2024 Superlatives: What I Loved, Learned, and Simply Want to Remember

my year in review + literary and cinematic recommendations

Jan 01, 2025

I usually don’t do New Year’s resolutions, partly because they are notoriously unlikely to be kept (only about 8% of them last past the first month!). Instead, I usually do a theme, focus, or intention for the year. I like that because it’s lower pressure and allows me to change the way I live out that theme as the year evolves.

My theme of the year for 2024 was “bold action.” I wanted to pick something that could apply to my business and my personal life, which this did. In both arenas, my goal was to avoid overthinking (analysis paralysis anyone?) and instead leap boldly into action after only a short deliberation.

It was a reminder that, many times, there’s no one right option; there are probably many great options, and I just have to choose one and see how it goes. Few things are final.

It also reminded me, especially in my parenting, that I can’t control nearly as much as I think I can. Even if I analyze every possible aspect and scenario of a decision, my children may (read: usually will) surprise me. I realized that the more effort I put into planning things to minimize their discontent (which often becomes my own), the more frustrated I was when they became unhappy anyway. It might sound pessimistic, but it was freeing to accept that meltdowns and complaining were, to some degree, inevitable with three young girls in the family, and there wasn’t much I could do to prevent it.

Looking back at the year, I think I did pretty well at living out my intention to take “bold action.” I took some big risks, tried new things, and grew exponentially. I still caught myself overthinking (or “indulging in confusion” as my business coach once called it—so perfect!), but I took way more action than in previous years (a major accomplishment for a doing-repressed Enneagram 4!).

Next week, I’ll share my theme and hopes/goals for 2025, but for now, here’s a look back at the year I just finished along with some stand-out books and movies I enjoyed in 2024.

If you don’t already do something like this, I highly recommend it! Celebrating your wins (what you survived, how you thrived, what you made, what you learned) doubles your joy and strengthens the positive associations in your brain around those kinds actions.

2024 Recap and Highlights

Thanks for the idea,

Ariel Curry

Year in Review

January: ~~girls~~’ women’s trip to Charleston to celebrate a friend’s 40th
February: 4th cohort of Unearthing Beauty underway
March: decided to renew my mastermind membership to keep growing my business and my character; also, three birthdays
April: attended Illuminate Conference on Art and Faith; decided to cut my hours in half at my day job to focus more on my writing and editing business
May: husband completed his Doctorate in Education Leadership; husband and I went to Destin without the kids (!!) to visit friends
June: kicked off 1st ever cohort of The Soul and Science of Great Writing; solo writing retreat in the Berkshires (aka heaven)
July: started my Substack (finally!); family trip to Blue Ridge Mountains
August: youngest child left daycare and started pre-K, putting us all at the same school for the first time
September: middle child (7) fell in love with reading; I attended and presented at the Refined Conference
October: youngest child broke her arm (not exactly a highlight, but definitely a major event); also cut her gorgeous curls short at her request ( I was legit sad for a full day)
November: led Musings to Memoir training; actually delightful Thanksgiving Break at home with our family (noteworthy with three littles . . . iykyk)
December: led Wake Up Wanting to Write workshop; making consistent, enjoyable progress on my novel

Throughout the year:

learned from five different coaches (2 creativity coaches, 1 enneagram and marriage coach, 1 spiritual director, 1 business coach)
committed to my mental and physical health with nutrition (chia seed shake protein shake for breakfast, big salad for lunch), exercise (dance/strength classes 2-3 times a week), regular walks, and more time at home alone in a quiet house (sensory overload was killing me!)
added book mapping to my professional resume and loved it
edited or otherwise worked on 9 books and several articles
supported a dear friend through major crisis, imperfectly yet powerfully sharing the unconditional love of Jesus through my actions
unlocked the secret to actually enjoying (creative) writing again, which is the key to actually making time to write and actually make progress on my novel

What I’m Most Proud of

how much I’ve learned about marketing and running a business, but more importantly, about myself as a result of investing in business coaching
transitioning to part-time at my day job, taking the big step to rely financially on my business
finally making my online writing craft course a reality (after 2 years of planning!)
how much I learned about overcoming resistance with my own writing

Best and Worst Moments

Best moment(s) and what I learned:

zoom calls with clients when they told me how supported and understood they felt: emphasized that what I care about most in my editing work is the sense of partnership I develop with my authors, really getting “in the trenches” with them and investing in their project
seeing my girls grow in confidence and maturity with each Brazilian jiu-jitsu practice and hearing my oldest articulate that sometimes doing the really hard thing leads to the best feeling afterward: reminded me how important it is to allow my children to struggle rather than seeking to minimize their negative emotions
conversations with my dear friend in crisis when I knew she felt unconditionally loved by me: taught me the power of presence, of physically and emotionally being with someone in their darkest moments, and how essential a sense of belonging is to our souls

Worst moment and what I learned:

sending my youngest (4) off to the operating room without me as she cried and said she was scared (surgery to set her broken arm); even though I knew it was a simple surgery, I couldn’t stop crying for almost 30 minutes: showed me how terrifying it is to realize our own lack of control, our powerlessness to protect our children from fear and pain, how great the risk we take in loving them, how lucky we’ve been to have avoided surgery until then, and how very much we need the comfort of our heavenly Parent

Favorite Memories

swim and dinner with new writer friends in Mt. Washington (discussed in this post)
playing in a creek near Blue Ridge with the girls
laughing with spiritual sisters who see my soul
New Year’s Eve reflections with local community

What I’m Most Grateful for

friends, new and ~~old~~ not new, local and far-flung
opportunities to use my gifts to help people
my husband who supports my goals, both personal and professional, not only with his words but with his actions, specifically by sharing the domestic load
that my girls are growing into strong, kind, courageous people in spite of (and perhaps sometimes, in part, because of) my imperfect parenting

My Creative Bests

Most popular social post (IG): 3 Reasons You’re Not Writing
Most popular Substack article: The #1 Most Important Quality for Memoir (That Writers Often Miss)
Piece I learned the most from writing: Creative Courage and the Ways We Keep Ourselves Small
Most challenging and personally impactful training I offered: Wake Up Wanting to Write

Literary and Cinematic Superlatives

These weren’t necessarily released in 2024 (though many were). Rather, they’re the books, articles, movies, and shows that impacted me the most last year.

Disclaimer: if you’re sensitive to certain kinds of content, please look up a review of the book or film to check for triggers or social/cultural topics you want to avoid.

Most life-changing book I read: The Artist’s Joy
Most controversial book discussed in my in-person book club (I loved it, but many did not): How to Stay Married
Most discussion-provoking family film: Wonder
Most thought-provoking film (for grown-ups): Will & Harper
Most delightful film (for grown-ups): Hit Man
Most upsetting and also inspiring book: The Woman They Could Not Silence
Most sung song in our household: “Watch Me Work” from Trolls: Band Together
Most enjoyable book I read/listened to: Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan (heads up, this one’s a little bit spicy/racy)
Most unexpectedly touching show (for grown-ups): Black Doves

Your turn!

What are you most proud of from 2024?

What are some of the bests and worsts?

And what did you learn?

Hit reply or comment below and let me know!