Choosing My 2025 Word—In April
Why I’m letting vivid guide me this year, even if I’m a little late to the party
Each year, I choose a word. A single word to hold in my pocket, roll around on my tongue, and let guide me—gently, quietly—through the days. Last year’s word was pause. And while pausing didn’t come naturally to me, I practiced. I got better. I learned to pause before saying yes, before saying no, before filling the air with too many words.
This year, I’ve been circling a new word. It came to me by way of a linguistic slip from our friend Tony who was trying to call me something else entirely. Every year around this time—when the weather breaks and I dust off my bike for the first outdoor ride of the season—I think of it again. Tony’s words resurface like spring: You’re such a vivid cyclist. And ever since, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.
Tony is a server at the restaurant my husband and I went to every Wednesday night for nearly ten years, back when we lived in the DC area. English is not Tony’s first language. Yet his English is quite good. So good, in fact, that I was surprised to learn it wasn’t his native tongue. Sometimes, though, he struggles to find the right word, as he did when he described me as being a vivid cyclist. What he meant, of course, is that I am an avid cyclist.
Vivid. It’s an interesting-looking word, with its many points and straight lines, softened at the end by a lovely rounded d. Like modern décor meets farmhouse chic. Vivid. It’s an interesting-sounding word, too. The v’s are fun to say: viv-viv-viv-viv.
My synesthesia brain perceives the letter v as gold, the letter i as white, and the letter d as brown. A neutral palette with a bit of sparkle mixed in. Just enough sparkle to make the visual word pop. A gilded lily in a snowy wood.
To be a vivid cyclist is a good thing. Vivid equals bright, and bright equals visible. And visibility is a must—on bike trails and in traffic. Yes, vivid is a good thing.
Mostly, though, I like that the definition of vivid includes adjectives such as intense, lively, animated, strong, and striking. It helps me to remember the aspects of vivid that are woven, peppered, and sprinkled throughout the not-so-fun dimensions of me. Indeed, there are times when I can be quite animated and lively—vivid. A point/counterpoint to the other times when I’m reticent and reserved, or bland and lifeless—when I’m anything but vivid.
Tony formed the word avid in his brain, but by the time the word slid out of his mouth and hit air, it turned into vivid.
So maybe vivid is the right word for 2025. Not just because it means bright and bold and alive—but because it reminds me that even when I’m quiet, I can still be seen. That I don’t have to shout to shine.
Sure, it’s April—but who says you can’t pick your word a little fashionably late? What’s your word for 2025? And what made it stand out from the rest?
Lynn, you are truly a beautiful writer. This story is so lovely, a great first-thing-to-read of my morning.
For 2025, I chose Peace.
Last year was chaotic, with family health issues and me saying ‘yes’ to things that taxed me beyond capacity to complete.
It was an interesting word, as the first week of January I realized that to create Peace, in a way that my shoulders could drop, I’d have to walk through a fire of epic proportions. As April winds down, peace is finding its home in my home. I’m speaking what I think and doing what I choose. It feels so good.
Thank you.
This is so great! I love it. And thanks for sharing the colors that you see and how they reflect who you are. Of course I love the word pause. My phrase for this year is God’s Best (for me). I like doing two words to make it a more specific experience.