I tried to write a recap of this year many times and gave up. That alone says what the year was like – fulfilling, chaotic, beautiful, overwhelming, often all at once.
As I watched with horror of every effort around diversity being mocked and torn down, it filled me with an even bigger fire to counteract with joy. A tiny, one-woman rebellion that may not have shifted the world, but created small, impactful change in the rooms I was lucky enough to enter. In some of those spaces, I was the very first Indian cultural educator they had ever encountered!
Just as meaningful was the community that found me. Rebuilding our kids’ classes brought an unexpected gift: families who are open-hearted, empathetic, and deeply aligned with the values I hold. Without knowing it, they helped heal parts of me shaped by past loss.
2026 will not be easy. This year’s policies are taking effect, and funding is drying up. I can already see the strain ahead for a small, mission-driven business like mine.
So the word for 2026 is STEADFAST.
Because this is not a year for grand leaps or glossy optimism, it’s a year for staying rooted and continuing the work with quiet conviction.
Here’s to a new year where we hold STEADFASTLY to joy, culture, and community, especially when they are treated as optional.
