As the tailend of 2024 drew to a close, we found ourselves at a poignant crossroads—a moment where the echoes of the passing year met the anticipation of what lay ahead. It was a time of both reflection and renewal, a rare opportunity to pause, recalibrate, and set our sights on the waiting possibilities.
This transition is not merely a turning of the calendar; it’s a reminder of our capacity to grow, adapt, and strive for greater purposes. In this spirit, I’d like to offer three guiding invitations for the year ahead: forget what is behind, strain toward what is ahead, and press on toward the goal. While these phrases may seem familiar, even clichéd, their enduring relevance offers profound wisdom for navigating the complexities of our lives if we embrace them with intention.
Forget Bygones
“Forget what is behind.” At first glance, this may sound dismissive—an invitation to erase the slate of 2024, to push aside its trials and triumphs. But true forgetting is not about denial. It’s not pretending that what we’ve experienced didn’t matter. It’s about refusing to let that past define us.
2024 was a year like no other. For some, it brought milestones and breakthroughs; for others, it was marked by heartaches and hurdles. For most of us, it was a blend of both. The invitation to forget is a call to release the grip of our past—its failures, inconsistencies, and regrets. We honour the lessons of 2024 without being shackled by them, making room for growth and possibility. Forgetting, in this sense, is an act of liberation.
Looking Ahead
Our past may inform us, but it is the future that beckons. There’s a reason the rearview mirror is small and the windshield is vast: our focus is meant to be on the road ahead. As we embark on the 2025 journey, let’s strain toward what is ahead with intentionality and effort.
“Strain” suggests more than casual movement. It implies reaching, stretching, and striving with purpose. This isn’t about mindless optimism or expecting life to unfold without effort. It’s about aligning our energy with the opportunities and challenges ahead, knowing they are there to shape us into something greater.
What might you strain toward in 2025? Is it a dream long deferred? A relationship needing mending? A cause that stirs your soul? The universe offers us each a canvas for the year ahead, and while the brushstrokes may not always go as planned, the act of creating—of leaning into the new—is what truly matters.
Be Goal-focused
Finally, we press on. Forward momentum requires focus, and focus stems from curiosity and clarity. What is drawing your attention as you step into 2025? What resonates deeply, refusing to let go of your imagination or conviction?
To press on is to stay engaged. It is the antidote to stagnation, cynicism, and despair. It’s about resilience, but also about wonder—being curious about what lies around the next corner, what challenges will stretch us, and what victories will spark joy.
Importantly, pressing on does not mean going it alone. Community matters. It is the collective encouragement, shared wisdom, and mutual support that make the journey both meaningful and possible.
Together, we can tackle the goals that seem insurmountable alone. Together, we can dare to dream big and lift each other up when the weight feels heavy.
Road Ahead
Let us embrace 2025, not as a continuation of the past, but as an invitation to reimagine what’s possible. Forgetting what is behind, straining toward what is ahead, and pressing on toward the goal are not just guiding principles—they are acts of courage.
As we turn the page to 2025, let’s embrace the year as a chance to redefine ourselves and our communities. Let us choose growth over comfort, connection over isolation, and purpose over apathy.
Each day is an unwritten chapter, and together, we hold the pen. The road ahead will not always be smooth, but it will always be worth traveling. So, here’s to a year of reaching, striving, and becoming. Let’s step forward with hope, with purpose, and above all, with each other.
Goodbye, 2024. Hello, 2025. Let’s see what wonders await us.
An alum of the American University of Nigeria, Yola, Mr. Ukoh is a PhD student at Columbia University, New York.
