11 Things I’m Letting Go Of After A Year That Changed Me

I met the strongest and the weakest versions of me this year. Somehow, everything changed, yet I stand in a state of nothingness, unsure of where to go. Whether to push through or rest, whether to try more or to quit, whether to love more or let go, whether to try to belong or be lost in a land where no one knows me.

I have danced with the storms and battled the trances of life, which have more often than not torn me, seeped through the crevices of my heart, and changed me. 

If I could meet myself again, the way I was a year ago, my past version would be astonished to know how much I have handled and grown, and also heartbroken knowing how much I have been through.

Life was a whirlwind of storms that passed through the essence of 2025; some made me dance through the rain, and most of them blew me with their atrocious wind.

Whether this year was a good one or not, I do not think I can put a name to that, but it was certainly a transformative one, an eye-opener at that. It made me realise who the ones truly there are for and the ones I can easily let go of.

Lessons in survival, softness, and choosing myself

​So with the lessons learnt and the setbacks that I faced this year, the journey of becoming who I am came with a lot of lessons in detachment and letting go. Here are 11 things I release before this year ends.

​1) I let go of the expectation of others being there for me

I know this might sound a bit sad, but this year has taught me that no one in this world owes you their time and care. 

You are your own responsibility, taking care of yourself lies in your own hands, and so does your joy. Similarly, you do not owe anything to anyone else, so live your life the way you want to.

2) I let go of the weight of the opinions of others

For far too long, I have always been weighed down by what others think of me. I have always wanted to love and be loved, to be accepted and nurtured and to look good in the eyes of others. 

This year taught me that no matter how hard I try, if others want to view me as someone unworthy and good enough, no matter what I do, that belief will not change.

So I decided to live my life the way I wanted to and stopped caring about others. If you do not like the way I act or live, then it is okay to have an opinion, but I honestly do not care and neither do I owe you anything

3) I let go of my fallacies of what my life should look like by a certain age

Trust me, as someone who had very definite visions about my future, this year has completely shaken those visions of grandiose pleasure that I once held.

I have realised that I do not have any control over my future turning out to be exactly the way I want it to. No timeline will ever fit the timezone of life you are living.

You will never know all the answers, nor will you have it all figured out, and that is something I learnt the hard way this year

4) I let go of the perfect idea of life

As someone who has always been a hyper-independent, burnout-overachiever and held herself to the highest standards of success, this year humbled me in ways I could never fathom. 

It taught me that not every day will look like a victory of the heavens, and some days the only win I will have is to get out of bed and make it through the day.

And honestly, just surviving on days like this that empty every ounce of your soul is the bravest thing you can do.

5) I let go of the shame of how I chose to survive

There were times this year when I felt ashamed of how I survived the days of hardship with my survival tactics. But as the quest for life went by, I learnt you should never be ashamed of what got you through a hard day.

Because trust me, you are brave to want to continue to live your life when the pieces of your soul want to give up.

As long as you are not hurting someone else or yourself in the process, do not hold guilt or shame in how you survived the storm.

6) I am letting go of comparison 

I am not perfect, I do not have the perfect Instagram feed, and I definitely am not the best at what I do. But guess what, I do not need to be either.

I wanted to be an extraordinary person with the perfect life and the one who has it all, but trust me, this year has proved that it is an all-tiring endeavour with a guaranteed negative outcome.

I am no longer in competition with anyone because there is no correct way or timeline to life, and we are not in a race. You do you, and I will do what makes me happy. It is time to live life the way we want to.

7) I let go of the need to belong or fit in 

As someone who loves with the depths of her heart, I always yearned to be loved the way I do, be accepted and belong to every room I enter.

But this year taught me that every space you enter will not give you the warmth and sense of companionship you expect, and that is okay.

It is not your fault that the people you are surrounded by are not aligning with you; maybe you are not fitting in the place you are right now because there is a better table waiting for you, one filled with warmth, love and joy.

8) I let go of the urge to predict everything

I am not a fortune teller and never will be. Maybe certain things will not turn out the way I want them to, or maybe they will be better than I could ever envision; I really do not know. And this year I have learnt to be where my feet are and take it one day at a time.

9) I let go of the hurt of the past

Some things happened, they hurt me, they broke me, they tore me apart, some scars I healed, and some I have left in the hands of time; regardless, life went on. I have no control over what happened, so I choose to let it go.

10) I chose to let go of the people who were once a part of my life

I have faced breakups, lost the people who were very close to me, mourned their loss, and now I choose to let them go.

Not with a sense of resentment but with a wish for both of us to do well, holding the beautiful memories in my heart and the knowing of them never being a part of my life ever again.

11) I am no longer in search of love or connection

The year 2025 has taught me that looking for love or being desperate to find meaningful connections will always leave you with a void.

If it is meant for me, it will find me no matter what and if it is not, no matter what I do, it will never stay. I no longer force relationships; if it flows, it flows, and if it does not, then that's okay too.

And maybe that is what healing looks like, not becoming fearless, but becoming honest. Here is to 2025, a whirlwind of lessons, tears, growth, joy and overcoming self-doubt. May we all live a life that heals the scars and wins all the silent battles we do not talk about.

Authored by Hridya Sharma, freelance writer.
Views expressed are the author's own.