A blog post by Pepetoe.

2025 was the year of the snake. A year of shedding. A year of release. A year of clearing space for only what is essential, only what is true. The season asked me to strip away more than habits or routines; it asked me to shed identities. The versions of myself I had carried for years because they felt necessary, because they were familiar, because they were safe in their predictability. All of that was heavy, all of it was tiring, and all of it had to fall away.

Shedding is never gentle. It is raw and uncomfortable. Some days it felt like the skin I had tried to grow into was peeling too quickly, exposing parts of me I wasn’t ready to see. Other days, I felt numb, floating in the middle of what was gone and what was still possible. There were moments of grief, moments of disbelief, moments where I had to sit with how much of my life had been built on things that weren’t mine. On expectations, on roles, on performance.

And yet, what stayed was true. The foundations that mattered, the values that had always been there quietly beneath the noise, they remained. Slowly, as the year unfolded, clarity began to return. Conviction replaced uncertainty. The calm knowing that I was moving in a direction that felt right, that felt aligned with me, started to settle in. This wasn’t immediate. It didn’t happen in one sudden moment. It was gradual, creeping into my life like the sun over the horizon, soft but undeniable.

I realised that I no longer want a loud life. Not the kind that demands attention, that thrives on chaos disguised as connection, or that leaves me drained by the performative nature of engagement. I don’t want quantity over quality. I don’t want distractions masquerading as growth. I want a clear life. Deep work. Intentional relationships. Quiet spaces. Time to breathe, to reflect, to be present. Peace is the upgrade I have been searching for.

Growth, I’ve learned, isn’t about becoming someone entirely new. It’s about removing everything that required you to perform, everything that demanded a version of yourself that wasn’t authentic. It’s about peeling away the layers until what remains is exactly who you were always meant to be. What remains is not a projection or a mask. It is the core, the essential, the real.

As I approach 2026, the year of the horse, there is a sense of rising. Movement. Momentum. The kind that doesn’t force itself but arrives when preparation, clarity, and alignment meet opportunity. Doors that felt closed, opportunities that seemed distant, paths that were uncertain; they begin to open naturally. There is a confidence in the horse, a power in stride, a grace in motion. This is the energy I am carrying forward: assured, grounded, and ready to walk the path that is mine.

2025 asked me to release, to shed, to grieve, and to sit in the heaviness of what was no longer serving me. 2026 asks me to rise, to move with intention, to trust that the clarity I have earned will guide me. It is a year to walk without needing validation, to invest in what is real, to step confidently into spaces that align with my values and truth.

This is the culmination of shedding and rising. The quiet power of knowing who you are, of trusting what remains, and of moving forward without fear. The slow return of momentum, the calm conviction, the deep clarity… these are the gifts of shedding well and rising intentionally. And as I step into this new year, I carry them with me, not as a shield or performance, but as the essence of who I am, and who I was always meant to be.

Xo Pepetoe