2025
The introductions of these letters are typically what I struggle with the most. Where to start?
I’m drafting this introduction on the beach in Waikiki. As I sit here, listening to the waves lap up against the shore and the gleeful shouts of tourists from around the globe, I couldn’t help but reflect on the incredible year that led me to this beach on this day.
This moment, here, feels like the perfect capstone to a stressful year. But it’s proof that there’s always something exciting yet to be experienced. And when it arrives, it proves itself to be worth the wait.
Career
This year was defined by two major career milestones. In September, after seven-and-a-half years of employment, I submitted my resignation from PSA Airlines. PSA was my first airline, and I loved working there up until the very last day. But bigger and better things were on the horizon.
The next week, I started training at American Airlines in Fort Worth, Texas. Then, in December, I officially completed my training and once again earned the title of First Officer, now on the Airbus A320 family of aircraft; a pro-de-motion.
California
For the first time in over a decade, I can happily say I was no stranger to the Golden State this year. I flew into Los Angeles over a dozen times over the course of this year.
My first visit came in May when I flew out to celebrate four birthdays.
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The first was my Dad’s. We drove out to the coast, in Ventura, stopping on the way at the Santa Paula airport where I trained for my Private Pilot License 12 years ago.
30 & 30
Then I celebrated two sequential birthdays, my own on the 15th and Tiffany’s brother, Nick’s, on the 16th. For this, I flew up to Northern California and enjoyed a week in the great outdoors.
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Finally, to end the week, Tiffany’s grandma celebrated her birthday. We had a lovely get-together at her local church, followed by dinner at her home.
Now I’m based in Los Angeles, and even though I’m still living in Charlotte, I fly out to LA every week to go to work. Then I typically brave a red-eye home on the last day of my work week.
North Carolina
At home in Charlotte, I enjoyed visits from my mom, my dad, and my grandma.
Mom and Grandma visited to see the world famous synchronized fireflies that inhabit North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains. If you’ve never witnessed firefly synchronization, it’s really something to behold! The phenomenon happens to coincide with the Fourth of July, so since we were staying in the town of Boone, we then attended the Boone Fourth of July parade followed by their fireworks display at the local park.
In September, my dad met me in bustling Moline, Illinois to be a (First Class) passenger on my final flight from the left seat at PSA. My dad was the one that got me into flying, so it was really special that he was able to experience and celebrate this milestone with me. Afterward, Tiffany and I were able to show him around Charlotte.
Everywhere Else
South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida
Early in the year, we pretended to be snowbirds by packing our stuff into the back of an SUV and driving down to Melbourne, Florida. Though the reason was not to escape the winter, but rather to celebrate the (Valentine’s Day) wedding of our dear friends Zach and Steph. Though we also didn’t mind spending a few February days in the Sunshine State.
South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California
While on a break from training, I decided to unwind and relax by driving 2,500 miles from the Queen City to the City of Angels. The mission was to relocate the Rivian so I would have a commuter car while based in LA, but also because such a trip has been something I’ve been curious about attempting in an EV ever since I took delivery of my Tesla in 2018.
In a past letter, I emphasized that four hours of driving per day was my limit, but this trip required four straight days each consisting of twelve hours of travel and twelve hours of rest. And you know what? I actually loved it. I could write an entire essay about the romance of crossing the country by land — and maybe someday I will — but in short, I would do it again.
And California — with 42% of its land public (contrast with North Carolina’s 7%) — is a much happier place for a vehicle at home in the wilderness.
New Jersey and New York
Finally, over a month before the actual Thanksgiving holiday, many members of the Konecnik family got together in New Jersey to celebrate “Early Thanksgiving.” This new, made-up holiday gathering exists primarily because holiday travel is becoming increasingly nightmarish.
Afterward, Tiffany and I hopped on a train and spent a day walking around the Big Apple with my primary goal being to formally introduce Tiffany to the High Line (my favorite sliver of New York). But we also made time to sample coffee shops, bakeries, shops, and parks along the way.
Rambling Ramble
To close this year’s letter, a simile: I like to think of life’s journey as a hiking trail.
Like any thoroughfare — be it a road, a path, a sidewalk, or any of the other means pictured in this month’s essay — a trail can be experienced one of two ways: You can rush to catch the vista at the end, or you can savor in its twists and turns, cherishing each careful step, slowing as necessary to revel in every detail along the way. I prefer the latter, as once you reach the vista at the end, the memory of the trail brings as much satisfaction as the vista itself.
At the risk of sounding like I’m writing about my retirement, the start of this next chapter of my career does feel a lot like the big moment I’d been working toward for the past decade. And now that I’ve made it, looking back at the path I took to get to this point of my career and my personal life — and all of the moments and details scattered throughout — is just as fulfilling as the Hawaiian beach that it all led to.
Happy New Year, here’s to discovering what our avenues hold in 2026.
