on the sofa, surrounded by my mum, my pets, fresh air, and open space.
21. Lastly, the joy of loving and being loved. Having both at once is truly a blessing. It feels like standing in the sun from both sides.
What am I thankful for this year?
1. I am deeply thankful for my friends, who support me in my happiness more than anyone ever could. My friend Sony, who got me flowers on Valentine’s Day when we met on 14th February.
My other besties, who have stood by me through thick and thin, taking late-night calls, listening to my stories for the hundredth time, and giving me company through it all.
2. I am thankful for my special someone. I initially thought of keeping this private, but my review would really be incomplete without mentioning him. I would need an entire section only to name all the things I am thankful for that he’s done and been for me.
But to name a few:
I’m thankful for all the times he travelled just to see me this past year, for everything he does to meet me even for a day or two, for the little gifts and surprises, and for his constant thoughtfulness.
The way he sees things from my shoes blows my mind. I’m grateful for the understanding he showed during my emotional rollercoaster moments, for his unwavering commitment, and for his steadfast love.
At first, I wondered if this was even real. But it’s been more than a year now, and in this time, he has shown me so much grace, love, care, and support consistently that I truly feel blessed and lucky.
I tell him I am thankful for giving me the princess treatment he gives and for spoiling me with his love. He is the sweetest, kindest, and most emotionally intelligent man I have ever met, and I pray that it always remains this way.
On our one-year anniversary of knowing each other, he sent me a cake, and we did a small pink and blue-themed gift exchange later when we met.
3. I am thankful that we renovated and built our new home and shifted this year. After years of living in an old house, my mum and I are finally living in a space we built on our own.
4. I am thankful for my university friends and the beautiful bond we still share.
5. I am incredibly thankful for the kindness of Dikcha and her mum.
I could leave my cats, Elsa and Ariel, with them without any worry whenever I was away.
They invited me for lunch every day during my two-week refresher course at NBU.
I enjoyed Aunty’s delicious homemade meals, our conversations, and the time we spent together so much.
6. I am thankful for Priti Didi and her family. While she helps my mum with household work, she is much more than that.
She is like a friend, a sister, and a constant supporter of our happiness.
When she comes, the three of us talk and laugh endlessly. They have truly become family and take care of my pets in Siliguri when my mum is away.
7. I am also thankful for our neighbours, who gave us lunch and a place to keep our belongings while our house was being built.
8. My life is full of people who make me feel loved and supported.
When I got really sick this December and was alone in Kolkata, my colleague, who lives in another part of the city, took a day off from work to take me to the doctor.
She bought ORS, muri, and batasa (something that Bengalis eat when sick) and checked on me constantly. This might seem small, but I will never forget her kindness.
I am also so thankful for how my partner handled my sickness, even though far away. He ordered food and soup for me every day and made me feel deeply cared for and supported like never before. It’s really the little things.
9. I am thankful for the good health of my mum, my pets, and my loved ones. I do not want to forget that these are the greatest blessings of all.
10. I am thankful for my blog, which continues to give me so much even when I don’t give it enough time. I am grateful for my readers and for the kind messages and emails I receive regularly.
In 2025, my blog earned $17,849 and received 5,02,059 pageviews. While this is less than previous years, I am still deeply grateful to receive this much with minimal effort. This year, I aspire to bounce back stronger.
11. I am thankful for all the places I visited, the things I could buy, the ways I could support my mother financially, and all the comfort money provided.
I am thankful for my work, which is easy and favourable for me, and for my blog, which earns passively even when I neglect it. It truly deserves my devotion this year.
12. I am thankful for my Kolkata home: my bed, my room, my kind landowner and for how this home, my first ever home, has held me through my highs and lows. Even though staying away from home is not easy, this space makes me feel calm and safe.
13. I am (perhaps amusingly) thankful for ChatGPT for support, learning, late-night analysis, and work help.
14. Lastly, I am thankful for the things that didn’t work out.
Earlier, I had only read about this idea—but now I am living it. Things not working out are blessings in disguise. They open your eyes and bring you closer to the truth and to the plan God always had in mind.
My aspirations for the new year
1. To focus on my blog and grow it back to 100k+ monthly readers.
2. To improve my health and fitness and feel my best in my body-strong enough for long-distance treks.
3. To improve my finances, skills, and passive income.
4. To take myself seriously as a writer and write consistently.
5. To read more.
6. To become calm, stable, graceful, and closer to my truest self.
7. To nurture my relationship and continue building a healthy, loving, and understanding bond.
8. To invest in my academic life by writing and presenting papers (at least 1–2 each quarter).
9. To travel more and explore new places-at least one trip every quarter.
10. To give more time to my hobbies.
Posts from 2025 you might love
- God Must be an Audience and other reflections
- 11 Signs you are healing even if it looks like you’re breaking apart
- Expanding our Joy Span: Letting Joy Stretch
- A Practice in Patience: Sitting with what irritates me
- On Travelling and things that travel beyond Us
- 27 Gentle Habits to regulate and reset the nervous system
- On Cats, Gratitude and Neutral Things
- How to fail well: Tips on Bouncing back from failure
- How to Step into your Soft Life Era
- Lessons from Plants and the Gift of Paying Attention
- On having a Beginner’s Mind and the Joy of Saying ‘I don’t know’
- Open letter ~ On Heartbreak, Love and Surrender
Final note
As I close this chapter, I’m carrying forward not just memories, but lessons- about love, patience, trust, and choosing softness in a world that often asks us to harden.
2025 showed me that joy must be created actively, that I am stronger and gentler than I think I am, that God knows what is being done, and we must only trust Him for His plan. In the end, it is all falling into place.
P.S Here is Part 2 of it: 25 Things 2025 taught me about love, life, dating, healing and myself.
Past Annual Reviews
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