If I write a retrospective and it’s still January, it counts, right? It is still the first month of the new year.
But man, these years are zipping by, this new one already included. I kept saying that 2024 was on 1.5 speed playback. Like I saw all the things happening, but I surely missed a few important things as time flung itself in the front door and out the back every day with maximum velocity.
Somewhere in that turbulence, I spent time reading. A lot. Like so much so that I sometimes feel ashamed telling people how many books I read last year because it means I couldn’t have possibly been using my time very efficiently.
Sometimes I even google “jobs that pay you to read books.”
But then I remind myself that I’m a writer and an editor and reading books is really just research in honing my craft, and I feel better. Plus, I love escaping into a new world on the pages and in my head (especially during weeks like this one).
That doesn’t mean I don’t love this world. We humans have a lot of good things going – even amongst the tragedy and drama of it all – and I’m looking forward to highlighting more of the progress and positivity we see in the Driftless (and beyond) throughout 2025.
But first, let’s look back on 2024 and our progress and positivity last year!
2024 Inspire(d) Magazine Themes:
While our 2023 themes centered around “you” phrases, our 2024 themes tackled “we” statements, connected to a trait anchored in humanity.
We reminded readers to interact with others with kindness as they head out on their summer adventures – and we offered some great adventure ideas along the way!
We encouraged readers to stay resilient (and hopeful) during These Turbulent Times, and we reminded folks that we need to keep standing up, keep showing up, and keep supporting local businesses and positive forward motion.
We asked readers to remember that we all hold a spot in our communities and within humanity, and when we work together, we are stronger, more caring, and yes, more connected to one another.
Artist Laura Demuth’s weaving created a great cozy vibe for our Winter 2024-25 Inspire(d)
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With this year of “we” themes, I wanted to remind our readers that we are all bound together in our humanity. We all have brains, and hearts, and bones, and internal organs. We all have the same basic needs for survival: food, water, air, shelter, sleep. In fact, when we meet someone out in the world, I feel like dropping our compassion down to this lowest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – “Is this person getting the basic needs for survival?” – is perhaps the key to relating to one another. To coming together.
And boy, do we need to come together. Do you feel the urgency? I’m going to take this feeling as a sense that there is movement, and that is a good thing. If everything felt stagnant, that would mean there was no change ahead, and that is synonymous with death. The only constant in life is change, and the direction of that change is up to us and how we interact with our fellow humans.
This year, we’re going to encourage people to think more about our places in this beautiful, complex world. We hope 2025’s Inspire(d) Magazines inspire you to create some brightness in the dark, in whatever way you can.
We started this experiment in positive news in 2007. This is our 18th year of making Inspire(d)! And I will tell you – we are literally never without story ideas. Good things are happening everyday. How will you contribute to that in 2025?
Thank you for reading and supporting Inspire(d), friends. We appreciate you and your bright, shining lights! Here’s to making this a year of positive change in our communities.
For Naomi Simon, Decorah’s hometown women’s wrestling hero, the decision to dedicate herself to wrestling was a simple one.
“Wrestling fits my body, it fits how I like to think about the world,” she says.
And despite being an individual sport, Naomi insists that the real heart of wrestling is the supportive, tight-knit community it provides. “Wrestlers are really hard-working people,” she explains. “When you spend time around other wrestlers, you automatically have this point of connection that most people can’t understand.”
Finding Her Way to the Mats
While Naomi’s decision to try wrestling was her own, it does run in the family. Her dad, Matthew Simon, wrestled throughout high school and one year in college. Her younger sister, Anastasia, joined wrestling with a group of her friends at a young age. In fact, it was watching Anastasia compete at the Kid’s State Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines that inspired her own career in the sport.
Today, Naomi has an impressive list of accolades to her name: A four-time Iowa High School State Wrestling Champion with an undefeated record across all four years, the 2024 Dan Gable Ms. Wrestler of the Year, and, as of September 2024, a bronze medalist for Team USA at the 2024 U20 (Under 20) World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Spain.
But no rise to the top happens without its challenges, and many heroes come from humble beginnings. This is certainly true of Naomi, who began her career as the only girl on the middle school boys’ wrestling team in Decorah, Iowa. When she joined wrestling in 7th grade, there was no girl’s program.
