2025 Wrap Up and Reflections

Hi, welcome back to Eat Your Crust Podcast. I'm Jisoo. And I'm Crystal. So crazy to think how quickly this year has passed. And as long time listeners may know, we always like to wrap up our seasons with a holiday themed episode. So in the past, we've done episodes about how we spend Christmas. But I think this year we're going to talk about how we really gear ourselves up for the end of the year. Yeah, I feel like it's inevitable, right? When we come close to the end of the year.

It feels very natural to reflect back on it because it kind of feels like you're closing some sort of chapter of your life. So I guess that brings me to ask, do you do like end of the year reflections, whether that's in the form of something you write down or maybe even in your head and like personally? I think I definitely do it more in my head than writing down.

Sometimes I'm really lazy about pulling out a notebook to write it all down. But yeah, I definitely get pretty reflective on what has happened in the year and, you know, what... to expect in the new year, I guess. I think I like to think about what I accomplished and what I maybe didn't quite accomplish as I reflect on the year.

Yeah, I think I'm similar to you, but sometimes I will try to jot something down, even if it's like a one pager in my journal or whatnot. But I did think about this recently because we've been doing performance reviews at work. In preparation of my performance review, I opened up a blank note.

And then I started writing down all my accomplishments for that year. And I was like, dude, I should do a performance review for myself, for my personal life and see how I stacked up. Like, did I meet expectations? Did I exceed expectations? you know just give myself like a grade or a rating not to say that

I would want to give myself like a bad rating if a bad year has happened or something, but it's really more so just to keep track of how much effort I was putting into my life, you know? Yeah, that's kind of intense. Oh, okay. Just kidding. Haha. But I get what you mean. And actually, because I reflect a lot in my head rather than writing it down.

It's hard because then coming to the end of the year, sometimes I forget about maybe some small goals or just like side thoughts that I had in the beginning of the year. So when I reflect, I'm like, okay, well, I remember maybe like... one to three main things but there might have been a few smaller things along the way that I totally forgot about. There's definitely a downside to my ways of reflection and I guess it's like a softer version of your, you know, personal grading.

attempts. I mean, honestly, I feel like the, you know, I say it in jest, but I feel like... Doing the reflection in your head is also so helpful. In some ways, I wonder if it's more forward-looking because sometimes when I flip back to what I wrote down in the beginning of the year in my journal of like, oh, these are my three goals for 2025.

I'll like read it and if I didn't hit the goals you know depending on how I did that year. Sometimes it makes me feel like the year had passed by too quickly without these accomplishments happening. Or if the year has passed in a way that I didn't intend it to, it gets me into a funk. Aww.

you know, looking back might have that side effect. But if I were to just do it in my head and then just say, okay, I guess these things didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but next year I'm going to try to tackle these other things.

maybe I would have a more positive outlook on life. Okay, wait, I have a question though. Yeah. During your reflection and in your wishful self-grading... If you didn't reach a bunch of goals, would you conceptually hold yourself back a year?

I mean, honestly, I've had the same goal over and over for the last like two decades. So I guess I've been held back every year. It's always like, work out more, eat healthier. And then I'm like... didn't do that try it again next year dude i mean some of these are hard i feel like it's doable for maybe a month and then suddenly you revert back to your normal self dude

I remember one year I was like, okay, I can't do these year long commitments. I just don't work that way. And I try to do like quarterly reviews. And then I was just like, why am I a corporate, like a walking corporation? I can't do this anymore.

I'm like, damn, quarterly reviews, you might as well do it at the same time as your work reviews. Actually. Okay, but I am kind of fascinated by your... cerebral reflections and i'm curious if you slot out a time for you to do it or is it just during q4 or like november december you are just kind of constantly popping in and out of reflections. Honestly, I think the pattern that has emerged so far in my life is that December is generally pretty chill.

in terms of personal as well as work life. So because it's chill, I get to just be by myself a lot, kind of have a lot more free time. So during this free time... I start to just reflect. It's like a magnet to my brain. I'm like watching SNL and I'm like, damn, the year is almost over. Do you feel like you reflect specifically on the year in terms of your goals? Or is it more just like, oh, these things happened this year? Like this was how the year generally went?

