25 things from 2025

My year, in 25 nutshells

Dec 31, 2025

Article voiceover

0:00

-4:37

What a year! Big and small at the same time, but only fast—never slow. Here’s my 2025 in 25 nutshells:

🥜 We decided to put our home up for sale. We moved here 6.5 years ago. As city folks, we wanted something different, and we certainly got it. We’re in this town to stay.

🥜 Our child switched to an immersion daycare. If you ever wonder whether it’s worth it, the answer is a lightning-fast yes.

“Do you remember when you didn’t want to switch to language bath?”
“I do. And mom, how amazing it turned out to be.”

🥜 I started my teacher studies and have worked on related assignments during this Christmas break. It’s not hard, but very time-consuming.

🥜 Business was good. There was enough money. I’m a happy taxpayer.

flamed salmon finnish campfire — Today, on New Year’s Eve we prepared the traditional Finnish flamed salmon at my in-laws’.

🥜 We visited Sweden and Italy and decided to buy a caravan. The project has been overshadowed by selling our apartment, but the dream lives on.

😮‍💨 In addition to communication/marketing/copywriting work and studies, I did a few photography gigs. It was pretty intense, and by the end of the year, I was exhausted.

🥜 I lost my writer’s voice and haven’t quite found it yet. I blame the previous point for that.

🥜 I reconnected with a few old friends. It was fun to realize I’m not the only one whose humor hasn’t improved over the years.

🕊️ Life also painted with dark colors, and the year included illness and death. When you lose a peer, the ground starts shaking under your own feet too. Especially remembering Elina today.

Campfire Finland — By the fire is the place to be.

🥜 I bought a mountain bike. I don’t know if I like the sport, but at least I can keep up with my child. On one trail, I fell three times. I immediately declared, “didn’t hurt!”

🥜 I hid all 150 episodes of the Luovia podcast from streaming services. That was a really good and liberating decision.

🥜 I led a Substack writers’ group on Mondays. What a way to start the week!

🥜 I read a lot of good books, even a couple of amazing ones. More on those later.

🥜 I started rewatching Grey’s Anatomy from the beginning. It might have been the best decision of the year.

🥜 We explored new beautiful forests with our dog, and now we’re wondering if we should move there. Not quite into the forest, but close. (Our kid would happily live in the forest, though.)

I got more nieces and nephews when my brother’s family had a second child and my cousin had her first.

🥜 I drank one serving of alcohol just to confirm that it truly adds nothing to my life.

🥜 My back and I were in better shape this year than in a long time. Daily small exercises are annoyingly effective. But let’s not talk about my shoulders.

🥜 The kid stopped napping and learned to play Ticket to Ride. These things may not be related.

Pile of Finnish firewood — In 2026 I want to shoot more details.

🥜 I took investing a bit more seriously again and aimed to invest one-fifth of my salary monthly. Should I buy Nintendo stock?

🥜 I went grocery shopping much less often, which freed up bandwidth for many other things. During the year, I got the most messages from my mom and the local store.

🥜 I managed to make the perfect chickpea pasta.

🥜 As a result, our honey consumption grew exponentially.

🥜 I managed to worry less.

🥜 I remembered to be grateful.