For 2025, a word to me and you, your momma and your cousin, too

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Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.

2024 was a rough year for me. From January through December, each month provided a different fire that had to be put out. And while all of those fires were extinguished, the residuals from all of those challenges and tests remain. At the same time, my family is doing well, happy and healthy. My kids are excelling and living their best lives as children, divorced from the strains and stresses of what their parents are making happen despite the odds. 

I bring up my own situation only to point out that while things may be tough, the silver lining is that I am still here — and so are you, alive and prayerfully, well. We all have trials and tribulations and those challenges can run the gamut from money to family to love to career, you name it. If you live long enough, you’re likely to encounter each of those struggles, hopefully not all at the same time; even the strongest of us can break. 

This past year has reminded me of the significance of family and a strong support system. It has also reminded me that the ability to ask for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. I’ve had to lean on my family for help and support several times over the past twelve months — and honestly, I’m not even sure if they knew I was doing it. Sometimes, it was just a need to show up and be around people who love me; to get that positive energy that infuses the soul with the belief that things will be alright. Other times, it might be a phone call made to inquire about assistance, which was never met with judgment or criticism. 

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That level of support and willingness to help is a godsend. I also don’t take it for granted, as I know that everybody isn’t blessed in that regard. A phone call that provides temporary solace isn’t an option for everybody, and for many, that can make for some really long and lonely moments. I’ve been there. I remember, way back in 1996, when Chris Rock performed his special, “Bring The Pain,” he joked that life wasn’t short, but long, especially if you make bad decisions. I can now go ahead and concur with that; on the occasions when I’ve made decisions that negatively impacted me or those around me, the trudge up the hill toward positivity felt like it took forever. The bright side always came, but man, the time spent in darkness is suffocating. I’m thankful that I’m in a place now where I’ve learned how to lean on my village during times when things look bleak and rest comfortably in the care of my family. 

So what does this have to do with 2025? 

For me, and for anybody else who has had a challenging past year, I hope that you are able to walk into the new year with hope and faith that this year can be your best ever. Sure, it will require work — it isn’t like all of 2024’s struggles are erased when the clock strikes midnight and 2025 begins. But I know that the new year always gives me some sort of jolt of inspiration to make each new year my best. Granted, I said that in 2024 and that didn’t exactly work out, but again, I’m still here. 

Try to keep the faith; I’m a family man and my family relies on me to be strong and resolute for them. My wife, of course, is aware of my mental state for better or worse, as we need and rely upon one another to manage our lives together, upwards and onwards. But it does require a certain amount of deciding and trusting that despite the obstacles, they can be overcome. I’m not saying that any obstacle is easy to overcome, but just the mentality that they can be. If I don’t believe things can get better, they won’t. If I don’t believe, the actions I take won’t be towards success, but simply surviving — and maintaining the status quo is not good for anybody. We all deserve more than that.

I saw online somewhere (I wish I could find the clip as it was my first time ever hearing this phrase) that “What you don’t change, you choose.” I was so taken aback by this obvious sentiment that I spent the better part of that day searching the various iterations of that quote. Easier said than done, of course; it can take time and patience to change your circumstances, but as long as efforts and intentions are aligned, the choice is to make a change. That’s the energy I’m taking into 2025 in hopes that by the time I (hopefully) write a word for 2026, it isn’t the same one. I want to still be here and I want to look back on 2025 fondly and with the knowledge that I turned a corner towards positivity and betterment. 

If any of this resembles your own life, know that you are not alone and I’m right there with you, working to ensure that my 2025 is a good one. I’m choosing to make a change for 2025. 

Cheers to 2025 and a Happy New Year!

Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).