appalachian grasshopper

2025 was a good year. This is a quick recap of what happened, and what’s next

The Business Journey

In April, my husband and I started a cleaning business. it brought in $18K in 9 months

in the early fall, I sold bread and other sweets. that was fun and brought in a little extra cash. I also sold some eggs from our chickens when we had an excess.

Finishing My Bachelor’s

Summer was prime time for internships and I completed 2. One with mastercard on forage – a simulation on a retail marketing campaign and it’s impact on sales. the second was through Victoria solutions out of london, UK. That one was very hands on – and had us walk through various data analysis scenarios including building dashboards, using python, and analyzing data sets with visualizations.

School was not overly difficult, in fact most of it came with ease. The most difficult part was accounting and analysis. I was glad i had the hands on experience from my internships.

The school i attended was university of phoenix and everything was online. I started in January 2024 and finished 2 years later in decemeber 2025.

I finished with a bachelor’s degree in business, a 3.93 gPA, and was honored by placement on the dean’s List.

The Mental Shifts:

somewhere in the middle of that work, my perspective and attitude matured. here are the lessons from 2025 that quenched the restlessness of my youth:

1. business requires faith. to step out into the unknown and trust that God will take care of you. it requires you to step out on the waters, and trust that He won’t let you sink into the waves.

2. there is far more market opportunity than many people think – the trick is separating the quantity from the quality. we could work ourselves to the bone at $15 an hour – but the better value is delivered when we set premium rates (we charged as high as $75 an hour for cleaning during peak busy season!)

3. entrepreneurship isn’t about escaping work. it never was. it was always about the passion of creating something new, making it profitable, scaling or selling, and doing it again. the point is not to avoid the work. the point is to enjoy the process. 

Other 2025 Notes:

I enjoyed some sewing projects this year, and I picked up embroidery – and can’t wait to put those skills to use in 2026!

Chickens, Yard Work – raising chicks, the experience of getting the first egg, building the coop, chicken fencing – we loved the whole experience of getting chickens and hope to get more

Favorite Shows: Murdoch Mysteries; that 70’s show; The Nanny; Watson; Bel Air.

The Future

this is my 8th year in business, and 2025 felt like a turning point. this month, I’m turning 27 and I feel more like myself and who I’m meant to be than I ever have beforein 2026, my focus is shifting toward fashion, branding, and creative direction — exploring how personal style, visual identity, and storytelling shape the way we build trust and meaning in our relationships with others.

no shiny resolutions here. no rush. just building thoughtfully, with softness and spirit. i hope 2026 brings you sweet dreams and soft inspiration.

here’s to the builders.