Welcome to 2025: A Slightly Hungover (Or Just Tired) Guide to Day One

Good morning (or afternoon – no judgment here), and welcome to 2025!

If you're reading this while nursing a cup of coffee and wondering why past-you thought those last two glasses of champagne were a good idea, you're not alone. If you're perfectly fresh and already crossed three things off your to-do list, you're also not alone (though we might need to have a talk about your superhuman powers).

There's something weirdly pressure-filled about New Year's Day morning, isn't it? Like somehow the way we spend January 1st is supposed to set the tone for all 364 days that follow. Let's just collectively agree right now that this is nonsense. Whether you're crushing goals or crushing naps today, you're doing just fine.

Image Credit: @anniespratt

The internet is about to be flooded with posts about "starting the year right" and "new year, new me" declarations. Meanwhile, some of us are just trying to remember which day to put the recycling out and figure out what to do with all the holiday leftovers. Both approaches are equally valid ways to start a year.

Here's the thing about fresh starts – they can happen any day. Yes, there's something symbolically powerful about January 1st, but let's be real: sometimes the most significant new beginnings happen on random Tuesdays in March. Today is just a day that humans collectively agreed would be a good place to start counting from.

Some of us are starting 2025 exactly where we wanted to be. Others are nowhere near where we planned. Most of us are somewhere in between, in that messy middle ground where real life usually happens. Wherever you are today is exactly where you're supposed to be – even if it's on the couch with takeout questioning your life choices.

Instead of grand proclamations about total life overhauls, maybe today is just about small things. Like drinking enough water. Sending that text to someone you love. Finally throwing out those leftovers that have been in the fridge slightly too long. Finding your favorite cozy socks. Sometimes the biggest changes start with the smallest choices.

Looking at 2025 stretching out before us is kind of like staring at a blank document – equally exciting and intimidating. There's pressure to write something profound, to make it meaningful right from the start. But sometimes the best stories begin with something simple, like "I don't know where this is going, but I'm interested to find out."

If there's one thing we can count on, it's that 2025 will surprise us. Some of our carefully laid plans will go sideways. Some of our biggest victories will come from places we weren't even looking. Some of our best moments will be completely unplanned. That's not just okay – that's where the magic happens.

A special shoutout to everyone who's working today – the healthcare workers, retail staff, emergency responders, service industry folks, and everyone else keeping the world running while others recover from their celebrations. You're the real MVPs of January 1st.

Consider this your official permission slip to start 2025 however you need to. Want to spend the day setting goals and making vision boards? Amazing. Want to stay in pajamas and watch an entire season of that show everyone's been talking about? Equally amazing. Want to ignore the whole "new year" thing entirely and just treat it like any other day? Also valid.

The beautiful thing about a new year is that it's like opening a book where you know you're a main character but you don't know the plot yet. There will be plot twists. There will be character development. There will probably be some chapters you wish you could skip and others you'll want to read twice.

They're messy. They're imperfect. They rarely look like what we imagined. But they're ours. This beginning, this day, this year – it's ours to shape, to explore, to live through, to learn from.

So here we are, on the first page of 2025. Maybe you're starting it exactly as you planned. Maybe you're already off script. Maybe you never had a script to begin with. Wherever you are, however you're beginning, know that you're in good company.

Welcome to 2025, friends. May it be full of surprises worth having, lessons worth learning, and moments worth remembering – starting whenever you're ready.