2025 Ins and Outs

Ins:

Minimal Skincare:

All of 2024’s wildly popular “get ready with me” videos seemed to start off with excessive skincare routines. Many influencers promoted products like Drunk Elephant and Glow Recipe that claimed to target every imaginable skin concern. “Flawless skin” was chased by layering on sprays, serums, oils and creams. In reality, one person's 15-step regimen isn’t going to work for every skin type and getting caught up in endless product launches won’t provide any more clarity than confusion. Give your skin a breather and, in 2025, try just a few quality products instead of the popular quantity. Sometimes, less is truly more, and focusing on what works for you will give your skin the space it needs to glow.

Living in the Moment:

Although 2024 passed in a second, it's still hard to believe that it's already a new year. Each year of my life time seems to move faster and faster and there are only a few moments to just breathe. Slowing down a bit is what everybody needs for 2025. I often find myself too focused on making sure I have pictures to post on Instagram or show others when I’m somewhere exciting or with my friends. Teenagers especially, myself included, are obsessed with glorifying and fabricating a seemingly perfect life so much that we rarely take a step back. For 2025, enjoy the moments as you're in them, not just when you're looking back at the highlights. In a world that applauds productivity and achievement, it's hard to remember the value of doing nothing and taking a second to relax. Appreciate all the unfiltered moments of this year and the everyday experiences that are so often overlooked. 

Outs:

Following Fashion Trends:

Bows, cheetah print, jersey style tops. 2024 was marked by fashion trends that consumed every clothing store. Flowy bows and flashy cheetah prints were printed on every clothing item imaginable. You couldn’t walk in a Tilly’s or Urban Outfitters without seeing 5 different tops with random bold numbers on the front, mimicking a sports jersey. With all the popularity of these different trends, pressure grew to own these pieces simply because they were “in”. However, in this frenzy of “must-have” items, it's important to remember that fashion is truly about self-expression. You don’t need to choose one aesthetic or style to stick to; wearing what makes you feel confident will always be more worthwhile, and worth your money. Whether it's embracing comfort, feeling casually chic or putting on a more formal look, it doesn’t matter what trends are “in” or “out,” as long as you feel like yourself. 

Time-Wasting Games:

Like every other teen this year I fell into the trap of procrastination and avoidance. I binged far too many TV shows, doom-scrolled on TikTok and shopped online for jeans and tops that were never going to leave my cart. Amidst all these, by far one of the most popular procrastination methods of 2024 was mobile games. Block Blast, the Watermelon Game, Brawl Stars and many more mini-games were downloaded onto millions of people's phones. An easy way to escape from what seemed like never-ending work was a never-ending game. Yes, the boost of dopamine from clearing a level or beating a high score feels good in the moment, but really very little is achieved from that besides the momentary bragging rights. In 2025, even out your daunting workload by tackling tasks one step at a time and not just getting sucked back into these addictive games. It's time to achieve a lasting sense of satisfaction from checking things off your to-do list and making real progress.