“Since it was technically a school sport, they couldn’t turn me away,” she says.
For most of that year, Naomi felt out of place among the boys, who weren’t very accepting. And she certainly wasn’t a natural talent – she recalls winning only four of the 20+ matches she competed. By the end of the season, Naomi was ready to walk away from the sport. Then, just prior to her 8th grade year, Decorah native and Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee Lee Fullhart moved back to town and began building a women’s program at the high school.
“He built an environment where I could just be an athlete and I didn’t have to worry about being bullied or singled out,” says Naomi. “He told me I would have a spot here, that I would be respected, and that I would have to put in the work just like anyone else. Sticking it out was one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever faced, but I haven’t looked back since”.
Naomi (right) after a win on the Decorah High School wrestling team. She graduated in spring of 2024, finishing her high school wrestling career as a four-time State Wrestling Champion with an undefeated record across all four years. / Photo courtesy Melissa Simon
With a renewed excitement and a dedicated, determined group of teammates to train with, Naomi quickly rose to the top of the girls high school wrestling scene. And in 2022, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union officially sanctioned women’s wrestling as a sport, making Iowa the 34th state nationally to do so.
The sport’s popularity exploded across the state, and at the same time Naomi began to seek additional opportunities outside of the high school season. Supported by her community, she took the leap into the national wrestling scene.
National Wrestling
USA Wrestling is governed at the state level, with each state federation having its own leadership and methods of operating. “It can be really confusing the first time around, but it’s also very rewarding,” says Naomi.
Like Coach Fullhart, Charlotte and Coach McGinness have had a massive impact on Naomi’s development, both on and off the mats. They are able to bring a group of girls from different locations across the state together into one strong, cohesive team, investing in and providing opportunities for each athlete. It is their leadership, commitment, and encouragement that has made Naomi’s time with Team Iowa, “some of the best wrestling experiences I have ever had”.
USA Wrestling competitions offered Naomi challenges and learning opportunities that high school matches no longer could. Not only was she facing more skilled opponents, but high school and USA wrestling competitions utilized different “styles” of wrestling and methods of determining scores to which she had to adapt. While many wrestlers will make a big deal out of the transitions from wrestling “folkstyle” in high school season to “freestyle” at USA or international meets, Naomi takes it all in stride. “At the end of the day, it’s just wrestling.”
In 2022, shortly after her sophomore year of high school, Naomi competed at the Youth Trials in Fort Worth, Texas. There, she lost her match for the first time in over two years. While a loss might be discouraging to some, it only energized Naomi. She quickly got to work with Coach McGinness, driving to his weekly training camps in all different areas of Iowa and pushing herself to compete at a higher and higher level.
She credits her first Junior and 16 & Under National Championships – a tournament commonly referred to in the wrestling community as “Fargo,” as it takes place each year in Fargo, North Dakota – as being one of the biggest turning points in her career. Finishing 6th that year, she would go on to become the Fargo champion in 2023.
Naomi (second from left) poses with a crew (and her bronze medal) at the World Championships in Spain. / Photo courtesy Matt Simon
International Wrestling
In May of 2024, Naomi competed at the World Team Trials event in Spokane, Washington. She won the Under 20 Division, securing her a spot on the USA U20 World Championships team – which also meant her first chance at wrestling internationally.
One requirement upon making the team was to travel to Colorado Springs at least once over the summer for training camps. These camps are held not only to ensure peak physical performance ahead of the big competition, but also to create and deepen bonds between athletes and coaches, as well as among teammates.
In July, the World’s team traveled to Madrid, Spain, to get a feel for international competition and attend an additional camp. For Naomi, the hardest parts of the experience had little to do with the competition itself. “It was the things outside of wrestling – the long plane ride, adjusting to the time difference – and it was so hot – usually around 105 degrees!” she says. “Once I started wrestling, I didn’t have much of an issue.”
Back in the states, the athletes returned to their home base for the last few weeks of preparation before flying to Spain again – Pontevedra this time – on August 31. Within 15 hours of landing, the team was in the gym, preparing.
