Happy 2026! Let’s start the year off with some dancing. 💃 This year I promise:

  1. To continue to live with authenticity and integrity.
  2. To be inspired, diving deeply into ideas and learning.
  3. To adventure, and look for beauty in unexpected places.
  4. To not make myself smaller to make others comfortable.
  5. To push myself physically and do things that are hard.
  6. To age with elegance, and appreciate myself as I am.
  7. To believe a person when they show me who they are.
  8. To dance, laugh, and be curious about the world.
  9. To prioritize self-care and rest.

To little funny looking, goblin me: you finally grew above 4 feet. You’ll feel out of place for a long time, and life is going to be hard when you enter adulthood. You’ll grow from it, and you’ll be OK. You will learn that beauty and value are within you, and Sovereign. They do not require validation or being chosen. They exist because you are a person who notices the world.

This closing year, 2025 had a lot of adventures with dancing, Flux tutorials, running and biking and beautiful places!

Onward to the adventures of 2026, still as a goblin, but taller! 💪



Suggested Citation:
Sochat, Vanessa. "The Fifth Decade." @vsoch (blog), 02 Jan 2026, https://vsoch.github.io/2026/fifth-decade/ (accessed 03 Jan 26).