In Focus

The month of chaos has finally come to a close, and with it, another year slips into the history books. Many people will say 2025 was a dumpster fire of epic proportions. I won’t argue that it was easy—but I also won’t say it was entirely terrible. Violence continues in Gaza. The war between Ukraine and Russia grinds on. Mass shootings still scar communities. Fires, floods, and storms remind us daily of nature’s raw power. It’s unfortunate how this is our “normal.”

But it wasn’t all bad, history was made when Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became the first American pope, taking the name Leo XIV. Medicine pushed boundaries with trials for the first lung cancer vaccine and the world’s first successful transplant of a genetically edited pig kidney into a human. After decades of conservation, the green sea turtle was reclassified from “Endangered” to “Least Concern.” Renewable energy surpassed coal globally for the first time, marking a major shift in how the world powers itself. Notre Dame reopened after six years of restoration. And with 79 nations ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty, the world moved closer to protecting international waters, potentially creating the largest network of ocean sanctuaries in history. That matters.

Some interesting moments stuck out more than others. For me, the best thing to come out of 2025 was finding love after refusing to date for a decade. Monday was actually the anniversary of our first date, even though we didn’t make it official until January. On the opposite end of the emotional spectrum was the Louvre heist—something I initially laughed at. It sounded less like real life and more like a bad movie plot. Then there were cultural moments that ranged from absurd to infuriating: the rise of “6-7” (somehow worse than Skibidi), and the Coldplay kiss cam incident—proof that cheating in public, on a massive scale, will eventually find you. Karma has a way of keeping receipts.

The year also delivered heartbreak closer to home. As a Californian, watching wildfires explode with such speed and intensity was shocking, even by our standards. Entire communities were erased. Then came the unprecedented floods across Texas, Kentucky, and North Carolina—flash floods forming so quickly they swallowed everything in their path, including a children’s camp. It was devastating. Another reminder that nature cannot be controlled, only respected.

And then there were the scandals. Watching footage of Sean “Diddy” Combs violently assaulting his girlfriend was sickening. Learning about the so-called “freak offs” and the people involved turned the music industry into its own version of the Epstein Files—names, power, silence, and abuse. Speaking of Epstein, I am exhausted by the endless attempts to bury the truth. If powerful people are implicated, then face it now. The truth always comes out. The only real question left is whether these predators will ever see justice—or if it will all be swept under the rug once again.

2025 wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t kind. But it wasn’t meaningless either. It showed us what still needs fixing, what’s worth protecting, and what absolutely cannot be ignored anymore. As we step into a new year, maybe the real lesson is this: hope doesn’t come from pretending things are fine. It comes from refusing to stop looking for what’s better—and demanding accountability for what’s broken.