EBWH Community Wrapped: A Year in Reflection

An encouragement for us to take some time to reflect on how far we've come this year!

As 2025 comes to an end, I wanted to do something light, given how heavy this year has been for many of us. We have persevered through every single challenge that has come our way. Yes, some might have left us with a few scars, and we might have a few scabs that have yet to heal.

Nevertheless, I’m proud to look back and acknowledge how far the EBWH Community has come in the past three years. We started as a community of one (aka me, myself, and I) and have grown to 189!

Let me just say, I can’t fit all of you in my apartment yet, but one day I look forward to gathering us all in person.

For now, know that your encouragement and your support are a reminder that progress isn’t always loud, nor is it quick. However, it is real, and we’re building something impactful over here on these Substack streets.

We Must Look Back Before We Look Ahead

When we have an end of year review, it’s usually focused on what’s next. We consider the new goals we want to accomplish, the actions we need to take to achieve them, and the person we must become to sustain them.

But before we rush ahead, it’s worth sitting with what already happened. This year, the EBWH Community covered topics ranging from mental health myths to nutrition narratives to how policy decisions affect real people’s lives.

Image Credit: Social Curator

In the spirit of Spotify Wrapped, when I took a look back at our year, I was surprised to find:

✍🏾 53 posts were created in 2025

👩🏾‍💻 51 posts were actually published (because I wasn’t ‘feelin’ those other two)

💻 418 words written in titles alone (brevity isn’t my strong suit)

🫢 Number of typos I caught after publishing: 37 (no thanks to Grammarly)

🗞️ Most-used word in headlines: health (no surprises there)

⏰ Number of times I changed a headline 3 seconds before sending: 12

🗣️ Repeated promise this year: “I won’t wait until Sunday night to write the newsletter.” Also me: why fix what ain’t broken.

☕️ Most loyal coworkers: Google Docs and English breakfast tea

While I’m not always focused on the “numbers,” I have to admit that behind every number is a person in our community. I wrote those posts for you, typos and all (even though I actually do want to work on fewer typos next year!)

Most importantly, I want to continue seeing our community grow. I know that happens when I take the time to see what’s working and where I can improve.

Key Takeaways

I hope this post encourages you to reflect on how far you’ve come before looking ahead to what the new year will bring. This isn’t about doing “more,” but acknowledging where growth is already happening. In fact, next year I’ll be doing much less outside of Substack so I can focus on growing our community here. After three years, I know that we’re building something sustainable. Rather than having my time focused elsewhere, I want my attention to be fully present here.

That said, I want to thank you immensely for being part of this community. I don’t take it lightly that you’re putting trust in me not to waste your time. That has put a fire under my butt to ensure I’m providing resources that help us all care about health in a way that makes room for nuance, culture, and humanity.

Here’s to carrying what we’ve learned forward and continuing to build this community together.

Tomesha