Another Year in Review: 2025, Chasing the Interesting

I’ve searched long and far to craft a message that I felt best represented my 2025 calendar year. Each year, I usually start gathering thoughts for this blog post at the turn from October to November. This year, I’m trying something new; my message derives from a story on New Year’s Day 2025.

Funny enough: I actually didn’t write a Year in Review last year. I really wanted to, but at the time, I was working on a major project in southern California, splitting my attention between my professional work, trying new restaurants, and worrying about IU’s then-upcoming football matchup against No. 5 Notre Dame. (Clearly, I needed to worry).

I started this yearly tradition in 2018 (skipping a couple of years in between; I'm still unsure if I can realistically call it a yearly tradition). This is when I try to step back and reflect on the year we are all about to leave. Spotify wraps your year in music, TIME Magazine gives you a Person of the Year, Pantone selects a Color of the Year, and Google shows you what people searched in the last 12 months. I give you this blog post.

I call it the "Year in Review." It's a grotesque yet whimsical attempt to extract some small lesson or theme from the past year. I look through the year's big moments and answer questions: how do I want to remember this year? What were this year's best moments? It’s an intentionally personal, therapeutic experience that I turned public.

This year’s Year in Review story starts at 32,000 feet on my way to California. When I woke up in Indianapolis on January 1st — New Year’s Day — I quickly threw my laundry into the washing machine and packed my bags for what would be my last 14-day stint in Los Angeles (this would close three months of frequent work trips to the LA metro area). As I boarded AA 3219 (a Boeing 737-800 aircraft), I started thinking about the year ahead. 2024 had been a great year. What would 2025 hold?

This quote found its way into my notes. And it became my theme for 2025.

“The most interesting thing you can do is notice. Chase the interesting.”

I don’t think I came up with that; I’m sure I read it somewhere. Nevertheless, that manifests my theme for this year. Life moves incredibly fast; sometimes, it’s smart to just stop what you are doing, look around, and notice.

This was truly a wonderful year. I spent a lot of time this year refocusing my energy into “chasing the interesting,” focusing on my friendships, as well as my personal and professional goals. I followed the threads that made me curious — new projects, new ideas, new experiences — and chased them relentlessly. I returned to my once-held notion that fear of failure restricts ambition.

The year 2025 brought new challenges and a plethora of exciting opportunities.

I purchased my first home this year! It is a quaint townhome in Zionsville, Indiana; I’ve been living here since early November (I still do not have blinds installed, much to the distress — I imagine — of my neighbors).

On the professional side, I got to travel to new and exciting places for work this year, hitting clients in Aruba, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Diego, and more.

Of course, this year was not without its challenges — no year is — but I am incredibly proud of the year I’m leaving behind. I’m thrilled with what I’ve learned, how I’ve grown, and what I’ve accomplished.

Roughly eleven months after that trip to Los Angeles, I boarded another plane. This Boeing 737 MAX 8 departed from Miami back to my home in Indianapolis. As we reached our cruising altitude, I opened my phone and listened to Ferris Bueller's Day Off while finishing a bit of work. And just as the movie ended — right as I solidified my theme about taking time to pause and notice — Matthew Broderick chimed in with that perfect quote: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

So, here’s to taking pause, looking around, and reminding ourselves how lucky we are to be alive right now with one another. This is the 2025 I wish to remember.

I hope you enjoy my 2025 Year in Review, and I hope this year was cheerful for all of you. Happy New Year and Chag Urim Sameach.

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January 14: Goodbye, California

In the middle of 2024, I got added to a client engagement in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles World Airports — or LAWA — which operates Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), determined to renovate their corporate headquarters. This resulted in 400+ people needing to move out of their offices without suffering any operational downtime. It was an enormous logistical challenge. Between August 2024 and December 2024, I spent 13 weeks in the LA area.

The first two weeks of January were my last in LA (for now). I celebrated by hitting as many restuarants as possible and taking one last visit to Point Dume, my favorite spot in Southern California!

While I was there, the devastating Palisades Fire hit. One of the most destructive wildfires in California history, it burned almost 24,000 acres of land (that's roughly 37 square miles). The fire was so strong that it could actually be seen from my office atop the LAWA headquarters.

Read more about my work in Los Angeles here. And be sure to take a look at my firm's new website! I led the development process for our new website, which released earlier this year.

January 17: Hello, California

I quickly returned to California — the northern part this time — to see my friends Zach, Cristian, and Abby. We had a ton of fun in Palo Alto and San Francisco. We even hit Smuggler's Cove, a famous tiki bar!

February 1: Chicago!

After a very long January of work, I took a weekend trip to Chicago to see my friend Trace Held. We got drinks at The Violet Hour, one of the most reputable cocktail bars in the world. I'm glad we went, because months later, a property dispute forced the speakeasy-style location to close.

February 5: Aruba

Oh, right. Because I never did a Year in Review in 2024, I should probably share that I started a position with Chrysalis Global, a full-service consulting firm based out of Indianapolis. We primarily work in the aviation space. I'm loving every minute of it. I work as a Business Development Associate and Client Operations Analyst.

