25 Things We Should All Leave in 2025
“Life shifts. We shift. And we’re allowed to let go of anything that no longer serves us.”
Hey Friend,
You know? I was doing some thinking and realized that my things I’m leaving in 2025 post didn’t even scratch the surface.
The more I looked back over a year of highs and lows, I realized that not only do I have things I need to leave behind, but there are some things that, collectively, WE ALL need to shed before moving into 2026. Some are learned, some we have tolerated out of habit, and some we just never liked in the first place.
This list is for the behaviors, mindsets, people, systems, pressures, annoyances, and expectations that we have outgrown. It’s the stuff that has drained us, confused us, and made us question our participation, whether it was forced, volunteered, or voluntold.
So, here it is. No overthinking. No emotional gymnastics. No guilt. Just pure clarity, honesty, and realness, my list of 25 things we all need to leave in 2025.
Facebook - What was once a place for reconnecting with friends and family has turned into a place filled with chaos, confusion, conspiracy theories, lies, scams, and ads that have flooded our timelines. And after over 20 years of existence, I think it’s time for us to pack it up, and send it on its way. *and take its equally annoying younger sibling Instagram with it*
Toxic male-centered podcasts (and the male-identified women who cosign them) - The loud mics. The louder delusion. The blatant recycled talking points dressed up as “logic” can just go. And the women applauding, commenting, and regurgitating their own disrespect? Yeah, we can usher them right out the door too.
Asking women when they’re going to have a kid/more kids - If I had a dollar every time someone asked, told, or tried to convince me to have another kid, I’d be a billionaire. Whether a woman decides to expand her family is no one's business. And no one has the right to convince her otherwise. That is a conversation reserved for her and her spouse, and/or medical practitioner.
Microsoft Office - Abolish it.
Misogynoir - The bias. The burden. The casual disrespect. The blatant harm. There’s no room for it in 2026.
Old white men making decisions about women’s bodies - No uterus. No say.
Poverty - In a world where billionaires exist, poverty should not. No one should go hungry. No one should be uncertain about the roof over their heads. No one should be living paycheck to paycheck. No one should go without. Ever.
Apologizing for life happening - You don’t owe me an apology for being human. Late replies, stepping away, or just needing time, are all valid. And I get it.
Victim-blaming - Stop asking what she did and start asking why he did it.
Overcomplicating simple things - Because when you think about it, it really isn’t that deep.
Fear - Faith and fear cannot reside in the same place. It’s time we put on our big girl panties, and confront our fears head on.
Motherhood comparisons - Just like each baby is different, so is each mother. And what works for some may not work for another. We have to be confident in how we show up for our babies, and not compare it to someone’s perfectly curated feed or highlight reel on Instagram.
Parenting advice from people without kids - No experience, but full of (unsolicited) opinions. God bless, love. But no thank you.
Overperforming - Listen, sometimes I can give 200% and sometimes all I have is the bare minimum. Either way, know that I’m done performing to prove that I belong.
Oversharing - Keep your business out the streets.
Treating my first choice like it’s my last - Life shifts. I shift. I’m not trapped or stuck. I’m allowed to move on from what no longer serves me. As much and as often as I need to.
Putting a question mark where there should be a period - No more doubting myself. No more softening my statements. No more asking for permission. Nothing but boss moves from here on out.
Code-switching - Because you’re going to get the version of me that I want to give you. And you’ll just have to be fine with it.
Mom shaming - Let mothers do what works for them and keep your shame to yourself.
Fake feminism - Because if your feminism isn’t intersectional, it’s not feminism.
Aesthetics over actual healing - You’ve got a bible on every table in your house. Boast about having crystals, sage, tarot cards, and practicing reiki. But you’re still acting how you’re acting? Baby, go spend some time doing the actual work instead of creating some illusion that you’re healed and whole.
Hustle culture - Because being exhausted is not a personality trait. And burnout is not an accomplishment.
Half-assed apologies - Because if it starts with, “I’m sorry you feel that way…,” or “I’m sorry if you…,” then it’s not true accountability. It’s manipulation cosplaying as manners.
Pretending I don’t want more - I’m done playing small. My dreams are loud and my spirit is louder.
Listening to respond and not to understand - Because comments like, “You’re a good one,” “Couldn’t be me,” “I would have done…,” “What you should have done…,” “I don’t know why you…,” and my all-time favorite, “See that’s where you messed up,” are not words of comfort and solidarity. They're passive-aggressive ways of saying, “You’re stupid,” “You’re wrong,” and “I would’ve handled it better.” And when someone is venting, that’s the last thing they need. Remember: Words hurt, people. Words hurt.
And here’s a bonus: Any environment that doesn’t know what to do with women like us. If we can’t bring our fullness, our brilliance, our light, our honesty, humor, or power, then it does not deserve our presence.
In creating this list, I am reminded that letting go can be freeing, funny, and bold. It is simply choosing a version of life that feels lighter, healthier, and more aligned with who we are at present day, and not who we used to be.
2026 deserves our boundaries, our joy, our softness, our confidence, and our full selves. And, well, if it’s not adding to that, then it deserves to stay right where it’s at.
With Love,
Racquel