What a year. We have had a real competition to be the most terrible years over the past decade, but this one really took its toll. Perhaps as a culmination of them all. How many of us feel better at the end of this year? I cannot say I have felt much worse. But we cannot afford the energy to dwell on 2025 and its horrors. Sitting in that for too long can become a swamp of sadness that we may never leave.
So here’s to 2026. The door is wide open for betterment, enlightenment, and opportunity. Leave the things and people who dragged you down or tainted your shine on the side of the yellow brick road. And now that more people understand that metaphor, we can also walk away from the yellow brick road itself. As Margaret Atwood reminds us that it only leads to authoritarianism. Let’s all walk on our own paths, but together.
See you on the other side.
-Ashley E. Remer
Head Girl
Girl Museum