Since 2016, Spotify has been running its Wrapped viral campaign to allow users to celebrate their year in music. It’s fun. But then it also shows you how insignificant you are in the grand scheme of things.
Other platforms followed. YouTube, LinkedIn, now every brand wants a year recap. We all do.
I did not start 2025 with fireworks. In fact, I was asleep when the year started. I had no countdown, no shouting. Just some peaceful sleep while the world erupted in a fireworks frenzy. I chose to do the opposite and it felt so right.
Fast forward, so many things have happened. What a year 2025 has been. So here is my own wrap. A random recollection of 2025.
The year gave us great movies. With blockbusters like Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning and horror flicks like Weapons, movie lovers had a blast. It was a year of great production for the big screen. And then someone decided to make War of the Worlds. What was that, really? I feel Netflix owes us an explanation for that horrible movie. My favourite? I am a little biased here, but my number 1 of the year is F1. It was more than a Brad Pitt movie; it’s probably one of, if not the best car racing movie ever made. It’s my opinion, so let’s not debate.
Music was great. Not Like Us became an anthem of self-admiration, societal unity, and hate. Yes, it is a hate song, but you can choose to call it whatever you want. But man, Die With a Smile by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars was massive. The song was Spotify’s longest-running number 1 ever, fastest to 3 billion streams, and most-streamed song of 2025. It hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed in the Top 10 for over 50 weeks. What a stellar performance.
My number 1 song, however, was Canto Della Terra by Jonathan and Charlotte. Translated as “Song of the Earth,” Canto Della Terra is a powerful operatic pop song originally done by Andrea Bocelli that celebrates the interconnectedness of human love and the natural world. I could not get enough of this song.
In 2025 we made contact with aliens. Hahaha… just kidding. But there are some people who believe we did. In my opinion, 3I/ATLAS is just an interstellar comet, not an alien spacecraft. Look, there are so many astrophysical explanations and indicators that the thing is nothing but a space rock. You think aliens would send a probe across the cosmos to fly by Earth at a distance of 270 million km? That would be like going to Egypt to see the Pyramids and then peeping at them through your hotel window. What a lost opportunity and waste of resources.
South Africa had “the rapture.” Oh boy. Thousands swarmed the supposed venue to take off on a flight to heaven. But let us pause for a second. How on earth do you even start to share that thought?
Then the Diddy documentary. 50 Cent got so much hate he can open a hate school. Man, how did he get that footage?
Lando Norris became F1 world champion, joining the elite club of big names like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and of course the one and only Max Verstappen, who is arguably one of the best drivers in the history of the sport.
Highlights make the year look neat. They package twelve months into moments worth clapping for. They give the impression of progress and direction. But they only tell part of the story. Away from the headlines and milestones, the rest of the year kept moving quietly, touching ordinary lives in ways no recap ever captures.
So many things have happened this year. Life kept shifting without warning. Jobs appeared and disappeared. Contracts ended, businesses closed. Some buried their loved ones, who have since left holes that routines will never fill. Some have made a fortune; some are in debt so deep they’d need Pemphero Mphande to run a fundraiser to bail them out. Just saying. The year reminded us how fragile stability is and how fast the ground can move under our feet.
Somewhere in that chaos, quiet work happened. Some found peace after long unrest. Others began healing without knowing when it started. A deep breath. A full night of sleep, pushing forward to retake control of their lives.
For me, people defined the year. Friends showed up without being asked. Some checked in consistently. Some sat with me in silence. Some carried weight I could not carry alone. 2025 applied pressure, but the presence of good people reduced the damage. Support did not solve everything, but it made the hard days survivable. So long, 2025.
Now, my New Year’s resolutions. Jokes… hahaha. I do not tie my plans to a calendar year. I tie them to time. Five months means five months. Not January. Not December. If I say I want to be in the US in five months, that clock starts now. Not next year. Year-based goals can mess with your head sometimes. If you miss one target, your mind calls you a failure. You drag that weight around. You lose rhythm. I take days as they come. I plan in blocks of time. Regardless, I keep going.
How was your year? If you were to do your life 2025 Wrapped, would you post it on social media? What about your work Wrapped, relationship Wrapped, or ChatGPT Wrapped? The last one could get many people fired for sure.
To everyone who reads my blog, thank you for giving me your time. Thank you for thinking, disagreeing, sharing, and coming back. Writing only works because someone chooses to read. I wish you a steady 2026. Keep it Stanlite.
