Turning 50 is a milestone worth celebrating! I’m grateful to be alive and healthy today, though it hasn’t always been this way. For many years, I struggled to find joy in life, and simply being here didn’t feel like a gift. That’s why this milestone means so much to me—it’s truly something to celebrate!
To honor this moment, I took unpaid leave to focus on enjoying life and prioritizing my well-being. Curious how this special year unfolded? Keep reading to find out.
My Topics and Highlights from 2024
Putting my heart into my work as a science communicator
One of the major projects in 2024 as a science communicator for the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics was the participation in the first Science Festival Frankfurt. My colleagues and I from the communications team created a course that aimed to simulate the analysis of a protein, the main work of our researchers.
I was lucky to have great colleagues, like our design intern Louise Düver, who did a lot of diligent and hard design work. One of her greatest achievements (among many) was designing a poster with a stunning 3D cell that attracted so many people.
I also continued to work with augmented reality (AR) designer and programmer Maiken Laackman and Tobias Still, who implemented the AR content of the poster.
In the middle of the year, Katharina Käfer, my closest colleague who initiated and advanced many great outreach and press projects, left the team. I was happy to see Pamela Ornelas take over, who also loves to make science communication fun, and the return of Melek Özdemir, who spent many months helping out in the Institute’s guesthouse and has finally rejoined the team with her great talent for creating funny short films that make our Instagram followers skyrocket to x%.
I was also happy to welcome our newest colleague, Niklas Pröscher, who enthusiastically joined our team as a biophysics bachelor student, and who has taken over the tedious work of posting on social media and helping us to create more lay-friendly articles.
Great work is only possible with great people. These are my colleagues above, competent, helpful and fun to work with, my bosses Corinna Jung and Martin Beck during 2024, who gave me freedom and trust. Thank you very much!
Making mental health more accessible through design
I dedicated part of my free time to my social business Gesund in MeinerStadt. After losing my team in 2021 and starting to work full-time as a communicator at the Institute, I decided to bootstrap the business and slowly progressed with the help of business coach Stefania Laventure, designing a series of brochures that helped to educate first-timers about different mental illnesses. The first was psychosis.
However, after joining FIPPS as a member of the scientific board at the end of last year, I shifted my energy to improving this platform, which—like my original platform concept Gesund in MeinerStadt—educates about psychosis and schizophrenia, de-stigmatizes and connects affected individuals and their caregivers with available support in the region. It was implemented by Robert Bittner and Mishal Qubad, two leading psychiatrists at the University Hospital in Frankfurt.
With Robert Bittner, I have been trying to get the project started for many years. He was finally able to make it happen. I now helped promote the project and contributed my expertise as a designer and affected family member to make the platform more accessible.
Training to be a good communicator
In 2024, I focused on becoming a good communicator. After observing many successful people, I have been working on my communication skills for many years.
In 2024, I put special emphasis on communication. Because I lacked public speaking opportunities in my daily life, I created my own, such as the monthly design sessions at my employer, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics. I also took on workshop and public speaking assignments.
In January, together with the great Katja Riedel, I moderated the team retreat of the JCI Frankfurt Alumni Association.
Another great public speaking opportunity was the launch of the FIPPS platform at International Schizophrenia Day. I received a lot of praise and good feedback for my talk.
In September, I organized a user research event together with Christiane Schlang, Head of the Mental Health Department at the Frankfurt Public Health Department, as part of Frankfurt’s annual Mental Health Week.
In December, I held a half-day poster design workshop for the new cohort of our International May Planck Research School on Cellular Biophysics. After receiving feedback from my last workshop that my design basics part was too long, I skipped it this time and gave out a handout with the most important design basics instead.
By the end of the year, I was using fewer opportunities to practice my communication skills, I was feeling tired and exhausted, so I felt that there’s still so much to improve. Good goal for next year!
Lots of great first times!
After a mostly monotonous learning experience at school, I discovered a few years ago that I actually love learning. Learning new things inspires me and gives me new energy!
In 2024, one of my goals was to improve my sailing skills. So I booked sailing lessons and did a lot of things for the first time. One of them was sailing alone in a dinghy in relatively strong winds. My instructor Sandra Denda put me alone in a Laser Pico on the first day and I often lost control of the boat while tacking and jibing through wind and waves.
When I capsized, it was only with the help of Sandra, who came with her motorboat, that I was able to get the boat up again. The goal of the 4-day training was to get rid of the fear of sailing in strong winds, which was certainly achieved.
