2025: Themes, Dreams, and Schemes

Let's take some risks.

Welcome to So Relatable, a newsletter that helps creative folks improve their craft, achieve their goals, and eat better snacks. I’m glad you’re here! ✨

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Happy New Year! It’s time to set some goals!

Every January, I make goals instead resolutions. The difference is small but powerful—it’s not about change, but intention. How do I want to spend the next year of my life? Which projects do I want to focus on, where do I want to make progress, what energy do I want to bring to each month, each week, each day, each moment? I view the new year as a reset, a chance to ask and answer: What now?

When it comes to intention, I also choose a theme to guide my goals, a single word that embodies all my hopes, dreams, and schemes. This year, I’m going with risk. 2025 will be the year I try new things, conduct strange experiments, go out on more limbs, make unexpected pivots, choose novelty over safety, and just generally fuck around and find out.

Taking more risks means I might fail, look silly, get hurt. But I can try again. I can refuse to feel shame. I can heal. I can believe that risks are worth taking.

With that in mind, I kept risk in the back of my mind as I crafted my list of goals for the year. Today I’m sharing the big, overarching goals for each area of my life, and sparing you the long list of smaller actions and activities associated with each one. I may share more in the coming months—it depends on how risky it feels.

🎨 Creative Goals

Last January, my big creative goal was to become a Traditionally Published Author. Then I pivoted and spent the rest of the year exploring what it actually means to be a creative person. With those lessons in mind, I want to continue experimenting with different forms, methods, and materials. I’ll be eager to try new things, I’ll share my works-in-progress (even the terrible ones), and I’ll support other independent artists.

• Get more involved in the zine scene. (Big, scary goal: table at the Wilmington zine festival in August.)

• Experiment with three new-to-me art forms. (Does anyone local want to teach me letterpress?)

• Read outside my comfort zone. (More poetry, more graphic novels, more books from small presses.)

• Take more risks when it comes to personal style and self expression. (It’s finally time to get my first tattoo.)

💛 Personal Goals

In 2024, I said I wanted to “reserve my time for people and experiences that expand my world,” and that still stands. In 2025, I also want to be mindful about how I spend my volunteer time. An example: this past October, I quit the library board two years into my three year term. Even though I felt terribly guilty, it allowed me to devote more time to causes where I could have a bigger impact. Quality is more important than quantity.

• Strengthen my existing relationships and connections. (Don’t forget about long distance friends!)

• Improve my Italian language skills. (I’ll keep my Duolingo streak, but it’s time to find a real, live tutor.)

• Stay involved with the Northside Food Coop. (Consistency is key—be someone others can count on.)

🪜 Financial Goals

I’ve been at my corporate job for over 7 years(!) and it’s time to level up. I’ve always been good about jumping in where I’m needed, but this year I want to be more strategic about what I take on and how I advocate for myself and my team. We also want to finish paying off Nathan’s student loans, which will be HUGE for us. (TBD on when we tackle mine…)

• Level up at work so I can advance in my career. (Actually create a portfolio of my work and experiences.)

• Continue making smart financial moves for the long-term. (Goodbye, debt. Hello, savings!)

🧘🏻‍♀️ Health Goals

I love being active—working out is never a problem for me. This year, I want to be just as focused on my emotional and mental health, while keeping exercise fun, enjoyable, and social.

• Focus on improving my mental and emotional health. (Is this the year I finally try therapy?!)

• Train to become a better, stronger, smarter climber. (Practice lead climbing, outdoors and at the fancy indoor gyms in Raleigh.)

• Make my workouts varied, interesting, and fun. (Run club, BodyPump, yoga, spin, and family dog walks—moving is fun, especially with friends.)

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🥂 2025: More and Less

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👋 About Me: I’m Chrissy Hennessey, an enthusiastic snacker and native New Yorker living in coastal North Carolina, where I stayed after earning my MFA. My writing has appeared in a decent number of journals, I’ve received fellowships to some fancy residencies, and I’ve written three novels, all currently unpublished. This newsletter is a passion project I started in 2019 as a way to connect with readers and writers, share my creative journey, and build a community. Thank you for being here!