Hello Everyone, and Happy New Year!

The end of a year oftentimes acts as a point of self reflection, so I figured what better way to start this newsletter than to do a bit of reflecting myself. In short, 2025 was a movie 🎥 (sorry for that, I really thought long and hard about the corniest, cheesiest way to encapsulate the year). But, I guess if I were to continue to make this comparison, I would say something along the lines of “Incredible character-development, and the feel-good movie of the year. 5/5”.

I am proud of myself, looking back on the year. For the longest time, I have felt lost or treading water, but I am happy to say that I have not only found what I want to be doing, but am actively taking steps to build the life that I want. If I think back to the beginning of the year, I just started applying to grad schools. I was stressed out about whether or not I would get in. I did not need to worry, though, as I got into 7 of the 8 schools that I applied to. When I ultimately started school at San Francisco State University, I worked as hard as I could to learn about teaching and set myself up for a teaching position. Although I had self-doubt multiple times throughout the semester, I not only finished with A’s, but I was also offered a Graduate Teaching Assistant Position, allowing me to be in charge of my own public speaking/communication class! (This is something that I forgot to mention last week, as the holidays were so hectic.)

I am also proud of all the really cool experiences and trips that I got to do for the year. I am not going to do a recap of the newsletter as the first anniversary for that is in February, but looking back, I am in awe of how much I did.

This year has been hard work but very rewarding! I can not wait to see what is in store for 2026!

With that said, let us find out What’s Up With Will…

For two years, we have been unable to go to the shindig of both the old and the new year: Mikk’s New Year’s Eve Party. However, the stars finally aligned, and we were off to party like it’s 2026! I wore my red suit and brought my new “disposable” camera to capture all of the fun. As the clock struck 12, Rylee tried to kiss me, but I had to swerve her kiss. She then got mad at me for swerving until she realized that I had eaten some gluten-filled food, and we had a good laugh. Ah, the joys of being a non-gluten-free boyfriend.

The party was amazing, as we reconnected with some familiar faces and met some new ones! Thank you, Mikk, for hosting!

Another passion project for the week was binging Stranger Things Season 5 for the Finale, which was shown in theaters for two days only. As we watched, you could hear the whole audience react to the movie, cheering and crying as loudly as possible. The energy in the theater was fantastic, and it is an example of what I believe a movie theater environment can offer.

I do not want to get all meta, but in some ways, it was the closest I have felt to being a part of a popular monocultural media phenomenon in quite some time. In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, it felt cool for once again to be part of a collective pop culture zeitgeist, something that literally everyone knows of, even if they did not watch it themselves. It is something that I have not felt part of in quite some time. I would say Game of Thrones or maybe Barbenheimer, but even then, Barbenheimer was over 2.5 years ago.

It’s a new year, which means a new wine tasting passport. I covered these earlier in the year, but essentially, you pay a small fee to get access to multiple tastings. This time around, though, the wine passport was for wineries in and around the north end of Napa Valley, known as Calistoga. I know some people participate in Dry January, but that would not be us this year, so on the third of January, we drove up to begin our tastings.

First stop was Tank Garage Winery. You might not be surprised by the fact that this tasting room was once a gas station that was retrofitted into a spot that serves some of the most interesting blends we have seen in Napa Valley. There were no single varietal wines here, with some bottles combining up to six different grapes, including some that I have never heard of, like Valdiguié. Tank has no vineyards itself, opting to purchase grapes throughout the state to show off how special California wine is. Similarly, the experience had an old-world wine feel to it, as most European wines are blends that emphasize the terroir of where the grape is grown. The wine was excellent!

Second was Vault Wines and Artifacts. Vault at one point housed a tractor supply company, before becoming a wine shop/wine antique showroom meant to showcase the history of wine. The environment was eclectic. As we sipped, we walked around old bottle openers, a Japanese Ceremonial Cabinet, and an Old Roman Style Grape Press. The wine itself was equally eclectic, with a chardonnay with a tasting note of apple cider, and a rosé with a vividly toasted strawberry note. I would come here for the wow factor of flavors, but other than that, I was not blown away by any of the wines.

