COLUMN:Secrets From a Girl: 2024 recap
“As I trudged to my car, parked across campus because of flood warnings and fear of yet another parking ticket, I began to wonder what sort of metaphor I might use to start my last article of the year” (Makayla White).
December 24, 2024
Makayla White, Editor
As I trudged to my car, parked across campus because of flood warnings and fear of yet another parking ticket, I began to wonder what sort of metaphor I might use to start my last article of the year. Unapologetic, unpredictable and barreling toward the finish line, 2024 was like nothing else.
That’s when it hit me. Was this something we would say at the end of the year, every single year? I don’t remember the last time I was able to fondly reminisce at the end of the year about all the things that had occurred. 2024 was a big one and as berserk as she may have been, I can’t disregard any of these things as being completely intolerable.
If 2024 did one thing right, she was really cinematic. The trudging to my car in freezing rain, wearing a fully gray sweatsuit and crocs was the perfect metaphor for the state of all things at the end of this minefield of a year. If life was a movie, Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls would be playing and I would be the sweet brunette girl who was simply searching for a Hallmark hunk to teach her the reason for the season.
From sinister situationships to super cute baseball players, 2024 gave me a plethora of non-negotiables that would only be selfish to keep in my junk journal.
2024 taught me that relationships, much like my old Jeep somewhere between Umaine Presque Isle and Umaine Farmington, can be like a car fire on the side of the interstate. As the poor Jeep was broken down and in flames, so was the fragile illusion of a budding romance.
This year, sweethearts were replaced by soft launches and romantic gestures came in the form of Venmo requests. Love, or the lack thereof felt like it was somewhere in the middle of transactional and transformational. Yet, that moment-standing on the side of the interstate in a Burberry trench coat and plaid pajama pants- taught me a lesson that even a new Taylor Swift album couldn’t. Sometimes, the hardest part of these toxic relationships is when we have to admit that it’s over.
About two months later the boy that I’d driven to Presque Isle for, decided he wanted something “casual.” Naturally, me being the least casual person alive, drove to Portland (in the shiny new car I’d replaced the old Jeep with), and took pictures with minor league baseball players to prove just how far from “casual” I truly am.
Somewhere between the late-night texts that never led to anything and the freezing hours spent being a sideline supporter at copious sporting events, I found that the greatest romance was the one I was writing for myself. Though single life is never painted as glamorous, I found that I have a natural ability to make anything sparkle.
This year, ambition was like standing on a treadmill that was set a little too fast, just when you finally acclimated to the speed, someone came up and poked the incline button. Was I supposed to keep up the hustle, focus on my side hustle, or rethink the hustle entirely? The real question was; what does life look like when you’re not anxiously updating your LinkedIn four times a day?
Success came in big and small moments this year. To me, it became less about climbing corporate ladders and more about things like holding space for takeout with my girlfriends and hand-picked flowers (dandelions) given to me by adolescent clients. Love was the look from my little green-eyed kitty companion, not the raunchy texts I received at 3am from a situationship, and peace was what I felt when I no longer drove an unstable Jeep that was bound to combust spontaneously in the coldest part of the state.
As the year wound down, I realized how much of 2024 had been a series of abrupt shifts and unfinished plans. Despite this chaos, I found myself proud of the path that I’d strategically carved. This year was some sort of blend of awkward missteps, surprising wins and situationships to write home about, all the perfect example of the strength it requires to walk away. Sometimes that was the most powerful move I could make in this unpredictable game of life.
In a year that felt like material for a fast-paced montage, the scene where the main character has her big revelation, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d had my own. Some things burst into flames when you least expect it, while other things remind you that even in those ashes there is opportunity for something, a better fit.
Somewhere between confusion, chaos and crystal-clear clarity I decided that I wouldn’t go into 2025 expecting clean conclusions or cinematic crescendos. I will be surviving the fires and embracing the aftermath. Finding stubborn, small joys (like singing about Tortured Poets in the presence of those who make you laugh until you have abs) will bring more benefits than engulfing yourself in the flames.
2024 definitely did not give me any fairytale ending but it gave me sharp edges, soft landings and a list of boys who are not allowed to talk to me ever again. I learned how to find peace in imperfection, embrace the incomplete and romanticize the messiest of chapters.
Take it from me, credible because I am a girl who has seen it all before. Start writing your love story now. In pink glitter gel pen ink, page by page with scribbles and lines and little hearts in the margins. It doesn’t take a Hallmark hunk to tell you that maybe the real reason for the season is celebrating every single moment. Each beautiful and messy little moment that reminds you that you’re still here, writing the story.
