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As I write this, we’re gearing up to our timezone’s bidding farewell to 2025. I’d like to have this out before then, so I’ll do my best to shoot from the hip, as it were.
Ever since I started writing, it’s as if I can no longer put my thoughts together concisely. An overthinker yesterday, an overthinker today, an overthinker tomorrow — I’ve had a lot on my mind and, in these final hours, I’d like to go over notable events I’ve experienced throughout my year. As pessimistic as I can be, there are things worth celebrating; if nothing else, I want my future self to have a record of who Tyson was in 2025.
2025 was the year in which I’d leave mainstream social media behind. I closed my X account the year before, and it was the turn of Meta’s platforms: Facebook and Instagram. When human Q-Tip Mark Zuckerberg began spouting about how slurs towards my people were no longer considered policy violations, I concluded that Zuckerberg didn’t want people like me on his platforms. And look, I am also tired of having to care for situations that no one else seems to, brushing them off as not a big deal or as being dramatic. To which I ask: what will it take for you to care? Or at the very least, see my point of view and empathize? Is your comfort more important than our safety?
For stuff I particularly feel strong about, I believe in not just talking the talk, but also walking the walk. If I have to endure inconveniences to make my point, so be it: I’m a hater with conviction. Increasingly, we in the LGBTQ+ community only have each other, with even so-called “allies” abandoning us.
The year before, an ADHD diagnosis and subsequent treatment would be life-changing in more ways than one. I’ve begun to reap the rewards, especially with stuff in which I knew what I needed to do, but never followed through.
On the economic front, filing for bankruptcy meant I’d no longer be a prisoner to my crippling debt or to the meager income from food delivery services. I found out the hard way that being successful in this field requires a time commitment I neither can nor won’t give. While I don’t doubt that people have made a living doing so, I must be realistic: my day job gave me far more income in a day than what I’d get in a week from them. Not having to rush out every other night, seeking income that might not be there, was truly liberating.
I’d also get great news from work, as I was offered a higher position with a higher salary. It dawned on me how my current employer gave me in two years what I never got with my prior employer in six: a chance at higher responsibility. Jokingly, my boss told me how his husband had a speech prepared if I said no to the opportunity, telling me off over the phone — it wasn’t necessary; I reiterated my appreciation for both of them. I’m deeply grateful that he saw in me the potential to do much more, even at a point at which I believed I didn’t have potential other than being another cog in the machine.
On the health front, the time I spent making my tenth Crumbl Cookies delivery of the night was reclaimed to go back to the gym. I kept my membership for the barbershop, but I wasn’t using the facilities, which is the whole point of having a gym membership. At first, progress was slow, as I worked towards a place where I could see a benefit. Today, I’m lifting over 100 pounds in almost every machine that targets arms, shoulders, chest, and upper back. For the coming year, I want to incorporate an abdominal routine and potentially add a fourth day to the schedule.
That was a major life change in and of itself. The second aspect arose from a severely limited budget, which necessitated changes to my diet. I’d imagine I’d still lose weight in this situation if I didn’t exercise, but it certainly made acclimating to it all the easier. It sounds clichéd, but it surprises me how many people believe exercise alone achieves weight loss. Far from it, it’s the least important aspect — want to lose weight, control your diet.
Today, I weigh what I last weighed over a decade ago. I’m still not where I want to be, and I’ve seemed to hit a wall as of late, struggling to get further down. As long as I stay the course and remind myself of why I do this, I’m sure I’ll overcome it.
In relationship building, I am working to avoid situations where I know I might snap at someone. I’ve gotten better at checking myself before I do or say something hurtful, not from a place of empathy but a place in which my selfishness will get the better of me. I’ve also accepted that there are acquaintances I will never get along with, and it’s best for me to remove myself from that environment. When I care about keeping up with just one or two people instead of the whole group, it’s an overall net positive. Will 2026 be the year in which I mellow down? I don’t know, but I aspire towards it!
In routines, not only have I become a regular at the gym, but I’ve also become a regular writer. I can't emphasize this enough: this was truly unheard of five years ago. I was very vocal about how the aspect of video production I enjoyed the least was writing — years later, I’d pump ten thousand-plus-word pieces out as if I had nothing else to do. Having traded casual gaming time for writing, there’s a degree of truth to that.
What started as a means to keep the website open, as my budget went through deep cuts, has grown to be an outlet for creative expression that I greatly enjoy. It seems I’ve done nothing but write since the summer, with every moment I had to myself thinking of stuff I want to write about, how I want to write about something, or writing about that thing.
I’m proud of what I’ve put out so far, with each post better than the last one. Even so, I have my favorites: I’ve prosecuted Nintendo as they geared up for the Switch 2 launch in ‘Angel Nintendo,’ shown skepticism over Persona 4 Revival in ‘TV Station: Offline,’ and been genuinely excited for a new game in ‘Long Wait to First Light.’
I’ve also explored my vulnerable side through my writing: I recounted my online history on ‘The Internet Died,’ spoke on the bittersweet feeling of growing up when I covered Kirby’s Adventure for the fifth Media Log, and had an existential crisis when covering Given’s themes of loss for the eighth Media Log.
2025 was bleak overall, with the world sliding back into authoritarianism; it’s important to celebrate the small victories whenever possible. For the first time in a long while, I’m starting to feel as if I’ve found a purpose. Wandering for a majority of my life, I didn’t know what I wanted to do or what I was brought to the world to do. Having at least a hint of what could be gives me an euphoria unlike any other. Whether I’ll find my true meaning in 2026 remains to be seen; I can only continue walking and see where this road takes me.
I hope you’ll continue watching over me in 2026. Happy New Year, everyone.