In February, we held a business summit in beautiful Aruba, where one of our major clients is located. Given the average daily mean temperature of 87 degrees Fahrenheit in February, I am not confident you can realistically label any business in Aruba as a "summit," but we like to defy expectations.

We also took a tour of Queen Beatrix Aruba International Airport, which recently opened a new check-in hall for U.S.-bound passengers using Chrysalis's services. It's a gorgeous new space.

February 8: Panther Robotics Tournament

Robotics played a major role in my life as a student at Park Tudor School. During my seven years in the program, the group of students and the program's prowess grew dramatically. Panther Robotics is now one of the most recognized robotics programs in the state of Indiana and earns recognition at the international stage.

My dad actually took over the program two years ago. One of his stated goals was to return to hosting a competition on campus. Park Tudor used to host some of the best competitions in the state, but the school and program decided to stop hosting events at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, I helped my dad host an event in our on-campus, recently built Irsay Family Sports Center for Health and Wellness. It was a thrill to see students from across the state competing on my alma mater's campus.

February 12: The tale of four continents in two weeks (Madrid)

In 2024, I started planning a trip to Spain to visit Abby DeArmitt, my friend from Indiana University who left the States to teach English at a school in Spain. In February, I traveled to Madrid to see Abby and experience Spain. It was an incredible time.

Here are some of the places I visited while in Spain:

• The Royal Palace of Madrid
• Santiago Bernabéu Stadium: The home of Real Madrid! I decided to book the tour to get to see the stadium's museum and get a glimpse of its incredible atmosphere (more on this later).

• Plaza Mayor
• Dozens of public transportation stations (I'm obsessed with Madrid's transit system)

But wait! Four continents. Abby and I took a Ryan Air flight across the Straight of Gibraltar to beautiful Tangier, Morocco.

North America (Indianapolis) to South America (Aruba) to Europe (Spain) to Africa (Morocco). All within two weeks. Very exciting.

Here are all the photos...

February 18: Seville and Cordoba

After I got back from Morocco, I took day trips to Seville and Cordoba, two places I've wanted to go for years. Both are cities so rich in history.

Getting to experience the rich blend of religious history was fascinating. There are places in the city where you can see Jewish, Muslim, and Catholic influence from the same spot. I've only ever experienced that in Jerusalem.

One specific place I loved in Cordoba was the Sephardic Museum, right down the road from the famous Córdoba Synagogue. Sephardic Jews originated in the Iberian Peninsula. In 1492, most Sephardic Jews were either expelled from Spain or forced to convert to Catholicism. Many Sephardic Jews now live in the United States, France, Argentina, and Israel.

My family has an Ashkenazi Jewish background, not Sephardic, but the history in the Sephardic Museum was incredible.

Here is one anecdote that I enjoyed: there were plans in the 1200s to build a big temple in Cordoba. This came to the attention of the local council and local Christians, who opposed it. Even the Pope issued a decree to say he opposed it. How did they base their opposition? They criticized the dimensions, height, and architectural prominence of the building — what we now refer to as “zoning.” (It was clear it had to do with it being a temple).

I spent the remainder of the trip wondering if that was the first recorded instance of exclusionary zoning practices.

February 19: Real Madrid. Again.

This might be a top highlight of my lifetime. I grew up a football (okay, soccer) fan. Real Madrid is not really my team, but I've always wanted to go to the iconic Santiago Bernabéu. As I toured the complex a few days prior, I opened up my phone to investigate ticket costs for their upcoming Champions League matchup against Manchester City.

I'm not proud of what I spent, but it was an experience I will never forget. That stadium is electric.

April 6: Ovechkin breaks the record

I make no secret that I've been a devoted superfan of the Washington Capitals my entire life. I joke that Gallery Place is my favorite WMATA Metro station in DC because I remember getting off at that stop with my dad at age six to go to games at (then) the Verizon Center.

Ovechkin had been approaching this record one goal at a time. My brother and I would exchange texts back and forth. "Another one." "He scored again!"

I watched the April 6th game against the Islanders on television, and I audibly screamed when Ovechkin hit that shot. Ovechkin started playing for the Caps in 2005, almost the same year I became a fan.

Here is a copy of the front page of the Washington Post that I ordered special so my family could read the story in print.

April 13: Rocking the Red

On that same note, here's another story about Ovechkin's record. At the beginning of the year, my brother and I started predicting when Ovi would break the record. Of course, we knew that when he was within a few goals, the tickets would be outrageously expensive. Therefore, we started putting together statistical models of the most likely dates for the record to be broken.

We bet on the April 13th game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. And we bought tickets. Turns out that Ovi decided to break it ahead of schedule. We were fine (still ecstatic) with that reality, and we still had an incredible time at the game.

For the sake of fulfilling my need to maximize train time, we took the metro.

May 11: Announcing in The Dome

Back to robotics again! Every year at the VEX Robotics World Championships, the event organizers select 3-4 announcers to commentate matches in "The Dome," the stadium-style venue where the World Championship finals matches are held.

