Blog: Things to Leave Behind in 2026

‘Tis the holiday season, so it’s time to start thinking about stuff we should just leave in 2025. This may be a bit early, but I don’t care. I’ll probably find some more stuff to add to this list in the next month and a half.

#1: Masks

This should’ve been left in 2020, or 2021 if you’re feeling generous. We no longer need the COVID masks, and we certainly don’t need layers of masks plus a face shield. Seriously, anytime I go to Costco, I see at least one person wearing a COVID mask and sometimes one of the employees will have the full face shield on. The pandemic is over. Time to leave it behind. You’re not being cautious; you’re just making yourself look stupid.

#2: Romantasy Novels

Get.

Rid.

Of.

These.

I cannot tell you enough how much I loathe romantasy. This genre is singlehandedly ruining literature, not just the fantasy genre. It’s crept its way into science fiction, history, young adult novels, horror, romance in general, etc. It may make a lot of money, but it’s gross, glorifies toxic (and sometimes even pedophilic) relationships, and is just bad for readers in general. What studies have been done on this shows that reading romantasy has the same effect on women’s brains as watching porn does on men’s. For comparison, studies have also shown that porn consumption has a similar effect on the mind as consuming drugs like cocaine or meth does. That’s also not mentioning the effects that it has on fertility. A study from China shows that porn addicted men were more likely to be infertile than men who weren’t watching it. With that in mind, who knows what happens to women.

Romantasy isn’t empowering. It’s crippling for your mental and physical health. Get rid of this.

#3: Transgenderism

This may be wishful thinking, but already, there has been a sharp decline in transgender-identifying youth this year. Let’s leave behind the hormone replacement therapy, sex-change operations, and overall stupidity of this movement in 2026.

#4: Labubus

Why are these popular? I understand they’re like the Beanie-Boo trend of the ’90s, but just looking at these things, I don’t understand their appeal. At least Beanie-Boos are cute, but why are people willing to spend $20 or more on a keychain-sized doll that they might not even like because they come in mystery boxes?

#5: Bubble Skirts

Have you seen these things? They looked dumb in the 80s, but at least they provided coverage. Now, they’re so short that it looks like you’re wearing a scrunchy around your hips and if you bend over, you’ll need to be arrested for public indecency. Go back to normal skirts, please!

Until next time,

M.J.