Of all the holidays, New Year’s has always felt the most bittersweet to me. I look around the living room and see the friends I love and adore, dancing as if in slow motion. Maybe it’s the drinks, or maybe it’s the almost cinematic feeling of the moment. John Lennon’s “Imagine” or “Auld Lang Syne” plays in the background. On TV, images of happy couples flash across the screen. The room feels suspended somewhere between the year that was and the year that’s about to begin.
And I can’t help but ponder: Of all the people gathered in Times Square, watching the ball drop beneath a sea of confetti and flashing lights, each has a completely different perspective of the year that’s ending. The same is true for everyone celebrating elsewhere. One calendar year, experienced in billions of different ways.
For the longest time, I’ve told people that 2019 was the best year of my life. It was before COVID turned the world upside down. I’d just graduated from high school with a 3.8 GPA (boo you, chemistry!), traveled to Boston and the Bahamas, started painting, and felt more confident than ever. Looking back, though, 2019 pales in comparison to 2026, a year that will be incredibly difficult to top.
This year, I’ve continually realized that one of the most underrated ways to experience life to the fullest is to approach it with insatiable hunger and curiosity. Part of what makes childhood so magical (aside from the lack of bills and major responsibilities) is that nearly everything feels new. There are milestones to celebrate, big and small. Learning to ride a bike? Check. Swimming in a lake for the first time? Check. Staying up until midnight on New Year’s Eve? Check.
As we grow older, those firsts are harder to come by. We’ve already experienced so much, sometimes once and sometimes hundreds of times, that it’s easy to forget how magical it feels to do something for the very first time.
Sean Spence expressed similar sentiments in his September column, “The Case for Doing Something You Have Never Done.” Trying new things, even seemingly random or insignificant ones, can increase your brain’s neuroplasticity. It gives you a dopamine boost and makes time feel fuller, much like it did when you were a child.
In addition to the amazing new experiences I’ve had this year in my personal life, exciting developments have been taking place at COMO Magazine and COMO Business Times as well. Moving to a bimonthly publishing schedule has given us more time to design beautiful pages for you, our readers, while allowing us to take on more in-depth stories that keep you informed about our community. We’re also working to expand our video content and, fingers crossed, launch a podcast of sorts.
Now, as managing editor, I’m also looking forward to a new set of responsibilities (Did you hear that? I’m actually excited about new responsibilities. It’s that frontal lobe development, I’m tellin’ ya!) and finding even more ways to add value to what we produce.
As we close out the year with our “Celebration” issue, I want you to take a moment to look back before you look ahead.
First, think about the things you might consider failures. What if you viewed them as reroutes instead? How have your mistakes helped you better understand yourself or brought you somewhere you might not have otherwise gone?
Next, pat yourself on the back for everything you’ve accomplished. I know it can be difficult to celebrate your own successes, but you deserve to recognize how far you’ve come.
Finally, start thinking about the year ahead. How can you approach it like a sponge, eager to absorb the world around you and everything it offers? What new experiences, places, and people can you seek out?
I hope you enjoy our final print issue of 2026. And a special shout-out to our new photographer and friend, Kylie Shaw, for creating a stunning cover in honor of Día de Muertos. Thank you for including COMO Magazine on your 2026 vision board!
