I love this time of year when the weather turns chilly, work slows down and there’s the anticipation of a new year.
This is when you’re most likely to find me tucked away in the corner of a cozy cafe, scribbling down my new year’s resolutions and panicking over the Christmas presents I forgot to buy.
One of my favorite winter traditions is one I started with friends back in 2022. Every December we’ll meet at our favorite café and complete our Year Compass, a writing exercise in which you reflect on the past year and plan for the upcoming one. After we complete our booklets, we’ll regroup for a lively discussion about our intentions and goals for the upcoming year (tell me you’re a nerd without telling me you’re a nerd).
Our favourite question in the life booklet – the very first one – is about choosing a word to symbolize and define the upcoming year. My word for 2025 was “rediscovery”. I chose this word because at the start of 2025, I was feeling a bit lost in the routine of life and disconnected from myself.
I had spent my 20’s constantly moving, exploring, travelling, finding any opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone – whether that was solo backpacking across Morocco, throwing myself off the Ben Nevis bungee in New Zealand (in white shorts), spending New Year’s Eve in the arctic circle, or moving internationally eight times in a single decade. Nothing seemed to phase me and life was forever exciting and unpredictable.
That all seemed to change with the pandemic. Right at the start of 2020, I met my ex who would turn into a serious partner. We started living together and adopted a cat which I affectionately referred to as “the baby”. I also became a fanatical gardener, spent far too much time on home renovations and consistently hit my target of reading 50 books a year. I was in other words living the perfect introvert life, which suited me just fine while we were all shut away in our homes.
It was when I finally turned 30 and the world started slowly to return to normal that I felt ready to return to life as I used to know it. It was then, however, that I realized I was becoming a victim of the early 30’s curse: my friends were all settling down or moving out of the city because of the extortionate house prices here in London, and even the ones who remained suddenly needed to be goaded into occasionally leaving the house. Spontaneity, which was already in short supply before the pandemic, all but disappeared by the end of 2023. For someone who thrives on the unpredictable, it was a very difficult adjustment.
The word “rediscovery” reflected my intention to reconnect with my adventurous spirit and find joy again in new experiences – even if my friends were no longer up for them. In 2025 I trained in massage therapy, which is always something I was always curious about. I also fell in love with mountain-biking, went on a yoga retreat to the Canary Islands, hiked around Hawaii and started learning a new language (Spanish). On the very last day of this year, I’ll also be starting a backpacking trip across central America, which includes a multi-day hike up an active volcano (pics to follow!)
As fun as 2025 was it also had its challenges; I still struggle to find work-life balance as a self-employed person (very common, I hear) and working unpredictable hours, especially in the evenings, has made it difficult to meet up with friends or do my activities on a regular basis. The result is that I live my life week by week and can never say with any degree of certainty which country I’ll be in and when. After a year of living like a tumbleweed in the wind, it’s starting to wear me thin.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my word for 2026 and I’ve finally settled on “stability”. It’s not a very sexy word, but I think it puts me in the right headspace for the changes I want to make this year. Now that I’m 33 and I’ve been living in London for seven years, I think I’m finally ready to buy my first home. I’m very grateful to escorting that I’m finally able to do this; if I had stayed in my corporate job, there’s no chance I would ever have been able to afford to buy on my own. Given my passion for interior design and improvement projects, I’m keeping an eye out for a fixer upper that I can leave my mark on.
Another goal for 2026 is to properly launch my coaching business. I see a lot of value in having multiple income streams and a way to support myself when I eventually stop escorting. I’m about halfway through my qualification and still need to log many more hours of practice sessions before I can officially call myself a coach, but it’s exciting to know I’ve made a good start. If any of you are interested in dating coaching and are willing to be my guinea pig, let me know if you’d like a free coaching session (we can add this on as a free social hour before our regular booking).
Last but not least, I want also to find greater inner strength and stability. Anyone who has met me knows I’m a very easy-going, level-headed person, but living life on the fringes of society still takes its toll sometimes. I’ve also noticed – in myself and my clients – the effect the constant stream of negative news is having on all of us. More and more I see the importance of being able to tune out what’s happening on the world stage and create an internal sanctuary where I can find peace and tranquility whenever I start to feel overwhelmed about the future.
I’ve gotten some great recommendations already – everything from meditation podcasts to ayahuasca retreats in Mexico – but I’d love to hear from you if you have any other tips that help you stay happy and calm.
Enjoy the last few days of 2025 and I look forward to catching up in the new year!
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