2025 Retrospective

Well well well, 2025 is over. What a year it’s been. A lots happened. A lots changed. And a lot has stayed exactly the same.

Lets take a self indulgent look at 2025 from a personal perspective, but also look back at those goals and predictions I made in my Looking ahead into 2025 post.

Personal

I wrote last year:

So I’d like 2025 to be about moving forward. Using the amazing foundation I have with my partner, my home, and my friends, I want 2025 to be about taking “The next step”.

And while I can’t say this about my predictions and goals, I certainly have taken some bigs steps this year.

First, I asked my partner to marry me (she said yes);

We were in Rome for my soon to be Mother In Law’s 60th birthday. On the one day we had for ourselves, it was hammer it down with rain

But we walked to Fontana dei Fauni, and with only the geese to keep us company, I popped the question.

On the topic of marriage, I’ve always had this weird line from an unlikely source in my head:

You said a husband’s gotta put his wife before himself

-Spider-Man 3

Yep, that’s a Spider-Man quote.

It’s all about is being able to put someone else first. I’m not talking about little things, I’m talking BIG things. That might mean being willing to give up a promotion, or not dropping everything to live in another country. And when you meet the right person, you’re willing to do this. Though, if you meet the right person, they’re also willing to do these things, and so together you make the big things happen. You’re not trapped, you’re not contained. You’re moving together, each putting the other first.

And boy is it a great feeling to have that!

Since getting engaged, we’ve also been trying to buy a family home. My little cottage in Ivybridge isn’t going to cut it moving forward. And while we’ve found “the house”, we still haven’t quite got there yet. All fingers and toes crossed for the move in 2026.

From a career and work perspective, I’m still with Edozo. The biggest change there is that I’ve negotiated Friday afternoon off to work on some personal projects. I’m incredibly excited to show off what I’ve been working on. these side projects have sustained me through some of the more “boring” work periods, as well as exited me for the future. Hopefully will have more to write about these projects in the new year.

As for my goals and resolutions I set for 2025… I rather failed. I didn’t write a blog once a week (or even once a month), and I’d argue I have played even less guitar than I did in 2024. Though, with my side project becoming a major focus, and also being part of Panto in December, I certainly didn’t want for creative projects.

Previous predictions

So, last years predictions can be summed up as:

1. A.I. will fizzle out
   • I was totally wrong here. Swing and a miss. It’s gotten larger and more dangerous this year than I think most folks predicted. So much so, even Sam Altman thinks we’re in a bubble.
2. Trump Crypto bounce
   • I’d say i was right here; there was a large bounce and hit it’s peak in the Summer. It’s now a fair bit down as of time of writing
3. Apple won’t release anything exciting
   • I think I was wrong here. Liquid Glass + iPhone Air were at least interesting, if not exciting.
4. Starmer will still be in Number 10
   • I was on the money here. Though, the sharks have been circling…
5. Reform will consume the Conservatives
   • I’d give myself half a point. The Conservatives haven’t totally imploded yet, nor have Reform swallowed up all of their members / MP’s. It seems a little like the Tory’s are biding their time, while Reform have hit a bit of a ceiling.
6. Trump and Musk will have a falling out
   • This was an easy one to get right, and oof was it a falling out!

3.5 out of 6 predictions. Not bad if I do say so myself.

What I’m thankful for

I wanted to round out this post with an incomplete list of what I’m thankful for in 2025. The first and obvious one is my future wife. She brings me joy every day, and I look forward to what our future holds as we step forth together.

I’m also thankful for my job. The tech industry has been all over the place this year. I know a fair few folks who’ve lost their jobs. I’ve been at Edozo for 6 years, so I know and shape the lay of the land. It’s a real honour to work with such talented people. But it’s also a job that’s allowed me to focus on things outside of work, which is a weird “thank you”, but it’s true. I’ve been able to put energy into side projects, as well as Panto.

I’m thankful for my little cottage. It’s been great fixing it up, and making it a warm place of safety. It’s brought me a lot of joy. I’m sad to be selling and moving on though. This place was the first “home” I’ve had since I was 18. A place that felt like home. I’ve not felt homesick in years. Yet, this year I felt it. This house has taught me what “settling down” could feel like and I gotta say, it’s pretty great.

Finally, I’m thankful to all of my friendships. Those friendships come in so many different forms. From familial ones, to those that feel like family, to those that are based around a passion like music or technology. I’m thankful for them all.

A farewell to 2025

And with that, it’s time to say goodbye 2025. It’s been a… interesting… year. Lots of ups and downs. Bring on 2026!