Fireworks fizzle out and noisemakers quiet bringing the New Year’s celebrations to an end. While Auld Lang Syne may be playing in the background, this doesn’t mean that the excitement for the new year is over just yet.
Transitioning into a new year can look very different for a lot of people. Many set goals for living a healthier lifestyle, some treat the new year as a way to completely reset and focus on the future while others live their lives like it is any other day.
One thing many people do have in common is the trend of organizing their goals into what is known as a vision or mood board. Whether they cut out photos from their real life, use images or videos they find online or simply write goals down on a doc or a piece of paper, visualizing aspirations can help to make these objectives concrete.
Last year, many people wanted their 2025 to reflect a mix of the ‘clean girl’ and the 90’s/Y2k aesthetics. This included healthy habits, simple fashion and neutral colors while also leaning into the babydoll tops and cheetah print of the early 2000’s. More specifically, workouts such as pilates and pickleball were on a trend spike. Button up sweaters, ballet flats, claw clips and gold/pearl jewelry could also be seen in rotation. Travel and spending more time outdoors were also common themes for 2025.
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While most of those things may already have the fast-fashion feeling of being so last year, some of the trends moving into 2026 are very similar.
Online social media users are crafting an image of a whimsical 2026. This means being very carefree in fashion and lifestyle choices, while also focusing on inner peace, joy and overall happiness.
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@mallorylee318 on pinterest
While only a few weeks into the new year, people are already making their mark on 2026 through meme culture. After 365 Buttons Girl or Tamara left a comment on another user’s Tik Tok video stating that for the new year she wants to collect 365 buttons, one for each day, her words “Hey, so it actually only has to make sense to me for me to do it and I don’t feel like explaining it to anyone else”. “The New York Times” even released an article about Tama and her own carefree and whimsical ideology when coming into the new year as well as “Saturday Night Live” parodying her mindset in a skit.
Another common theme amongst vision board enthusiasts is an analogue 2026. In other words, spending more time fostering screen free hobbies like knitting, embroidery, gardening and even junk journaling. Some people have begun to burn their own CD’s rather than curating playlists online or even leaning into making cassette tapes. Screenless time does not mean time that has to be spent alone. Social media personalities such as Brittney Broski and Caleb Heron have spoken to a new year spent turning off your phones and playing card games, board games, charades, trying out a new recipe, crafting or simply just being in each other’s presence.
In the music world, trends of Zara Larson’s endless summer have already emerged while the promise of a Harry Styles and Noah Khan comeback respectively have fans on the edge of their seats.
The trend of mood boards has even reached Fairfield. On Jan 22. Fairfield at Night (F@N) hosted their own mood board night. Creative Director and Senior Grace Karangekis states “The F@N DIY Vision Boards was a great start to both the New Year and a new semester! This event allowed people to come together as a community in the LLBCC, get creative and write down their goals and plans for the New Year. Personally, as a graduating senior, it was a cool experience to write down future goals and events that I will be accomplishing this year, including graduation!”.
While we approach the end of the first month of 2026, it is still never too late to start bettering yourself and creating positive habits, especially as we transition back into busy college life. A mood board can be just the thing to help push yourself to stick to these goals, and a fun way to be creative!