That's a good question. I think naturally it's like this is how the year went. And then sometimes I'll reflect on what worked well this year. What did I do that I really enjoyed this year? And I should probably try to continue that energy into the new year. And then maybe sometimes it's like, okay, well, what was something this year that destroyed me or something like that?

What is something we need to keep an eye out for? Wait, I'm so curious on that second one. What's an example of something that has destroyed you in the past? Okay, so actually this year is a good example because this year I had a lot of travel, which was really fun, but it was also extremely tiring.

so definitely at certain points in the year i was like wow i'm like so drained i'm a shell of myself and please don't talk to me oh you know that kind of feeling so reflecting on the year i'd be like okay yeah this was a very fun experience and i think i've learned what is maybe an upper limit in terms of social battery. And so going into the new year...

I would expect to try my best to manage those kinds of events so that it doesn't have to be so back to back the way it was at times this year. That's a good example. It's also, I think, what preps us for adulthood. We've talked a lot about like managing our calendars and whatnot, but it's hard to manage our energy. And I feel like every year it's like a new learning for me.

free time doesn't equal free energy true and knowing our own personal limits and knowing how to work with those things i feel like is always a constant learning yeah all right jisoo your turn was there anything that destroyed you this year

I mean, I think it's also an extension of managing my energy. there was a lot of social events that happened this year similar to you maybe less so travel but just like a lot of weddings like a lot of bachelorettes yeah and while those are super fun and honestly very special in that this time in our lives, like this age is when all of it happens. I think the expectations that I had for myself and like going into these events were very high. So I was feeling very tired and like drained by it.

You know, I think for a lot of this year, I was just like, oh, it's like a timing thing. The timing of these things are what's making it hard. But after a lot of it is over, I realized that is this like a me thing? And what I mean by that is like, I think if I was able to relinquish a little bit of my expectations going into these events, it would have been a lot easier for me to manage. Because instead of being like, I need to hit 120%.

I could have let myself be like, okay, let's get to 90% of my expectations and then it'll all happen smoothly, loop in more people to help, etc. I think... going into the end of the year i'm like okay i need to like chill out i need to relax and also just know what my limits are in that sense right like i can't

be a perfectionist all the time and then not expect it to impact my productivity or like efficiency. I feel like that makes total sense. That's a really good point though. The difference between expectations and what you're actually capable of like putting in. Yes, exactly. Also, in terms of energy management, I had another fucking revelation. Yeah.

So, you know how earlier this year we talked about rotting? Yeah, yeah. I felt like when I was talking during that episode, I was like, you know, I need a lot of rest. I need a lot of... time blocks to like rot so that I could recuperate and feel better yeah it was crazy you were like I need eight hours of the day or something yeah well I feel like in the last six months or however long it's been since we've done that episode, I realized that rotting is not productive.

I'm sorry for anyone listening to this being like, obviously, but I realized that rotting does not make me more energetic. It does not actually recuperate me. It just leads to me wanting more rotting. Oh. and i'm like okay there is a sweet spot because rotting as a concept i still understand yes but i think for me like momentum is a big thing so i haven't had time to rot recently and i was like wait actually I'm thriving. And I also just unlocked 20 hours of my week. You know what I mean?

Okay, then are you still rotting like in short bursts now or you just cut it out completely? I think recently I've cut it out completely. Whoa. Actually, no, that's probably not true. I think I do try to rot in like maybe one or two hour increments a couple times throughout the week, which is very normal. But as I've done that, I've been able to work on more stuff and like manage more. And I was like...

Is this how life is supposed to be lived? Moderation, I guess. Dude, at the great age of 29, I'm realizing that you can't just lay on your couch for like 20 hours a week. Okay, I actually wonder too, though, if this is an age thing. What do you mean?

