2025

LIFE

2025 has been quite the year; both terrible and great. Time has snuck by relentlessly – I usually forget that it even exists. The days continue to drag along uneasily, shifting and warping until the next new year appears. Anyways, I digress; I'll stop speaking in riddles.

2025 was a year of realization – a year filled with sorrow, excitement, and an odd sense of confusion (I guess I'm still sorta speaking in riddles eh... sorry bout that).

Early this year, my father unexpectedly passed away (*disclaimer: this is not meant to be a pity party). This was the first time in my life that I've lost a loved one. Prior to his passing, death just seemed like something very far into the horizon; an aspect of life that never seems like it will approach, so you just sort of forget about it. It's usually buried away in our minds – far from our everyday conscious. Even though I know that it's there, it just seemed too far removed to actually feel/be real.

Losing my father was extremely difficult, and because it was so sudden, it didn't feel real. And honestly, to this day, it still does not truly feel real. I think about him often – almost daily; definitely weekly.

While I am well aware that our lives are transient, for me, death was always something that only happened in movies or shows... I've always been a bit naive in that sense. When it became a reality in my life, it set off some internal circular loop in my brain, and I could not stop overthinking about it all – life, that is.

The feelings are sometimes hard to describe, but the experience of losing him sort of forced me do some internal digging and searching.

My dad was one to NEVER care what people thought... and I am not exaggerating at all. Because of this, I would always find him SO embarrassing. But now, when I truly look back on it, I envy his indifference to public perception. He was a man who always slapped a smile on his face whenever he went about his day. He'd make people smile, say the dumbest jokes (half of the time, they didn't even make sense), and had a knack for making friends with anyone.

Soon after he passed in March, my default feeling was sadness, but lately, that has shifted. My emotions are constantly changing, and it isn't always grief anymore. When I think of him now, I think of his smile and boisterous laugh, which in turn makes me smile and laugh. I think of him cracking jokes to some random person at Superstore, and I chuckle. I think about the genuine joy he found in the most random things – he was always out and about on some random ahh side quest – and it brings me joy.

Since his passing, I've learnt to truly embrace his quirks. I'm unsure what made him tick like that, but It's now my modus operandi to strive to be more like him in those ways. While our relationship was far from perfect and was quite complex, I still will always appreciate his brightest attributes.

FRIENDS

The outpouring support that I was blanketed with after the passing of my father was overwhelming (in a good way). Although I am well aware of the great friends that I have in my life, their support to the whole situation was a nice reminder of just how lucky and blessed I am.

I have had the same friend group since high school, and we have definitely gotten closer throughout the years. I've also been quite fortunate to have made more friends outside of my main group.

Having a solid core of great friends is extremely important in life. I personally couldn't really imagine a life without my friends. I am extremely grateful to have a group of friends who are all extremely diligent, with great ambitions and a varied sense of what brings them happiness – they keep me grounded and motivated.

I had a ton of great moments with my friends this year and am truly thankful of the continued memories with them.

A big highlight this year was our Montreal trip for my brother's bachelor party. It's hard to rally up the entire platoon for a trip, but luckily almost everyone was able to make it. The trip was filled with great food, amazing nightlife and stellar company.

It was my first time in Montreal, but I quickly fell in love with the city – I haven't been to many other cities in Canada (even though I live here), but Montreal might be my favourite city so far.

All in all, 2025 was a standout year of memories with friends.

2025 PREDICTIONS - HOW DID THEY FARE?

Invest + save at least 40% of my income – 55%

Result: Fail

I would have really liked to achieve this goal, but things just didn't work out. There are numerous areas where I can point towards and blame, but I'm just going to accept the fact that I didn't stay disciplined enough... Anyways, I'm hoping that in 2026 I'll be able to work on my overall financial discipline.

Run the Quebec City Marathon in under 4 hours – 80%

Result: Fail

80%?? Yikes.

This honestly could have been doable (obviously, when I set the goal, I thought it was going to be easy as I scored it as an 80% likelihood of passing), but I did not train hard at all. So, the jokes on me! The marathon was quite an experience and was definitely a highlight of my year. I ended up running a 4:21:09. For my first marathon, I am happy with this result, especially since this was an extremely hilly course.

