2025
Observed From The Wrong Angle
I don’t trust year-end summaries.
They sound like press releases written by optimism interns.
I didn’t watch 2025. I overheard it. From places people don’t document. Waiting rooms. Comment sections. My own reactions when nobody was watching.
Like a conversation through a thin wall where nobody is happy but everyone is very confident.
Here’s what I noticed:
1. Meaning
In 2025, meaning didn’t disappear.
It just started charging a subscription fee.
Most people clicked “Accept” without reading the terms.
2. Intelligence
Everyone suddenly became very intelligent this year.
Especially about things they learned yesterday.
And forgot tomorrow.
3. Outrage
Outrage became cardio.
People felt morally fit without ever moving their legs.
Sweat-free righteousness is the new yoga.
4. Silence
Silence made a comeback in 2025.
Not because people valued it,
but because nobody could afford another opinion.
5. Spirituality
God didn’t return in 2025.
But God-content did.
With better lighting and worse questions.
6. Freedom
People said they wanted freedom.
What they meant was fewer consequences.
And a better algorithm.
7. Politics
In 2025, politics didn’t deliver solutions.
It delivered slogans.
Asked for patience, loyalty, and silence in return.
8. Religion
Religion didn’t disappear in 2025.
God was still there.
It was the middlemen who got louder, like they were on commission.
9. Loneliness
Loneliness was everywhere this year.
Hidden behind group photos, podcasts, and “community”.
Like hunger at a wedding buffet.
10. Authenticity
Authenticity peaked in 2025.
Everyone was finally being themselves.
After checking if it was trending.
11. Courage
Courage became very popular online.
Offline, it remained inconvenient, unpaid.
And bad for networking.
12. Truth
Truth didn’t die in 2025.
It just got tired of being invited.
Only to be argued with.
13. Creativity
Creativity survived this year by becoming quieter.
The loud ones got the likes.
The real ones got insomnia.
14. Hope
Hope wasn’t optimistic in 2025.
It was cautious, well-informed.
And slightly embarrassed to still exist.
15. Me
In 2025, I realised something unsettling.
I wasn’t lost.
I was just early, and early looks a lot like failure.
That was 2025.
In 2026, the algorithms won’t silence us. They’ll speak for us.
We’ll remain divided, angry, and hopeful at the same time.
They’ll sell hate as identity and false promises as progress.
And we’ll keep buying both because they’re cheaper than fixing things.
And when we stop sounding like ourselves, we’ll say it’s fine.
It’s convenient.
Happy New Year.