A Mindful 2026

Well, it’s the first week of January. 2025 has come and gone, it’s taught me some important things, it’s traumatized me, but it’s also healed me. It’s funny to think that it broke me down and built me up all in the same year, but it’s true. Let’s just say that for more of the year, I struggled a lot with my mental health, my physical health, and my spiritual health. For the majority of my time, I was just trying to stay afloat. 2025 was the year I uprooted the life I built myself in Korea, I said goodbye to the life I loved but I also knew it was time to move on. One of my biggest fears is riding out seasons of peace and joy for too long that the things that brought me joy start to make me miserable. I didn’t want my life in Korea to become a memory I’d look back on and think “I should have left sooner.” I left at just the right time. And so, I began a new season of being back at home with my family. It’s just what I needed. At home I feel free, loved, acknowledged and respected. I’m grateful I had a home and a family to come home to. I felt whole.

After a few months, my mind started to shift to those thoughts of “what’s next?” What’s next for me now that I’ve been home for 9 months?

The feeling of suffocating came about so suddenly that it left me confused. I had been so happy and comfortable and ready to rest, but my mind needed something new to focus on. For most of the year I struggled with the uncertainty of what to do next. However, towards the end of the year I started to be more mindful of these kinds of thoughts. I wanted to acknowledge the fact that my current job is not my dream job, but it’s getting me paid and helping me save. I had to acknowledge that I love being at home with my family, but obviously this is a temporary situation, and I should start to plan where I’ll be setting “roots” next. I did a lot of fun things in 2025 and took a few trips within the country, but I also had to understand that these kinds of trips cannot happen often if my goal is to save and start working towards what’s next. I had to sit down and really think about what I want my life to look like by the end of 2026 and to get there, I have so many changes to make. But, in this case, change is good.

As I begin walking into 2026, there’s one thought I want to keep in mind in moments I might feel impulsive or restless: Everything I’m sacrificing right now will benefit me by the end of the year. I want to be mindful this year. Mindful of my mental health, my habits, my time, even my money.  I want to make sure to keep the goals I’ve set in mind and remind myself that we are building something new. Something better than what we’ve already done.

And I hope that the Diana that I will be by the end of 2026 can look back and smile proudly at all of the work I’ll be putting into making sure this year is MY year.