For the past five, maybe six years now, I have chosen to define a new year with #oneword, as opposed to selecting a resolution that rarely makes it past the second week in January.

The purpose for selecting one word to define a particular year is so that you can life your life according to a particular theme. You can consider your one word as a guidepost or a beacon to (re)direct you, your thoughts, and your actions as necessary with the goal that by the end of the year, you will look back and see how your year was defined by that one word.

My #oneword for last year was JOY. It was a word that was easy to remember, and more importantly, as I reflected on 2024, I was able to see the many, many, MANY times that JOY made an appearance in the big and little things. Last year was a year of change. Last year, we officially made the move from California to Michigan. We traded the fast-paced life-style of Southern California for the slower-paced small town life of Northern Michigan. Last year, we lost several very dear friends and family. I don’t know that I’ve ever lost so many loved ones in one year.

So while there was joy in trading the known for the unknown, there was also joy in knowing that the pain and suffering from loved ones had also ended. Joy was present as we settled into our new home. We found joy exploring the various local lakes and rivers. Countless, beautiful sunsets from our deck brought joy every single evening. I also found joy in new responsibilities for projects that expanded my skillset.

As such, I’ve decided that I am going to keep the word JOY as my #oneword challenge for 2025.

While I typically seek JOY in my personal life, I am going to make a concerted effort to also find JOY in my professional endeavors as well. Writing has always been a passion of mine, even from a very young age. But as we can all attest, life can get very busy and many of the things that bring us JOY quickly fall to the wayside. So, this year — 2025 — is the year that I will purposely seek JOY in both my personal and professional life.

To that end, today’s JOY is two-fold: (1) falling snow that shimmers like glitter in the morning sunlight and (2) sharing one of my favorite edtech tools (Newsela) with a group of social science educators from Elmwood Community SD.

I cannot wait to see what JOY comes tomorrow.