The Ways I've Invested in Myself in 2025: A Progress Report

A mid-year check in, in which I reflect on my most popular piece, share my progress, what I've learned, and how I've grown

I had a realization back in June that a lot of my subscribers are actually here from my December 2024 piece entitled, “Ways I Plan to Invest in Myself in 2025.” It is my most popular article by far and went, dare I say, semi-viral? At the time of writing this, it has 10,341 views. That’s a staggering number, particularly because when I posted it, I was still new to Substack, wrote that piece on a whim for my twenty subscribers, and hit publish without even proofreading it.

Flash forward to today and my Substack has grown over the year, largely thanks to that post. My content focuses primarily on fashion/style/beauty since that’s what I’m passionate about, but that article gaining traction helped me come out of my shell a bit as a writer and realize that people also really love when others open up. I think we all just love the topic of self-exploration and the idea of investing in oneself and becoming the dream versions of ourselves. It helped me to not pigeonhole myself into only writing fashion pieces. This is my blog, after all. I don’t need a niche— I am the niche.

So, in the spirit of gratitude for the readers and subscribers this piece has afforded me, I’ve decided to (once again, on a whim), revisit my five goals for 2025 and how I am tracking now that the year is (more than) halfway through. I’m also doing this to hold myself accountable to get back on track with the goals I’ve admittedly slacked on a bit. With that, let’s dive in.

Oh, and, to add a little ~spice~, I’m also going to be grading myself (using the standard grading scale of A+ through F) based on how well I feel like I’ve done at actually sticking to the goal.

Master the Art of Conversation: B-

Initially, I had given myself a C+ here, but then I remembered an interaction I had at a party just last weekend, and I upgraded myself to a B-. I was at my fiancé, Drew’s, parents’ 4th of July barbecue, and, aside from Drew, his family, and one- or two-family friends, I did not know a soul. At one point, I stood alone in the kitchen, cocktail in hand, looking desperately around the room for one of the few familiar faces, but found myself surrounded by strangers. I could feel the inevitable itch in my fingers to reach for my phone in my pocket.