This was my first year announcing at Worlds, and I was honored to be chosen as one of the three. This was a special full-circle moment. When I was a student, I looked down to these announcers in awe. In a million years, I never would've thought that I would be one of them.

It was a thrilling experience. It's not every day that you get to yell out to thousands of people about a robotics match, with tens of thousands more watching online.

Check out these awesome photos!

May 22: Chrysalis takes on Washington

Soon after my hiring at Chrysalis, the firm won the opportunity to write a research report funded by the Federal Aviation Administration. This was a huge honor in our industry.

After we turned in our Interim Report to the research panel, my colleague Andrew Young and I traveled to the nation's capitol to present our findings.

That research report published in November 2025 and is available to industry professionals free of charge. I am credited as the report's primary author.

Taking a break for the dog

My family adopted a dog last year! Her name is Lilah, and she is the cutest labradane (read: Labrador-Great Dane mix) around. We decided to name her Lilah because it means "night" in Hebrew, and our puppy boasts an entirely black coat.

Take a look at our cute puppy photos. Not really sure we can still call her a puppy. She's 70 pounds and will slap you in the face if she has the opportunity.

June 20: Las Vegas

I took a mid-summer trip to Las Vegas with my friends Zach Phelps and Abby Chung. We stayed at the famous Bellagio, and we even spent one evening at Caspian's, an evening dance club where Mark Wahlberg has a liquor cabinet.

June 28: Degree #3

After I graduated with my B.A. in Economics, Political Science, and Journalism in December 2023, I quietly started a M.S. degree in Data Science at Indiana University's Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. I graduated with that degree in June!

As part of that program, I participated in numerous quantitative research projects, including a study on TSA throughput and stock market fluctuations.

My family celebrated at Ruth Chris Steakhouse, which doubled as a graduation dinner and my parents' anniversary dinner.

July 16: Arlington, TX

My colleague (and best boss ever) Baylee Rodriguez attended a conference with me in Arlington, Texas, on the future of sports/entertainment facilities. As part of that conference, we got a tour of the famous AT&T Stadium (home of the Dallas Cowboys). It was incredible to see how much thought goes into designing a stadium of that massive scale. Here's a photo of us on the field and a photo from the conference.

July 19: The WNBA All-Star Game

My friend Morgan Ames flew in from New York City to watch the WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis with me. I was a huge women's basketball fan in university; I loved watching IU Women's Basketball games.

Caitlin Clark spent her four years at Iowa breaking the heart of every IU fan in the country, but now she's warming the hearts of Indiana Fever fans everywhere. I'm actually a fan of the Washington Mystics — my hometown team — so it was awesome to see Sonia Citron on the court for the All-Star Game.

September 6: Luau

The Phelps Family — our longtime close family friends — hosted their Third Annual Luau at the Seven Martinis Day Club. This event, hosted in their backyard, is a love letter to tiki drinks and beach attire. It was thrilling.

September 20: Go Jackets!

My family visited my brother — who is in the middle of his third year at the Georgia Institute of Technology — in Atlanta. This was actually the first opportunity I've had to visit him in Georgia since he started at Tech. It was awesome to see him, get a tour of his fraternity house, and watch a Tech football game. (He was clearly tired; we caught him sleeping in the stands between the third and fourth quarters of the game).

November 15: My cousin's wedding in Florida

My family traveled to Palm Beach to celebrate the wedding of my cousin Aaron and his wife Rachel. It was a gorgeous wedding, and I couldn't be happier for them.

November 21: The Sixth Running of the Speedway Signature Event

The Speedway Signature Event — our annual high-intensity, Worlds-qualifying robotics competition for high school students — moved back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year. Our firm's nonprofit arm hosts the event, and this was our best year yet. This was my sixth time serving as the event's Tournament Director.

I am so thankful for having the opportunity to work with our incredible event staff. We ask more and more of them each year, and they always deliver. I said in our closing ceremony, and I'll say it again: we have the best team in robotics.

And the photos were extraordinary. I even got to kiss the bricks with our Steering Committee Chair and our Event Partner.

December 12: Fort Lauderdale, Mexico, Honduras, and the Bahamas

The cold weather in Indianapolis hit freezing temperatures, and I escaped it with a wonderful trip abroad. It was an incredible time spending it with family friends Zach, Abby, Sheldon, and Suzanne. I'm so grateful they included me on this trip.

We ziplined in Honduras, drove ATVs through a Mexican jungle, and lounged on the white-sand beach in the Bahamas. This also got me over my fear of cruise ships (the fear briefly returned when I watched Titanic on board. Still unsure why I did that.).

Other Ways to Review 2025 So, what's next?

I think it's time for all of us to chase the interesting. Let's try new things, step out of our comfort zones, and re-center ourselves in the new year.

There is significant noise in our lives, and I find that noise often distracts us from the ultimate goal of life: happiness. Every person should strive to be happy in their own way. My charge for 2026? Let's all find those things. Let's make decisions that make us happy, and let's do it while being kind to one another, promoting empathy, and making this a better place for all of us. And when we do that, just remember to take a moment to notice.

Because just remember: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Now, roll those credits.