I’m thinking of EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU as I write this. Actually. I went through my short but precious list of subscribers with tenderness and gratitude yesterday, and I’m holding every one of you in my heart, as I wish you a happy 2026! May all of your hopes and intentions become real in this new year.

Despite global calamity, foolishness and insanity that was this past 12 months, 2025 was actually pretty awesome for me personally. Everything — yes, EVERYTHING — that I wrote down as hopes and intentions for the year — materialized. Just as planned, I GERMINATED. Hunkered down. Went in. Really got in there. In a true serpent fashion (Chinese horoscope, fire snake, baby), I shed SO MUCH SKIN, whoa. With the help of an incredible teacher I met and am now continuing to work with, I actually learned a process that resonated deeply, and over the course of the year, I have cleared 92+ limiting beliefs.

In 2025, I found a new calling!! (In addition to all the old callings, don’t worry ;)) More on this soon, but not yet. I picked up guitar! I let go of people-pleasing and giving a fuck at work (and accidentally became pretty amazing at my job in the process, LOL). I really figured out who my true friends are, and what that should feel like. I reconnected on an even deeper level with the love of my life. I finished another first draft, and got deep into revising a novel that I’m totally in love with. I got EVEN CLOSER with our incredible children. I took some cool trips to familiar places as a newer version of myself: DC, NYC, France, Italy. Speaking of cool trips, I tried pot for the first time. 🙂 Etc, etc, etc. It wasn’t all sunshine. Of course shit got hard sometimes. Rain, storm, mist, mud. Misunderstanding. Loneliness. Blocks. Tears shed. Zero regrets.

Now, I’m SO EXCITED for my 2026 word. UNLEASH is the vibe this time, babies. This year I’ll be turning 49, and having held back so much my entire freaking life — I’m talking overthinking, endlessly attuning, second-guessing — I am officially done with that bullshit. This year and from here on out, I’m just letting myself off my own damn leash and being FULLY UNABASHEDLY ME.

No more apologies (internal or external) for… singing how I sing. Writing what I want and how I want it (while still working with feedback from my trusted readers, of course!) Expressing exactly what’s on my mind. NOT sharing something. Boundaries. Not giving a fuck. Giving a fuck. Being human. Being this Katia. Making mistakes. Making choices. (Doesn’t mean I get to be an inconsiderate bitch to people. Does mean distancing when needed. And remembering that the real me is kind. It’s time to trust that).

This year I’m embracing wabi-sabi with abandon, finishing my revisions, launching a new business, letting go of social inhibitions, doing music as self-expression, staying close in care and connection with people that matter to me, totally detaching from opinions and energy of those that don’t, exercising discernment over the time and energy I give to people who tend to drain me, enjoying being in my body, living the wonderful rhythms and routines I’ve built in 2025, and finally, communicating closely with my soul, my intuition and my spirit team every step of the way.

Those are not resolutions. UNLEASHED is simply the way I am choosing to show up going forward. Hello, world. Have we met before?

May we all have a goofy, wholesome, wild and wonderful 2026!