We're older now, so there's more things that require our attention and energy. And so we're often being pulled in different directions. And we just maybe don't have as much of that. youthful vitality we used to have. That is true. I also feel like it's two things at play because during Q4, there's always a lot going on like holiday parties i guess in my line of work like q4 is very busy too so like work is super crazy

Because I know I'm going to see a lot of people, sometimes I'm like, okay, I need to lock in and work out. So there's always a lot happening in Q4. Because there's so much going on, I'm just unable to rot as much. So I think usually during Q4, I do... step up my productivity a little bit more the other thing too is i've realized that the cause of my anxiety is procrastination one of the ways to like

get rid of that anxiety is to just do the things that is making me anxious. And, you know, this is not a new revelation. I happen upon this. Once a year where I'm like, oh, my God, I'm solving my mental health problems. But, you know, recently I've realized it. So I totally get what you mean. Every time I procrastinate, I'm like. Okay. Logically, I know if I just got up and did this, like we would be okay here. Right. But I'm just going to keep lying down.

So, you know, earlier you said sometimes reflections will help guide your expectations and your goals for the next year. I guess this is good energy to bring into the new year. Maybe I can do this. Maybe I can.

find solutions to the things that have been haunting me for decades dude you know what you should do and what always puts me in a good mood holiday season i guess you know i just watch like movies and usually they're about this stuff you know they're like the year's ending or you can find like i don't know just some kind of inspiring but like really easy to watch movie and then they usually have some sort of basic

lesson learned at the end and you're like you know what yeah I can do that too dude this reminds me of when we watched that really bad Lindsay Lohan movie

I was like, basic Christmas movie? Sounds familiar. Okay, that was crazy. I don't know. We just all turned into potatoes and we couldn't stop watching. And then at the end, we debriefed. We're like, yeah, that was... a really bad movie dude watching it was like every 10 minutes we were just like dude this movie is so fucking bad but no one turned it off but yeah i think you bring up a good point of like

christmas movies every year i feel like james and i try to watch at least a couple harry potter movies so we just watched the sorcerer's stone a couple days ago and then now we're about to watch chamber of secrets as well Dude, Harry Potter though, underrated Christmas movies. Dude, yeah. I feel like they always have like a Christmas scene in there. Yes, especially Goblet of Fire. That one is so Christmasy.

Yeah, I don't know what it is about end of the year slash Christmas time. It makes me want to watch movies hella badly. Like I eat those winter movies up. Oh, hell yeah. I feel like also because it's cold and it's kind of cozy blanket weather, it makes me want to curl up on the couch. And I think that helps too. You're doing something where you don't really have to be completely stuck in your own mind to reflect. You're like reflecting with the movie and it's uplifting you.

Do you have like a list of movies that you watch every year? No, I usually try to find movies that I haven't watched because it's kind of a period of time where I'm like, oh. I have like a chance here to catch up on things that I've been meaning to watch or something like that. So last year I watched the movie The Holiday. Jack Black, Kate Winslet, I think, and like Cameron Diaz. Oh, Jude Law is the last guy.

Dude, it's like good vibes and there's a lesson to be learned at the end and it's Christmas setting. And it's a rom-com. And I fucking love rom-coms. Yes. I feel like rom-com is the best genre during Q4 season. Yes. But what's the lesson that you learn at the end? Because I'm like...

Do rom-coms usually have a lesson? Well, yeah, they usually do. Because there's always some sort of character flaw in the main character, right? Yeah, I guess that's true. There's always some sort of change that the character undergoes and growth that comes from it. In my head, I'm just like, ooh.

Good looking people getting together in a funny way. Like, this is great. No, Jisoo, you need to reflect along with the movie. I'm telling you, it changes the game. Okay, fine. Maybe I'll feel differently because recently I've been doing a steps challenge at work. So then that means I have to like march in place while I watch TV. I can't just curl up on the couch like I just said I wanted to five minutes ago.

So that means I'm fully focusing on stuff that I'm watching. Like I'm watching Breaking Bad and I'm so consumed by the show. So maybe if I watch The Holiday... While marching in place. I'll be consumed by the life lessons it'll bestow upon me. Yeah. Okay, wait. Have you seen The Holiday before? No. Oh, okay. Yeah, you should definitely watch it then. I'll put it on my list. If I think of any other good ones with some good lessons in there I'll let you know. Sounds good.