I booked another training at Bad Zwischenahn, where I sailed with a gennaker and a harness for the first time. It was such a great feeling gain control over a boat using these features to increase the speed of sailing!
For the first time, I took part in a club regatta of the Frankfurt Yacht Club as a helmswoman, together with a great fellow sailor, Roland. The previous trainings gave me the confidence to do this.
Another big first was my visit to the annual Ecsite Conference for science engagement professionals in Ljubljana in June. I expected a lot of nice but superficial encounters during the 5-day event. Instead, I had a lot of nice encounters that quickly developed a depth that surprised me!
It was so nice to connect on a deeper level so quickly. I loved that the sessions included a lot of discussions about diversity and inclusion, and everyone was so helpful! I feel like I have finally found my community!
For the first time, using AI tools became a routine, such as using an AI tool to create automatic subtitles in different languages, and routinely using ChatGPT to help me write captions and entire articles.
For the first time, I participated in Judith Peter’s reels challenge, which helped me get familiar with creating fast videos and reduced my fear of being visible in videos.
Better personal connections
In 2024, I continued to work on my relationships. One was the relationship with myself. I had learned in the previous years that I had to take good care of myself in order to achieve my goals. For that, it was necessary to do things that I enjoy.
One of the things that gives me energy is sailing. When I realized during the capsizing exercise last year that I needed to build muscle to control the boat and get back in, I was looking for an inexpensive way to get regular exercise that would make me sweat and improve my strength and fitness. I found it at the FTG sports club. I managed to go there more or less once a week.
In the beginning, I was so exhausted after each workout that I stayed in bed all day. I also experienced pain that made me decide to be the grandma in the back of the room who didn’t care about keeping up with the instructor. I relaxed when neither the instructor nor the other participants complained or looked at me with disapproval.
Other relationships were with people around me and new friends. One of the instructors happened to be the girlfriend of an old friend of mine, so I felt especially lucky. Her cheerful personality always brightens my day. In the course, I also quickly made friends with Ji-Hae, a fearless Korean woman who soon joined my water sports club and whom I hang out with a lot now.
Geoff, an affable American expat, was another new friend. He became a person you could go out to dinner with and listen to nice jazz concerts with. He came to my watersports club through the new MeetUp group I have created to recruit new members. We were quite successful with about 4 new members.
I also wanted to improve my relationship with my son by spending more time with him, talking to him more, and nagging him less. By the end of the year, I feel like I accomplished at least the latter.
We have taken regular walks and established a routine of watching movies at home on the laptop while munching on homemade popcorn. Unfortunately, schoolwork takes up a lot of time, and being a full-time employee with many interests has made it hard for us to spend time together doing things we both enjoy.
Other Memorable Moments from 2024
I started the year in bed with a cold that I felt came from racist thoughts in a ski lift. I know it sounds esoteric but I could feel the aggression towards me when my son and I jumped in the lift. The man sitting next to me didn’t give me any space and the atmosphere was icy. I started coughing in the lift and when I got back to our hostel I had to lie down and was sick for the rest of the 3 days.
It all came together: the encounter on the ski lift, a boy in our family ski group bullying my son and calling him Ching Chang Chong, and a Swatika painted on our door.
In the subsequent state elections in Hesse, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) became the second largest party.
In June, after joining the training with Sandra, I had the courage to sail the Frankfurt City Regatta with strong wind. I still didn’t dare to be the helmswoman because of the complicated rules though. On the day of the regatta, I was relieved that Johannes was the one steering the boat because the wind was really strong. Unlike last year, we made it to 4th place.
My 2024 Recap
What Am I Proud Of in 2024?
I’m proud to say that I’ve accomplished a lot of the things I planned to do. Like not skipping meals, taking a walk in the woods every week, limiting my phone time to 4 hours a day, and saving 46 % of my income and investing it in ETFs.
Yes, there are still many things left on my list. For example, I haven’t blogged much this year, and I haven’t written the 6 expert articles I had planned. This goal will be moved to 2025 and I will reflect on why I haven’t been able to accomplish this goal so that I can remove the barriers to accomplishing it in 2025.
There were times when it was very hard for me to continue with my volunteer work and my day job when I didn’t feel the warmth of a team connection. Those times took a lot of energy from me. In the end, it all worked out and I am proud of myself for sticking it out until things got better.