Before our third and final vineyard for the day, we stopped at the free Sharpsteen Museum located right in downtown Calistoga. Created by former Disney Animator Ben Sharpsteen, this museum functions as a local history museum of Calistoga, with hand-crafted miniature scenes of Calistoga in the 1860s and a recreation of an old Calistoga bedroom.

According to the museum, Napa Valley was starting to be recognized for its hot springs in the mid-1800s. Sam Brannan, a tycoon who gained his fortune from retail, real estate, and speculation during the Gold Rush, became obsessed with the idea of creating a premier Napa Valley Resort. Upon its creation, he branded it as Calistoga, a portmanteau of California and Saratoga.

Our final stop of the day was at Picayune Cellars and Mercantile. This wine/gift shop owner’s ethos is that wine can add joy to any moment of life. Our wines were served from bird-shaped cork stoppers that would chirp whenever any wine was poured out. The wine was good overall, with an exceptional Sauvignon Blanc that was both acidic enough for Rylee, yet fruity enough for me. We also loved that we could take our wines and walk around the gift shop, although I was a bit scared of spilling some (thankfully, I did not!)

I would be remiss not to include the first Will Willis Food Review of 2026. Here it goes:

It felt very surreal to walk into a ramen shop and order an egg sandwich, but that is how it goes for a pop-up restaurant. Connor and Alannah invited me to get breakfast at Egg Pals, a breakfast pop-up that has a reputation for making amazing breakfast sandwiches. I ordered the original egg pal, a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich with pickled red onions and an herby mayo on a brioche bun, and we sat down as they cooked everything on a Hibachi Grill. This sandwich is the quintessential example of how sometimes it does not need to be fancy to be delicious. Anybody who tells you otherwise is lying.

Pop-ups have been popping up all over the place in the Bay Area (pun intended). They are trendy, hip, and cool. If we are being honest, I feel cooler just by having eaten at this one. I have been wanting to check more of them out, but because of limited business hours and the lack of a physical location, the lines tend to be out the door. Thankfully, due to some dreary weather, there was practically no line at Egg Pals.

2025 has been an incredible year for growth. Yet, for all that I have progressed, accomplished, and experienced this year, my friends have had their own accomplishments and personal triumphs. I wanted to write one section to wrap up 2025, but to do so, I needed some help…

I wrote to some friends to answer the following question: “What is one thing from 2025 that you are proud of?”

Here’s what they said.

Alannah: I would have to say I’m proud of finally applying to grad school of course! 🙂

Avery: I’d say I’m most proud of the exploration and networking achieved this year ⛷️🧗🤝

Brent: I am proud of moving twice across the US and getting the majority of my MBA done. I am also proud of slowing down and trusting others in communication to be patient and the best person that I can be.

Connor: For me, I’d say I’m proud to have finally read Lord of the Rings all that way through for the first time!

Mikk: I’m really proud and thankful I got to play piano at two weddings this year.

Reagan: Heyyyy!! Something I’m most proud of from 2025 is that I went on a successful performance tour across the southeast!!!

Rylee: I’m proud of earning my master’s degree and finding a job that empowers me to give back to my community every day. I’m proud of the life that Will and I are building together—I didn’t know life could be this fun until I met him.

Tyler: One thing from 2025 that I’m proud of is that I signed up for more activities, like frisbee and improv classes, that got me out of the house and meeting new, wonderful people!

Will: There is actually one last thing I am proud of: my friends. While I wasn’t able to get responses from everyone, y’all are out in the world doing incredible things, and I could not be happier for y’all. I can not wait to see what 2026 brings for us!

This video is just the irreverence I want to take with me into the new year. How could I not want to learn more about a baker who bakes an apple pie by only using apple ingredients?