I think I watched Notting Hill and it was really good. Dude, I love that one. Hugh Grant in any movie is just so good. I watched it and then like maybe a year or two later. me and my boyfriend traveled to london so i was like oh my god we have to go look at like the we have to go to notting hill right because they have the bookstore there and they have the door of his apartment so

I told my boyfriend, I was like, okay, you have homework before this trip. You have to watch Notting Hill. Dude, do you think end of the year makes you more romantic? Whoa.

I mean, I bring that up because we're talking about how rom-coms just hit different. I don't know. Do you think I'm romantic in general? Well, I feel like if the baseline is lower, maybe the gap would be bigger. But actually, I don't think you're unromantic in the sense that you live life with an air of romance. You know what I mean? That's a very kind description.

Maybe, but I don't know. In the past couple of years, my boyfriend has gone on family trips during the holidays. So I'm just by myself. So you're like... no I'm just enjoying my time by myself I'm trying to think if it impacts me maybe not romantic but I think it does make me feel a little bit more nostalgic and like more slowed down I observe more I appreciate more like I'm more grateful I think I feel similarly like you're just in this kind of mood that's like

I want to feel good and I want to wrap things up nicely for the end of the year. I guess it's kind of like... You're reaching the finish line of the year. So then all the pain goes away. Like you forget everything bad that has happened. You're just like, oh my God, it's so close. We made it. And then does that mean?

Next year in January, when the new year starts and we cross the finish line, our knees are going to start to ache. No, then we get fresh knees. Oh, okay. Because you're like starting the race again. Okay, nice. Oh, thank God. Okay, then rapid fire. I want you to think of maybe like a couple key words between...

November, December, and January. Emotions that you feel during those months, changes, or any sort of differences that you feel across those three months. So for November, I would do like busy. Usually I'm actually kind of busy in November. So maybe it's like the final leg of the race. And then December is like chill. And if it's not going to be chill, I will find a way to force it to be chill.

And then January, maybe January is like fresh. I like that. What about you? Okay, I feel like November. I'm going to steal your word and use busy too. I think it is like the end of the sprint. Yeah. Once you hit Thanksgiving, you're kind of like, okay, things are going to calm down a little bit. December, I'll do family because...

At least the last few years, I've lived apart from my parents. So then December is like condensed family time. Make as many memories as possible in like a two-week time frame. January, I'll put... relaxed because I feel like as we've mentioned in previous episodes January tends to have the least social obligations yeah so then I feel like in December I kind of look forward to that like it's time to recuperate time to set things up

Get ready for the new year. Yeah, I guess I could even put like alone time for January. It's almost like January is the hangover recovery of December. Not that there's necessarily a hangover, but you have this extra month to recover and prep yourself for the new year. Yes. And I feel like...

Anything that happens in January is excusable because it's like, oh, it's a new year. Like, we're still figuring things out. So true. I've always wondered if people with January birthdays feel a type of way about it. Because I feel like there's so much celebrating happening in December that in January, people try to minimize the celebrations. Actually, interestingly, the people who have January birthdays that I know...

All their birthdays are like at the end of January. So I'm like, oh, that's okay. You're like, guys, I'm back. I've revived. I'll be there. But yeah, I can't imagine people with like January 1st birthdays, dude. Everyone's like, whoa, can you chill with the birthday? Like we're all entering a new year.

I guess it could be nice if you're not a big birthday person or if you're the type of person to want to celebrate your birthday alone or with family because actually all your family will be gathered. That is true. Hopefully they are. Yeah.

But I know it always sucks when people have to share their birthday with like a big holiday. Yeah, very true. Okay, so if someone had like a January 5th birthday, would you show up? I would show up, but I just, you know. I feel like I would be half birthday and then half like new year. I see. Yeah. Yeah.

You'd be like, so what are you all doing for the new year? And the person's like, guys, it's actually my birthday. Yeah, exactly. Happy new year. Sorry, sorry. Happy birthday. I think I would also sadly show up. But I'm sure we'll have a great time. It's getting there. That sucks. Like the actual celebration is always fun. Yeah. I'm like, damn, really? January 5th already?

