Every time we start a new year, we have no idea how we'll end it. In my case, I'm ending 2025 in a way I never imagined. After nearly seven years of navigating various valleys, deserts, and storms, I felt I'd finally reached safe harbor and that this would be a good year. And it turned out to be quite a tough year, with several moments where I had to be strong, even though I didn't particularly feel the strength to be so.

I experienced life-changing events that marked a turning point in my life, both personally and professionally. On one hand, I experienced a drastic change at work. While it's true I had been seeking this change to find greater peace in my life, when things happen suddenly, even if we desire them, they still profoundly affect us. We face the uncertainty of "what will happen now?" Changes are frightening, they're scary, but that's normal; it's part of the process. The key is that this fear doesn't paralyze us, and that even with fear, we move forward. This was the first moment I want to talk about, where I can say that I had to be strong, once again, for myself and for my children, and keep going, trusting that this was the best decision for my overall well-being, something I talk about and preach so much. And so it was. A new opportunity came to me, one I had been seeking for some time. As with everything in life, when one door closes, another opens, and difficult experiences leave us with invaluable lessons. From this experience I learned that many times, for mental and emotional health, it is necessary to let go, trust and act; and reinvent ourselves as many times as necessary, and that is what I did.

The second hardest moment of 2025 was the passing of my older sister; it hit our lives like a tsunami. It was another time when I had to be strong when I didn't want to be, because our father was in the hospital, his health was critical. We couldn't tell him that his daughter had gone ahead of us, and she was no longer with us. Those months following my sister's passing were especially difficult; we all had to find strength, as a family, to stay strong for our father. Five months after my sister's passing, on November 21st, our father left this earthly plane after a year of immense suffering: I had to be strong again. Perhaps because I had been carrying so much, I honestly didn't even know how to cry anymore. In the days following his passing, I began to relive everything in retrospect, remembering every moment with him and my sister, slowly processing all that had happened in such a short time this year, 2025. And here I am, writing these lines, largely as a healing process to allow myself to release some of what I carry inside, stuck in my chest and heart: because life goes on, because we must carry on, even when we have no strength left, even when it's hard to get up each day, even when all I want is to stay in bed because I don't have the strength to meet the demands that each day brings, but we must continue, we must carry on.

Sometimes it seems like we're carrying too much; there are moments when we feel our strength is gone. But it's in those moments that we must draw on all the resources we have within us to cope with the difficult processes we face throughout life. I can tell you that if I'm writing this article today, it's precisely because I've held tightly to God's hand, and the presence of my children, friends, and family has been a great support these past few months, and throughout this year that's about to end, a year that has unfolded in such a strange way that, in the end, no one can explain.

It's also important to emphasize that there are times when we must let go and place all burdens in God's hands, allowing the loving help and support of those who affectionately come to comfort us in these moments when we need to be strong, even if we don't truly know how. The presence, sometimes silent, of those who love us in these difficult times is vital to navigating the dark waters we face when we lose a loved one who has gone before us to the place where we will all one day rest; or when we lose a job, receive a terminal illness diagnosis, or experience a separation. So many losses we go through as human beings in life, moments when we often need to be strong for those we love, but ideally, we shouldn't have to go through them alone.

Hopefully, when someone needs our comfort and support, we can be that presence that we ourselves may one day need.

Support networks are essential to navigate grief and move forward, even if you don't know how; with patience and faith, one day you will overcome it.

By:

Erika Barrientos

Marketing professional and Life Coach