I hadn't done any incline training and suffered as a result. To be fair, I think I faired well for the majority of the race. However, during the last 7km stretch, whenever I encountered any elevation, my quads and calves began to tighten and seize...

I remember vividly, at one specific point in the race I thought I was done for. There was a stretch through a tunnel with high incline as we exited. Once I reached the peak of the climb, my calves gave up on me and it was extremely difficult to even walk...

At this point, thoughts began to brew in my head, doubting if I'd even finish.

I rallied my composure and stretched for a couple minutes and pushed onwards. My quads and calves were still super sensitive, but I was able to squeeze through a slow run till the finish.

The Quebec City Marathon was definitely the hardest physical thing I've ever done, but it was well worth it! I hope to challenge another marathon in the near future, but this time train properly.

Read at least 15 books – 90%

Result: Pass

I read 15 books this year. Out of the 15 books, only three were fiction. My favourite book I read this year was The Broken Wings by Kahlil Gibran. It was my second time reading The Broken Wings, and it definitely won't be my last. Not too sure what it is, but this book has the ability to fully grab my attention with ease and keeps my eyes glued to the pages.

In summary, the book is a tragic love story about a young man and woman who fall in love. The two are unable to pursue their relationship further than occasionally meeting in secrecy – Selma, the young woman, has already been courted and promised into marriage with another man. While she inevitably falls in love with the protagonist, she is unable to change the situation that she is in, and so these secret meetups are the extent of what she can do to see the man she loves. Some other stuff goes down, but I don't want to spoil the ending!

These sad stories always have a way of pulling me in, but this book in particular evokes a special feeling in me – I'm not quite sure what exactly it is about it, but I find myself randomly thinking about certain parts of this book months after reading it.

PREDICTIONS FOR 2026

Invest + save at least 40% of my income – 40%

I failed this goal in 2025, but will make a valiant attempt in 2026! I know that I can achieve this goal. I think the two main culprits of my spending habits are (1) I enjoy small discretionary purchases that quickly add up, and (2) I love trying new restaurants and eating out.

Reflecting back on 2025, I definitely made unneeded purchases; one of the sneakiest perpetrators is... coffee, and honestly, I probably will continue to indulge! I've also purchased some big ticket items that I don't really need; mainly for that quick thrill and dopamine hit – these types of purchases will definitely cool down in 2026.

My partner and I always go out to restaurants – some expensive, some not. However, it brings us great pleasure. We've discussed that we are going to try and limit the frequency of going out to eat, but it will be a big challenge. My partner is an amazing chef, so I'm lucky that when we choose not to go out, she never disappoints when making home-cooked meals.

I made a budget on Excel that I will be updating extensively as the months go by, so this should also help keep me a bit more disciplined with my spending habits.

Journal at least three times per week – 85%

I started journaling at the beginning of 2025 and really enjoyed it. I'm not too sure what happened, but I stopped journaling completely halfway through the year. Reading back through my entries was super fun and I enjoyed a handful of laughs whilst reminiscing the memories. Overall, I think it’s a great, healthy habit that forces you to slow down and gather meaningful reflections.

Pass CFA Level 1 and my final CBV exam – 95%

I decided to pursue the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and signed up for Level 1 this past October. My exam date is May 12, 2026 (my bday!) – I believe that I am well positioned to pass the exam, especially since I have already been studying a decent amount.

Secondly, I will be challenging the final exam for the Chartered Business Valuator ("CBV") designation in September. I am a bit more nervous for this exam. The final exam for the designation is only offered once a year, and I chose not to write it in 2025, leaving me with a big gap before finally writing it. Fingers crossed all goes well!!

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Picture my friend captured on his Ricoh GR III (such an amazing camera btw) of our group on a bike tour in Montreal for my brother’s bachelor party. The tour was a blast, aside from one of our friends taking a scary tumble at over 30 km/h! Surprisingly, he ended up being ok... Although he did mangle his shoulder pretty badly. At least there were no broken bones!