Looking back on 2024
And looking forward to 2025
The end of 2023 into 2024, exactly one year ago brought great uncertainty in my life. What did the second half of the semester have in store, and what the hell was gonna happen with this new thing I started, just 3 months prior? All this and more were top of mind while I was watching the ball drop in at Times Square in the Big Apple. (It was cool, but a one-and-done sort of occasion, I would never do it again).
Fast forward to now, and wow, have things changed tremendously. For one, I have changed in some ways and stayed the same in others. For good, and also, for bad. My priorities in life have always been on a pendulum for me, never knowing what I should focus on. As I have found out through my experiences, like running a business, this blog, and my podcast, offer me an untapped amount of freedom to do, whatever I want.
As I look back on an extremely successful and happy year in my life, I realize today, as I am writing this, that so much time has passed and so much has happened that (I feel like I say all the time), I just can’t keep track. And when you can’t look backward, the best is always to look at what is going on now and what is happening in the future.
One thing that I loved about this year is this! Almost every week, I get to write and consolidate my thoughts on this here substack, and I once again thank every one of you for reading. Even if you read a sentence, I cannot fathom that anyone would want to read my writing. It’s something I have tried to improve this year, and from what I have seen, It just comes from practice, and continuing to write week after week. Practice makes perfect is an utterly stupid cliche, but damn, it works!
One thing I did not like about this year, was my lack of reading. Candidly this past semester was a bit of a rocky road. With a newfound attitude toward the improvement and innovation of my podcast, and a weekly article every week to attend to, my time was stretched extremely thin. Between going to classes, being involved with extracurriculars, serving papers as I do, on top of everything listed above, and also just living life in general, 2025 offers an opportunity to improve on what I would consider a failure on my part in the time management department. Those priorities that are always shifting will and must become an unbreakable cornerstone in this coming year.
I tell myself that A) I do not have enough knowledge, therefore B) I still need to gain so much more. Student for life as they say. But the struggle with being a student for life is making the time for it. Although underlying that sentence is a massive assumption, that being a student in life is something separate from your everyday life. In my view, I think it’s not. Being a student for life is something that you embrace, something that you carry around with you everywhere you go, asking questions, and being curious. Indeed this was something I keyed in on the podcast for this year, getting to the core of what makes a guest tick, or what gets them up in the morning. Maybe it’s a question I begin to integrate into the podcast. (It’s happening, I have decided at this moment I am doing it.)
This past semester may have just been a case of not having enough gas in the tank, but a quick reframe allows me to realize that maybe I was spending my gas on things that just, didn't matter.
2024 was filled with so many timeless memories, that I will remember for the rest of my life, but at the same time, the tail end felt like a momentous struggle. As a young child, I loved the holidays. School off, sledding with friends, playing Xbox in my Pjs while the snow falls outside, the good stuff. Now the holidays represent time with family, and as everyone gets older, it loses its magic. I think once I have children the magic will return, but until then, adult holidays!
I also have spent the past week in bed, sick, as was my entire family. Wicked cold/flu going around, I was one of its victims. Nevertheless, I have recovered and feel reenergized to make 2025, not only my favorite year but one of the best and successful years of my life.
A lot of this Winter break has led me to realize, that I am getting old, or as the kids say, I am gaining my “unc status” (look it up). Many years ago I sat in my basement playing Black Ops II with my friends, playing Nuketown 2025. A classic map, but one that always stuck out. It had futuristic undertones, but 2025 was so far in the future at the time, we all thought we would never get there for a long time. And now, we are here. We are in Nuketown 2025.
And yes, I understand I am not that old, 21 is very young on the grand scale of things, but with so little time in this precious life, I still have so much more I want to accomplish. 2025 is the year where I begin to lay down the stepping stones, even more than this year. To achieve and live the life I want to live.
At this point, I am just ranting, it’s a real brain dump! But to return to where we started, I began the year with uncertainty, and now I end the year with uncertainty surrounding different things. At the start of 2024, my life was completely different than it is now, which is something I look to strive for the rest of my life. In writing this article I am filled with joy, gratitude, and positive vibes for the incoming year.
Something about this nugget of insight from last year to this year made me realize that uncertainty will always loom in life. The “Zen” or “Stoic” state that people have been striving for thousands of years to achieve, may just not be possible. Principles can be integrated, and I would never want to downplay those philosophy and their immense benefits, but for 2025 I realize we will always have problems on our plate. It’s all about having those good problems, that can bring great fruition to my life and others.
This year was a chaotic one, with so many moving parts, the out with old in with the new type of year. I am not a New Year’s resolution type of person, as, why would I wait until the New Year to do something, just as I do any other day? But this year I have big things in store for everyone. It is all about execution, not just talking the talk, but also walking the walk.
With 2024 now in the rearview, the endless amount of possibilities begins again, for everyone, like any other day on earth. 2025 shall be our year, you (Yes you reading this) and me. And for my friends following me week after week, if you thought 2024 was productive for all things Lawyers in the Making, 2025 will blow you away, I guarantee it!
Well, Folks, that's all from me, Nate Crespo, your host for today and FOREVER! 2024 was to date, my best year ever. Never had I had so much success in so little time, in my entire life. I have partly accomplished a goal I have had my whole life, to stick to something for an extended period. Habits are important (Ask Aristotle) and I look forward to gaining even more this year. In the words of the greatest of all time, John Cena, who is also retiring at the end of 2025, YOUR TIME IS NOW!
Happy New Year!