All right, so for our last question, I wanted to ask you, now that we're sprinting headfirst into the holidays, what are some of the big things you look forward to during this season? Well, like during... the holiday season or for the new year i guess during the holiday season generally okay uh honestly the biggest thing i look forward to is wrapping up work and finally being able to chill

I knew the answer was going to be something along the lines of alone time. Dude, the month of December is honestly really glorious sometimes because... The image I have in my head is like it's cold outside and it's dark inside. Maybe there's like a cozy candle lit and there's lots of blankets around. And I'm just, you know, watching TV or maybe playing some games and doing these things that I probably didn't have as much free time to do during the year.

minimal responsibilities and i could just do whatever i want hell yeah dude the like weeks where hella people take work off and Even if you're working, it's like super chill, super quiet. The possibility of you getting pinged is minimal. I'm like, oh my God, is this heaven? Dude. Okay. So whenever people oftentimes take those weeks off.

like Christmas and stuff, I literally never take those days off because I'm like, I'm just gonna be here. One, it's probably expensive to travel anyway because it's holiday season. And two, like...

I enjoy the peace and quiet. I don't mind doing the wrap-up work and prepping for the new year during that time. Totally agree. And I feel like even when you are doing work, some days it's really chill and the work you have to do is... kind of minimal so that that in itself is nice but even on the days where you have to work I feel like you're just in a good mood anyway because it's the holiday yeah and the office is like extra empty I'm like oh dude

this is nice and it's just it's more chill too because maybe the office is half empty or something and then the people who are there are like more happy to yeah I don't know. Like everyone's just on the same wavelength, you know? So true. We're all in a good mood. Like, oh my God, how's your holiday going? Everyone's in a cozy sweater. You're like, love that sweater.

I will participate in small talk during that week. Wait, that's so funny. You're like, I'm opting in because it's Christmas this week. Vibes are high. You honestly can't beat it.

Is there another week in the year where the vibes are as high? Dude, I don't know. I would say, like, maybe Thanksgiving is close. But the issue is that sometimes you're still kind of busy. It's like the last week of November and, you know, maybe you have something due on the first week of December. So there's the potential of still being a bit busy and people are still very in frantic mode.

And plus, I guess Thanksgiving isn't necessarily relaxing because a lot of people have to like cook and stuff. So people are like, oh, God, after I finish this work day, I need to go home and like... based my turkey or some shit dude also another issue is like if you have kids and kids get the entire week off but like at work it's usually just one or maybe two days right

So they're like, oh my god, who is going to take care of my child while I still need to go into the office? So I guess while everyone is grateful on Thanksgiving week, they're not necessarily relaxed.

Yeah, but Christmas is different, right? Because then I think people usually take the time off to spend with their family. Most of the projects have been... wrapped up or you know that like half the company is on vacation so you're like hey let's check back in january so everyone just focus on you know being with your family and taking care of your kids or doing whatever you need to go

Plus, because so many people are out, I feel like a ton of meetings are canceled. Oh my god, yes. Heaven. Every time I get a canceled meeting notification. Best feeling. I'm trying to think what I look forward to. One big thing I mentioned was like family stuff.

i guess it's become kind of a tradition now to do a gingerbread house competition every year with my family so that i always look forward to how can i make this gingerbread house even nicer this year remodel my home that's so cute i guess the other thing that i look forward to honestly the christmas desserts oh i feel like in the last few years it's become a thing to make cookies like christmas cookie tins or something yeah

that shit is fire it's so good and it doesn't even have to be like a big variety or something like even those cookies that you buy from Pillsbury that you just like slice up and toss in the oven. So good for some reason. So like those sugar cookies kind of, right? Yes. The sugar cookies. Anything coated in the powdered sugar I like. Anything with a walnut in it. It's just so good. Dude.

I also really like those. Do you remember those little cookies with like prints of Christmas trees on them? Yes, yes. So I bought a box of them for nostalgia and they're still hella good. They're like nice and chewy. It just, dude, sweets plus the rom-com on your TV just brings up the mood. Yes. Are there any other Christmas desserts that you like? Are you a candy cane person? Oh, I kind of am. Oh, okay. I like to make them super sharp. Oh my god. I see. It's like a project.

