Shut Up & Drive, It's 2025

2024 was one of the best years of my life – filled with so many incredible people, places, and experiences. I got into better shape, surrounded myself with amazing friends, and saw real growth in my creative work. I’ve felt like a towering statue, standing tall with unshakable confidence, like nothing could touch me. For a while, I was invincible—solid, strong, and sure of myself.

But over the past few months, it’s as if life has been chipping away at my foundation. Each day, a new crack appears, and now, I’m starting to feel like the statue I once was is now slowly crumbling, piece by piece.

As the foundation I spent so much time building begins to crumble before my eyes, I’m forced to face the question: What do I do now? Do I stop everything, freeze in place, and let the pieces fall where they may? Or do I keep moving forward, picking up the broken parts and building something new? For the past couple of months, I’ve been stuck at a red light—just stopping, hesitant to make a move. I’ve gotten comfortable with the idea of not doing anything at all, thinking that staying still might somehow protect me from further damage. But deep down, I know that standing still won’t get me anywhere. It’s time to choose: go or stop?

Growing up in a small town, in the middle of nowhere, (and yes, I’m going to keep bringing that up as long we are being introspective) I’ve carried with me a deeply ingrained habit of stopping. Stop being too loud, stop being too different, stop being too much. Every "stop" was an attempt to make myself fit into a smaller, more acceptable version of me. And for a while, I thought I could live my life that way—pressing the brakes every time I felt too big, too bold, or too myself. But now, I see it for what it is: a trap. I know that if I keep pressing pause, I’ll be stuck forever.

So as I approach 2025, my 27th year on this planet, I’ve made a decision: it's all go from here. No more second-guessing, no more apologies for being who I am. No more stopping for anyone or anything. It’s time to put the car in drive and accelerate forward, no matter how uncertain the road ahead may seem. In the wise words of Rihanna, "baby you got the keys, now shut up and drive." I won’t let the fear of falling hold me back. Will it be easy? No. Did I tell myself I’d do this last year? Maybe. But this year, I’m not just telling myself—I’m showing up and moving forward, no more stops, only go.