Opinion | 10 things to look forward to in 2025

New Year’s is always a scary time for me, full of doubt, fear and resistance to change. I feel like I only hear about the bad things that might be coming, and while it’s important to have a realistic view of our future, it’s also important to have something to look forward to. Here, I have compiled a list of 10 things to look forward to in 2025 for anyone feeling frightened or just dreading leaving 2024 behind. 

1. New Movies and Shows: One of my favorite things to do is sit down with a bag of chips and a little drinky and watch hours of television and movies. Some highly anticipated  releases include book adaptation “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” the final season of “Stranger Things” and the second season of “The Last of Us.” Marvel is expected to release a whole host of new shows including “Ironheart,” “Daredevil: Born Again” and “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.” Other new series include Seth Rogen’s “The Studio” and a new medical drama taking place in our very own city titled “The Pitt.” Plus, for all the “Game of Thrones” fans out there, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” may fill the void left by “House of the Dragon.” Superhero fans can get excited for new Marvel films like “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” while sequel fans will love “Wicked: Part Two,” “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning” and “Freakier Friday.” There will even be another “Knives Out” film titled “Wake Up Dead Man.” Don’t forget new standalone movies like animated “Elio” following a young space fanatic encountering aliens or Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi “Mickey 17” starring Robert Pattinson as an “expendable.”
2. New Games: Whether you like video games or you prefer board games, 2025 holds exciting new releases for you. Fans of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” can look forward to “Avatar: Journey of Aang,” a board game allowing 1-4 players to help Aang on his journey to master the elements. Or maybe you’re a fan of myths and legends, in which case you’ll love “Knights of the Round Table,” where you and your friends can find the holy grail. On the digital side, gamers can look forward to a new Monster Hunter game, a new Doom game, a new Assassin’s Creed game and maybe, just maybe, Grand Theft Auto 6. 
3. New Music: As we celebrate Spotify Wrapped season, next year’s new music is on a lot of our minds. While we have some confirmed releases like Lana Del Rey’s new album “The Right Person Will Stay” or Tate McCrae’s upcoming “So Close to What,” there’s so much music that we can’t even know about yet, since artists rarely announce an album more than a couple months prior to its release. Taylor Swift has been sitting on her re-records of “Reputation” and “Debut” for a while, and we can probably expect albums from artists like Lady Gaga and Kesha. But who knows? Perhaps we’ll get a total surprise album like Kendrick Lamar’s recent drop “GNX.”
4. Local Excitement: We have a couple confirmed new restaurants and businesses coming to our area in 2025, like a Kyuramen set to open in Cranberry and East End, Lebanese regional chain Mezeh coming to South Fayette and a new shopping and dining center The Meridian, which will feature a Giant Eagle Market District and Shake Shack among other businesses, at the corner of Shady and Penn Avenues. Pittsburghers can also look forward to the return of favorite traditions like the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Pittsburgh Pride, Picklesburgh, Anthrocon, Three Rivers Arts Festival and the Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire. 
5. Astrological Events: 2025 has a whole host of awesome astrological phenomena to look forward to. Everything from meteor showers to a blood moon will decorate our skies in the coming year. So plan ahead, grab a blanket and some friends and take a drive to enjoy all the celestial beauty our world has to offer.
6. Global Progress: It’s important to remember the good things happening globally in 2025. Thailand is set to legalize same sex marriage on Jan. 23. South Africa will host the upcoming G20 Summit, making it the first country in Africa to do so. Norway aims to ban the sale of all new diesel and petrol cars by 2025. On the scientific front, the Artemis II mission will be the first crewed mission since 1972 to fly beyond lower Earth orbit as four astronauts perform a flyby of the moon. 
7. New Books: I already can’t wait to read “Sunrise on The Reaping,” the upcoming addition to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games universe slated for a March 2025 release. But even if you lack taste and don’t care about the Hunger Games, there’s plenty of exciting new stuff to read. Fans of “BookTok” can get excited for novels from authors like Lynn Painter and Emily Henry, but for more in-depth lists at the myriad of new literature to consume, you can look here and here. 
8. Sporting Events: While it may come as no shock that I’m not the biggest sports fan — though recently I’ve found myself more intrigued by football than ever before — I’d be remiss not to mention how much cool stuff is coming up in the athletic sphere. From the Super Bowl to the Winter Special Olympics or the FIFA World Cup, there are lots of massive events to look forward to. 
9. New Foods: What else are they going to put in an Oreo? Will Trader Joe’s finally bring back the Nacho Cheese Chips that I adore? These are questions only 2025 can answer. Of course, companies try to keep most new releases relatively under wraps, but we do know McDonalds is introducing its McValue Menu, chock-full of great deals on your favorite meals. Meanwhile, soda lovers can look forward to some speculated releases like Sprite-Tea, Blackberry Dr. Pepper, and Tropical 7UP. 
10. Everything Else: Unfortunately, I am not a psychic. I can’t really know all of the great things happening next year. But that means the best things to happen next year aren’t even on this list. You could meet the love of your life, or go on an amazing trip or get your dream job. Maybe you’ll get a new pet, or find a new favorite restaurant or spend more time with new friends. No matter what your upcoming year has in store, there will be something exciting and beautiful for you to experience. So when that clock strikes midnight, try to look on the bright side. Instead of imagining what might go wrong, imagine what might go right. 

Brynn Murawski is too busy hoping it’ll snow for Christmas to worry about New Year’s. She’d love to hear any other good things happening in 2025 at bmm185@pitt.edu