The Best Decision I Made in 2024
One decision I made at the beginning of the year was to start exercising regularly. I accepted that I had entered a new era of my health that would require care and exercise to stay healthy.
There have also been little things that have made my life a lot better, such as
- deciding to take sailing lessons, and
- using the Mentimeter interactive presentation and survey tool for my workshops
A decision I made two years ago was to celebrate my 50th birthday with old and new friends. Even though I didn’t have the time to enjoy many guests and my own party, I was glad that I did. It was nice to see many of my life’s companions in one place and it was a great feeling that many of them took the time to join my party.
What Did I Learn About Myself in 2024?
I was reminded that with perseverance, kindness, and commitment, I could achieve my goals. I learned to listen to my new body, which was that of a middle-aged woman. It needed a slower pace and more time to recharge. I learned that sleep deprivation made me a person I wanted to escape from. A pitfall I needed to avoid in 2025.
I was reminded that visualization was one of my superpowers that I needed to use more.
Firsts: What Did I Experience for the First Time in 2024?
As part of the JCI German Senate Conference in Berlin, I visited Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the Federal President of Germany and the Federal Chancellery.
I baked my own bread and visited the Frankfurt TV Tower.
I slept in a former prison and used a urinal for the first time.
My friend Younes Shaimi gave me a glider flight for my birthday. The glider was pulled up by an airplane with a motor.
What Important Lessons Did 2024 Teach Me?
An inflamed wrist and tendonitis reminded me to be careful with exercise. A bad mood and low spirits for weeks taught me to make sure I get at least 8 hours of sleep a day.
I dared to implement some of my ideas—and the results were great!
What Am I Especially Grateful For in 2024?
- I had a lot of wonderful moments in 2024
- I am healthy
- My family members are more or less healthy
- I enjoy peace and freedom
- I have a great job and wonderful colleagues
- I earn enough money
What Were My Biggest Challenges in 2024?
My biggest challenge has been to stay calm and positive in situations where there is a lack of trust in the relationships and in the process.
When I started contributing to the FIPPS project, it was hard to accept that “my project” was being implemented by someone else. But I kept telling myself that it’s great for the users. Something implemented is better than something not implemented. And I could do good by helping to make it a good product. The platform is a huge project. It can only be a good project with the help of many.
Since FIPPS is a side project for most of the team and fellow scientific board members, I felt the lack of time for team building, which resulted in a lack of the sense of community that motivates me. After working with Christiane Schlang, head of the mental health department at the Frankfurt Public Health Department, to organize the user research event during Frankfurt’s annual Mental Health Week, I felt like I had found a new buddy.
What Went Really Well in 2024?
- I walked in the woods almost once a week
- I made a new friend, Ji-Hae
- I started exercising
- I hardly missed a meal
- I invested almost half of my income in ETFs, and the prices were good.
- I organized nice events
- I got a lot of praise for my talk at the FIPPS launch event.
- I helped recruit several new members for the aquatics club.
- Reduced my phone time to almost 4 hours
- I organized a rowing training for my water sports club with my friend Manuel and everyone was very happy
What Am I Leaving Behind in 2024?
- The hope that less than 8 hours of sleep are enough for me.
- The idea of staying healthy without my active care.
- My belief that German news channels are independent of the government.
My 2024 in Numbers
Share 5–10 bullet points with stats from your social media, website, business, or personal life. Feel free to include screenshots. Here are some ideas:
- Walks in the woods
- Design sessions
- Reels published
- 659 website visitors in 2024
- Number of published blog posts
- Domain authority score: 8
- Train rides
- Flights
- Car rides
- Toilet paper saved
Include a screenshot of your homepage if applicable!
Looking Ahead to 2025
What Will I Do Differently (or Better) in 2025?
Write a short text or create bullet points.
Adventures I’ll Embark on in 2025
What are you looking forward to next year? What big changes, trips, or adventures are on the horizon?
Big Projects I’ll Tackle in 2025
What’s the one big thing you’re planning for next year?
How You Can Work With Me in 2025
This section is only relevant if you’re self-employed or run a business. Write about your services and include links to your offerings. If you don’t have links yet, simply include your email address so people know how to contact you.
My 7 Goals for 2025
No introduction needed—just dive into your list. Write 1–3 sentences for each goal.
Goal 1
Goal 2
Goal 3
Goal 4
Goal 5
Goal 6
My Motto for 2025 Is:
