The Most Memorable Advice of 2025

Meditations on how to nurture and strengthen your relationships in the new year

Illustration of someone holding a tray with a speech bubble

Katie Martin / The Atlantic

December 26, 2025

The approach of a new year is an opportunity to reflect on time spent with friends, family, and partners who have played a role in your life—and how you can improve these relationships.

For parents, 2025 might have been a year that felt fraught with questions about what it means to raise a child today. In 2025, Atlantic writers explored the challenges that can come with finding child care, the debate about whether to avoid ultra-processed foods, the questions of when—or where—kids should gain access to technology, and more.

Dating, a once classic rite of passage, is also changing, Faith Hill wrote this year. Yet even as fewer young people are getting into relationships, they do believe in love: According to one study that included more than 5,000 Americans, 60 percent of single adults said they believe in love at first sight, a nearly 30 percent increase from 2014.

With a new year comes the hope of change and betterment—so let these writers help you nurture and strengthen your relationships in the year ahead.