Hi guys! 2026 is here and I am so excited! I've spent the last two weeks on PTO (my company closes between Christmas and New Year) and I vlogged those daily adventures on TikTok. I really had the best time spending quality time with friends and family, eating yummy food, crafting, drinking at holiday bars, reading outside, going on walks, window shopping. . . real shopping - just making the best of every hour of the day. 

This year I am really excited to continue diving into some of the hobbies and interests that found me, or came back to me, in 2025. I feel like 2025 was getting a little taste of the vibes and 2026 is just a full embodiment of . . . the vibes of. . . me??? And I do say me, because sometimes we, I, the internet, are like clean girl, hot girl, vampire girl, punk girl, soft girl, boss babe, etc. And I get stuck in the loop of trying to box myself in. For example, when I want a sweet treat - I try to police myself by asking - is this skinny girl behavior? - and then I come back and think "no, who cares, this is Melissa girl behavior and she's gonna have a sweet treat right now" and just keep it moving. So what is Melissa's 2026 energy?

I saw a few "were bringing 2016 back" but for me, it's giving 2006 energy. 5th grade - playing in the creeks by the house, raising caterpillars to butterflies, reading Highlights magazine, children's place clothes (lmao), going to the library and spending the whole time in the language section, a pet rat, obsessed with wanting my own room, magnifying glasses during recess, spending money at the scholastic library, eating croutons like chips, Lisa Frank stationary, keep a fish tank and taking care of little fry, and so on. It's going to be all the aforementioned vibes, but elevated to someone who is in their early 30s and with a little more spare change - travel to see butterfly colonies, learn a new language, read a lot of meaningful books, make my own croutons, work towards my own place, frequent the river. What can I call this? Why do I want to call it something? Can you even get the vibes or is it a stretch? I am looking forward to what I call regressing but it'll also be a time of enrichment... lol I'm droning on now. 

Anyways, one 2026 goal I do have. . . . and have every year. . . is to blog more. To start, at least once a month but hopefully more frequently.