As 2024 comes to a wrap, I thought I’d share what I think my “resolutions” for 2025 will be. I put resolutions in parenthesis because they’re less S.M.A.R.T. and more vibe-y. In general, this is something I like to do every year when December 31st is around the corner. Some years ago, I would pick a “word of the year”. One year it was “love” and another it was “courage”. If you’re cringing, don’t worry, I’m cringing too. But it’s okay, we keep going!
#1 My issues with consumption
I’m becoming that girl. In fact, I’ve been becoming that girl for a few years now. It might even be a rite of passage for anyone that spends some time in Berlin, to come out the other side as a sustainability advocate. But here, I’d like to say that my motivations are maybe a little more intrinsic, a little closer to home. My family is very conscious of their material consumption, not necessarily from being frugal, but more so from purely “this is just who we are” matters. What’s even the point of stuff? Why do we attach so much of our identity to it? I always got the sense that they have nothing to prove to the world, out of a strong sense of self, and as a result, don’t care for the material possessions of the world. That’s kind of goals to me.
To some extent, I’ve been practicing mindful consumption in many areas of my life for a while. I hate purchasing beauty and / or skin care products, before one item is finished. For the past few years, I’ve been very committed to only purchasing clothes that are good quality, long lasting (not fast fashion), and made from 100% natural materials. The intentions were good. The results were mixed, particularly when it comes to clothes. I bought some 5+ linen shirts purchased in the span of one summer. While that’s not the biggest offense, it’s still far from where I’d like to be.
2025 Philosophy #1
Shopping will not fill the void, and nobody needs
more than 25 new clothing items a year (max).
Overconsumption took a whole new meaning for me when I became a mom, as well. While I was pregnant, I had vowed to try and source all my baby items second-hand. My uncle, a big cheerleader for upcycling and reusing, even promised me his large baby items. I don’t know what went wrong – something to do with hormones, marketing and the lure of sparkly new cute baby things – but I ended up going completely the different route once Erika was born. Suddenly, I was an overconsuming mommy monster: new toys, new baby furniture, new shiny stroller, new Baby Bjorn bouncer which we rarely use.
In 2025, I want to tackle this overconsumption of mine head on. I want to set a hard limit of 25 clothing items total that I will purchase throughout 2025. Maybe it sounds like a lot, but I intend to count socks and accessories in that total as well. I think putting a hard cap on how many items I will purchase will really force me to reflect on if I really need something or if I’m just being drawn to it because it’s new. I would like to try and keep a list of those 25 items and maybe update everyone on social media whenever 1 of those 25 items gets purchased, but let’s see. I make no promises (yet).
#2 My issues with food
This past year has been horrific for me weight-wise. The original freshman 15 I had first gained in college, I lost later on through a combination of ineffective calorie counting (it doesn’t work, but I’ll get to that some other time), a somewhat effective gym routine, and a miracle cure Ketogenic diet where I lost some 10 kg in about six weeks, and I swear by. Seriously, low carb / keto / carnivore works. I managed to maintain that weight loss for a good number of years, including throughout pregnancy. And then, postpartum and my “low milk supply” breastfeeding issues hit me like a ton of bricks, and I gained all my original freshman 15 back. Yikes. Hello mom bod.
I’m trying really hard not to let it get to me, but it does, especially since it feels like all my previous hard work with losing the weight to begin with has gone down the drain. But, when challenges present themselves, we persist.
2025 Philosophy #2
Cook most foods at home, with love and intention.
Let food be thy medicine.
Another 2025 goal is to cook more at home. Now that I’m a mom, I’ve gotten the unavoidable bug of loving cooking … thank you, Sweeta Erika! I’ve also been reading this great book on how processed foods are the culprit of many modern health issues, and it’s really made me more mindful on what kind of garbage I put in my body. The goals are more veggies, more meats, more fats – and less packaged foods. As whoever (Hippocrates?) said, let food be thy medicine. I’ve personally noticed that eating a diet high in sugar and carbs makes me feel incredibly lethargic and like I have to take two naps a day just to keep going.
#3 My issues with feeling rushed
I was going to name this category my issues with technology and social media (OGs of the blog will remember why I even started the blog … to escape the rush and overwhelm of instant posts and constant media), but when I dig deeper, I think my issue with “modernity” lies in feeling like I am robbed of time. I constantly feel rushed, like there is no time to do anything, no time to enjoy anything, and that I have to do two things at once just to keep up with everything. I feel rushed, and I don’t like it. I don’t allow myself any time to be bored and just sit with my thoughts.
Sometimes I think on how sad it must be for the young generations to not be aware what a life without the buzz is like. Not to sound like a grandma, but I am so grateful that I got to experience my childhood without a smartphone nearby and that I got to experience boredom.
I don’t think I will tackle this issue the way I did before – by going off social media. I have yet to think about how this would look like, but what I can at least try is to be more mindful of how much of my time is stolen by mindless scrolling. Time that is gifted to me with precious intention. Time I will never get back.
2025 Philosophy #3
Allow space to slow down and be bored.
I used to jokingly say that I now get the concept of the sabbath as a way to preserve one’s sanity in the constantly buzzing world. It’s not a joke anymore. I hate feeling like this and I want to make it a priority to leave more room for boredom.
For symmetry’s sake I will cap this list off at three. I could probably go on further, but let’s leave some things for later blogs.
Thanks for reading! 💋
Rrita
shenime.com 
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