Image credit: Bridget Jones' Diary 2001. (Universal Pictures)
It’s December now and something about this month brings you back to yourself. Not in a dramatic way but in the way life naturally slows down enough for you to look at the year honestly. December doesn’t ask for perfection. It asks for reflection. It asks you to sit with what the year has been and who you’ve become because of it.
For many women, 2025 has been a lot to hold and has felt very Bridget Jones coded. It has been intense and unpredictable and full of moments you didn’t expect to navigate. Some seasons felt hopeful. Others felt heavy. There were weeks where everything made sense and weeks where you were simply doing your best to get through the day. That is what life looks like when you’re in the middle of figuring yourself out. It isn’t neat. It isn’t consistent. It’s real.
This year revealed things you didn’t plan to confront. The things you thought would bring joy didn’t feel the same. The routines you relied on stopped grounding you. Spaces and relationships you once felt comfortable in no longer matched the version of you that’s emerging. You started noticing how much of what you believed about yourself belonged to an older version of you. That realisation isn’t easy but it frees you to move differently.
When life forces a reset
What this year made clear is that everything changes. Your interests change. Your priorities change. Your boundaries become more defined. Your energy becomes more selective. Even the people in your life shift as you grow. When those changes show up, you’re asked to respond instead of holding on to habits or roles that no longer fit. Ignoring it only keeps you stuck in a season that has already ended.
There’s also the truth that not everything is meant to stay with you. Some things have served their purpose. The job you thought you’d build a future in. The person you thought you’d evolve with. The identity you held on to because it once made sense. Life moves and you either move with it or you stay anchored to something that no longer fits. Think of Bridget storming out of her publishing job. She didn’t leave for a perfect plan. She left because she finally saw how small that place made her feel. She left because she finally recognised that the job had stopped respecting her. She was overlooked, undervalued, and constantly made to feel like she wasn’t enough, especially by a boss who treated her like she should be grateful for crumbs.
That’s why her words hit so hard in that scene when she tells him, “If staying here means working within ten yards of you, I’d rather have a job wiping Saddam Hussein’s arse.” It was the moment she realised she didn’t have to stay somewhere that didn’t value her. That moment wasn’t about a new opportunity. It was about reclaiming herself.
This year also reminded many of us that control is limited. Plans shifted. People changed. Opportunities looked different up close. Circumstances forced you to adjust. And while that can feel frustrating, it also pushes you to let go of what no longer has space in your life. You stop forcing situations that drain you. You stop expecting answers from places that can’t give them. You learn to hold things more lightly so you can move forward more freely. It's all about the catch and release!
The strength you didn’t notice at the time
Even with all the unpredictability, something deserves recognition. Just like Bridget, you got up every time things felt overwhelming. Maybe not quickly. Maybe not gracefully. Maybe with a lot of hesitation. But you still got up. You adjusted. You learned. You showed up for yourself on the days it felt like too much. That is growth. Not the kind that gets applauded but the kind that actually changes you. When Bridget started that television job, she didn’t walk in polished or confident. She stumbled. She panicked. She made mistakes. And then she figured it out. By the end, she surprised herself with what she was capable of. Many women felt the same this year. Pushed into situations they didn’t feel ready for, learning on the go, figuring things out one imperfect moment at a time.
Image credit: Bridget Jones' Diary 2001. (Universal Pictures)
Honouring the woman you’ve become
Now that we’re in December, it feels right to acknowledge the full picture of the year. Not just the good moments. Not just the frustrating ones. All of it. The lessons that stretched you. The boundaries you learned to draw. The shifts you didn’t expect. The progress that happened in small ways. The clarity that came after things fell apart. Every part contributed to the woman you’re becoming.
December gives you the chance to close the year with intention. To slow down. To release what’s heavy. To take only what makes sense into the new year. This isn’t about creating a completely new version of yourself. It’s about recognising the person you are now and giving her what she needs.
As the new year approaches, choose what aligns with you. Choose what feels grounded. Choose what supports your growth instead of draining it. Let go of what doesn’t match the direction you’re heading in. Give yourself permission to change without apologising for it. Follow the pull toward what feels right for your life today.
Maybe that’s the real purpose of December. To understand the year instead of brushing past it. To make space for what’s next without putting pressure on yourself. To recognise how far you’ve come even on the days where you felt like you were standing still.
You made it here. Through the shifts. Through the disappointments. Through the rebuilding. Through the moments that made you question your strength and the ones that reminded you of it. You kept going. That deserves to be acknowledged as you step into what comes next.
Anu Aborisade
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