Before the Year Ends

Whew… what a year, huh?

I think most of us would agree that 2025 was not our year. It felt like every time we took a step forward, we ended up facing detours rather than finding open doors. Dead ends.

We all had it. We’ve all been through it.

And we carried it quietly and painfully.

In office bathrooms where the fluorescent lights flickered overhead, tears fell quietly, and each drop was a plea to not be discovered by those ears that never really cared.

On crowded train rides, the busy city blurred through tired eyes, every glance out the window a reminder that everyone was trying to escape their own kind of hell.

Through ever-so-long nights that felt endless, wishing morning would delay its arrival just a little longer, so we could find comfort in the dark.

And through the heavy steps we forced ourselves to take each day, walking further away from the dreams we once held close, slowly accepting that some wishes were never meant to be granted.

We left places. We lost chances.

Friendships loosen their grip. Lessons learned by the weight of betrayal.

Lies, and more lies.

Deaths.

But if the cocoon never broke, there would be no butterfly. 

Perhaps, like the delicate creature inside the cocoon, we, too, were shaped by pressure and struggle. Maybe we had to shed our old skin through hardships as part of our growth as humans. Because life keeps moving, constantly changing, and it doesn’t wait. 

And perhaps, in time, we will finally be there. 

But for now, it’s enough that you’re here. It's okay, take your time. 

You’re still moving. Slowly, maybe, but you’re moving.
It still counts.