Despite national and global despair in 2025, the year in writing for me was largely — gasp — fun.
I’d been a health correspondent for a national publication throughout the pandemic, transitioned to freelance in 2023 and wrapped up an eight-month, mentally and emotionally draining investigation in 2024. I was ready to delight in storytelling again.
And so I did. I went “on the ground” to report on the country’s first show aufguss — a sort of sauna-based performance art — championship. I met a runner preparing for the Taco Bell ultramarathon at the fast-food joint before we laced up our shoes for an interview-on-the-run. I drank beers in Central Park while getting to know the competitors vying for a steinholding national title.
I celebrated a New Yorker who cooked family meals on public grills when her kitchen renovation went awry, interviewed a man who swam around Manhattan in handcuffs, took Jazzercise classes for research, and virtually met a couple who’d dated in high school before reconnecting in older age and being named prom king and queen at their second “senior” prom.
Throughout it all, an idea gained momentum in my head. What at first was to be a night eating Taco Bell and drinking German beer with a few friends snowballed into an all-out party celebrating my most ridiculous stories of the year — and the superlative people in them.
Picture: A towel-waving performance by the nation’s aufguss champion, Taco Bell delivery and Hofbrau beer, a stein-holding competition, Jazzercise, and a Q&A with the man who swam around Manhattan in handcuffs and the woman who ran the Taco Bell ultra. I must say my ensuing “corporate” holiday party was, by all accounts, epic.
Of course, I’m not recommending other freelancers follow my exact lead. Stories about scientific research funding cuts or devastating health policy decisions don’t make good party themes. Plus, not everyone can or wants to go to — let alone plan and pay for — a big holiday bash. I share my idea to inspire you to not just be intentional about how you look back on your reporting, but to also have some fun while doing so. Here are some other ideas:
Create your own “awards.”
I came across this idea on the site Puttylike, which encourages people to reflect on their year by identifying the people, places and things that defined it. Think about your favorite new person, best memory, biggest blunder, greatest lesson.
Independent journalists can tailor this concept to their profession by “giving out” awards in categories like: Favorite new editor to write for, highest-paying publication, most frustrating assignment, most interesting source, snarkiest reader comment and favorite place to work from.
Write out your awards on pretty paper or in a nice journal with colorful pens, and consider comparing your winners and losers with a freelance friend.
Make a ‘ta-da’ list.
Happiness expert Gretchen Rubin taught me this one. Rather than only drafting to-do lists, write “ta-da” lists too. You can do this on the daily or, in this case, yearly. Look through your calendars, photos and assignment spreadsheets to help you list out all you did accomplish in 2025 before setting your sights on 2026.
Your “ta-das” don’t have to be massive achievements, either. You should certainly celebrate a book deal or byline in your dream publication, but smaller steps like submitting your work to an award, finding an accountability buddy or trying a new place to work count, too.
Take yourself out.
One of my life philosophies is: If you must do something relatively dull, do it, when possible, somewhere pleasing. Maybe you need to track down some final payments of 2025 or tally up your income and review which outlets yielded the most buck for your time. You probably should take some time repurposing story scraps into new pitches and seeking fresh insight for brand-new ones this year.
As I wrote in last year’s recap of December 2024’s Lunch and Learn, why not consider doing so during a solo night at a hotel, remote cabin or even just a cozy coffee shop down the street? One speaker during the session, which focused on jump-starting your freelance business in the new year, said she spends a night in a Chicago hotel twice yearly to reflect on the prior year and plan for the one ahead. She reserves part of that time to visit a museum, too. The time away from home unlocks dormant creativity. While there, she said, “I can’t tell you how many ‘aha’ moments I’ve had.”