It's like how many licks to get to the center of the Tootsie pop? How many licks to get the sharpest candy cane? To create like a Christmas dagger. Do you like candy canes? They're all right. I really like peppermint bark. Oh, that's a good one. That's like my all-time favorite Christmas snack slash dessert. Do you like buy it or do you make it? I usually just buy it. I really like the Ghirardelli ones.

but honestly yeah it shouldn't be that hard to make so maybe someday I'll make some yeah wait chocolate did you just like throw it into the freezer to form I think so you like let it harden Wait, this is even easier than I expected. You don't even need to use the oven. You just need freezer space. Yeah. Okay, good to know. Have you had those...

It's kind of like red and white striped similar to a candy cane, but instead of being like a long stick, it's kind of like a little ball and it comes individually packaged in plastic. And then when you put it in your mouth, it's kind of crumbly and then you can like chew.

it oh wait i have it's like in the middle of being a hard and soft candy like a ball thing right and then inside it has like extra soft stuff kind of yeah yeah yeah it like dissolves and then you can kind of chew it but it like also melts yeah that one is so good but I can never find out where people get it I feel like they're only in those like big mixed like variety pack

It's like one of those generic candies you can only get at the office or something. Also, like, what is with Christmas and minty food? oh my god such a good point because why are we eating this when it's cold outside like why is peppermint such a christmas thing Maybe it's the colors because it's red and white. Although now that I think about it, that's probably just how we dye it because it's Christmas. Yeah. Even peppermint bark, they managed to like stick...

Red and white peppermint in there somehow. True. Now I'm trying to think if there's a summer version of peppermint. Oh. Aperol Spritz. Oh, could it be mint instead of peppermint? It's mint. Oh, the pepper is what makes it Christmas. I was thinking maybe like lemon. Like lemonade, like rocket pops, I think are technically kind of lemon flavored. That is a really good one, actually. Maybe we crave fruit in the summer and then like mint, something refreshing in the winter.

maybe okay so besides these strangely universally peppermint themed desserts that we've discovered is there actually anything that You noticed from this year that you liked that you actually want to continue to carry that energy into the new year. Yeah, there has been. One thing that I really liked about this year was... how I kept trying to strive for balance in my life. And it's something that I try to work on every year, but I feel like every year it does get easier.

So this year I felt like I was putting pretty equal effort into a lot of different things instead of just... deep diving into one aspect of my life. So hopefully next year, I will take these transferable skills and continue to live a little bit more of a balanced life. That's a good one. And I agree. Balance is always like a very tough.

thing to handle especially when we're super busy right so hopefully next year is easier how about you yeah actually i do have a couple of things one of them is like related to work actually Which is, I've been a little more proactive about doing things that I like at work. We did talk about it very briefly in the work extracurriculars. So I'm hoping to keep that energy into the new year.

And then otherwise in like personal life stuff. I think what I mentioned earlier about kind of learning new limits of my social battery. I'm happy to... carry that knowledge into the new year and hopefully use that as helpful information to also balance my life. Yeah, love that. It's crazy to think sometimes.

This is going to sound so dumb, but isn't it wild that we take learnings from last year and then apply it to the next year? And each year we're just technically growing more and more. It's all building on top of each other. Because sometimes I feel like each year feels so like separate to me. Yeah. But in reality, we're progressing some way or another. Hey, that doesn't sound dumb. That sounds real.

This is real life, folks. I mean, I guess that's like the ideal, right? We don't want to continue on without learning more about ourselves and adjusting to hopefully... keep on improving our life yes i totally agree well this has been really fun to kind of reflect on 2025 together and really gear ourselves up for 2026 so thank you crystal for getting deep and reflective with me and for any of our listeners out there

Feel free to let us know if you have end of year reflections or anything you like to do during the holiday season. And this is also going to be the last episode of season seven. So we'll be back in 2026 with a bigger and better season eight for you guys. Keep your eye out. We usually return towards the middle or end of January. And don't forget to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts. See you in 2026. Thanks for listening. And don't forget to eat your crust.