2025: The Year In Review That Only I Could Tell
Every year is a story, and this one was a whirlwind! Inspired by concept of the New York Times’ Year In Review, I wanted to take moment to look back at 2025 through my own lens. Inside, you’ll find the definitive projects, moments, and lessons I learned—all hand-picked and curated by me. My goal is to give you clarity and context on everything that shaped my picture this year.
The Narrative: 6 Journal Entries That Defined 2025
This year, my journal was more than just a place for thoughts—it was where the biggest shifts happened. These six entries sparked the most intense conversations and helped me navigate the highs and lows of the last twelve months.
Pursuing The Fantasy of Becoming An Epic Designer – A look at becoming a graphic designer, pursuing growth, and seeking validation from my peers.
Pursuing Harmony, Not Just Balance: A Sisterhood Retreat – Navigating the “Champagne & Credentials,” retreat where ambitious Black women gathered to share, uplift, and discover the true meaning of harmony in life, career, and self.
How a Networking Event Changed My Life Forever – Reflections on how I faced my fear of public speaking and shared my expertise.
From Workshops to Vision Boards: My Journey with Powerful Women – Why finding your tribe is important and found at the “Thrive in 2025” meetup.
A Day of Community and Compassion: Supporting R4’s 5th Annual Charity Golf Event – The lesson of supporting our community.
Beyond the Burnout: My Unexpected 3-Step Journey Back to Creative Joy – My most honest post of the year.
The Creative Engine: From Idea to Impact
2025 was the year of scaling. I focused on taking raw concepts and turning them into tools that empower others. From the evolution of my design kits to the launch of major projects, these were the milestones that transformed toyaburris.com.
A Glimpse Behind the Scenes: Designing for Stony Brook University: How this project moved from a sketch to a reality.
The 2025 Design Kits: A deep dive into the tools created to streamline your creative process.
Designing the BeCorcoran 2025 Experience: A Look Inside the Scottsdale Conference Branding: The story behind my biggest collaboration this year.
The External View: Wins & Accolades
While much of my work happens behind the scenes, 2025 brought some incredible external validation. From press features to deep-dive interviews, here is where the work met the world.
Latoya Burris of Germantown on Life, Lessons & Legacy: Sharing my insights on legacy and life lessons in Bold Magazine.
Celebrating Creative Collaboration: Seeing the brand featured in Corcoran Ovation.
Looking Ahead
Thank you for being part of this "big picture" year. Whether you’ve been following along since January or just joined the journey, your support is what makes these stories worth telling. Let’s see what 2026 has in store.
A note on how I work: Every insight on this site reflects my own professional experience and original thinking. I use AI as an editing tool — to sharpen clarity and refine language — not as a ghostwriter. The ideas are mine. The voice is mine.