On September 6, Naomi competed in her first match at Worlds, against Mariia Orlevich of Ukraine. She lost by just one point – and then had to wait to find out if she would have the opportunity to compete in a second match.
The University of Iowa proudly announces Naomi’s third place win at the U20 World Championships. / Photo Facebook @IowaWomensWrestling
International wrestling competitions differ from US tournaments, in that they follow a Repechage Double Elimination bracket model. Essentially, if you win a match you automatically move on to the next stage. If you lose, you have to wait to see how well your opponent does in their next match. If your opponent wins again, you get added to the Repechage bracket and are afforded the chance to keep wrestling.
In the end, Orlevich advanced to the final and Naomi was given another match. Paired against one of the toughest competitors in the field, Japan’s Chisato Yoshida, Naomi had her work cut out for her. She delivered, dominating with a 9-0 victory and earning 3rd place in the 180 weight at her first international wrestling championship.
University of Iowa Wrestling
In the fall of 2024, Naomi began her first year at the University of Iowa, studying health and human physiology. Knowing from a young age that she wouldn’t want to attend a small college, she was thrilled when the Hawkeyes announced the addition of a women’s wrestling team in 2021. There, she is helping to define the emerging landscape of Division I women’s wrestling.
Now in their second year of competition, the Hawkeyes boast one of only four Division I women’s wrestling programs in the entire country. Of these four, the Hawkeyes are the only member of the Power Five Conference – the group of 69 Division I schools that boast the most prominent collegiate athletic programs in the nation. The other three – Presbyterian College, Sacred Heart University, and Lindenwood University – are all smaller, private, liberal arts institutions.
Currently, women’s wrestling is not recognized by the NCAA, meaning there is no official national tournament. However, it was named an NCAA Emerging Sport in 2020 and is projected to become official in 2026.
Just over a month into wrestling season, Naomi confirms that deep bonds, camaraderie, and sportsmanship are just as present among the Hawkeyes as the other teams she has been a part of. These connections and friendships are important, if only because of the sheer amount of time the girls spend training together. Currently, Naomi attends five-to-six team wrestling practices, three lifts, one cardio session, and additional club wrestling practices (not affiliated with the University) each week.
Surprising no one, except perhaps herself, Naomi’s first collegiate season has had a successful start, beginning with the Luther Hill Open in Indianola, Iowa. Of the 18 Hawkeyes who competed, 13 earned top-three finishes.
“I was incredibly nervous to wrestle in Indianola,” she confesses. “It was my first collegiate competition, and I just didn’t know how it would go.”
Naomi wrestled four matches, ultimately winning the 180 weight category.
Their next meet, a double dual in Marietta, Georgia, saw the Hawkeyes come away with a 46-1 win over Hastings and a 30-14 victory over Life University, both NAIA teams. Naomi won both of her matches, then went on to win all three matches the following day at the Eagle Madness Open, also held in Marietta.
The Hawkeye’s final competition of the season will be the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC), which is scheduled for March 7-8, 2025, in Coralville, Iowa. Founded in 2019, the NCWWC offers the chance for all NCAA varsity women’s wrestling programs (Division I, II, and III) to compete at a high-level national competition at the end of the season.
With many years ahead of her, Naomi looks forward to continued effort and improvement on the mats. In the same way that her journey has been inspired and supported by trailblazing women wrestlers and coaches before her, she will add her name to the legacy and influence future wrestlers and wrestling fans alike. With each practice, each match, and each victory, Naomi is not just making a name for herself but paving the way for the future of women’s wrestling.
Clara Wodny is a senior at Luther College, studying English and Visual Communications. She recently returned to Decorah after spending a year abroad in England, where she attended the University of Nottingham. While there, she was a writer and Assistant Design Editor for IMPACT, a student-run magazine. She has written for a variety of news sites and magazines, including SwimSwam, SAGE Scholars, and Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.
When the world feels full of darkness – both literally and figuratively – it’s easy to want to run away from it all. To cut yourself off and hunker down for the duration.
But the magic of life lives in the connections you make.
Connection can fit into a lot of different categories. Connection with yourself. Connection with another person – your partner, your kid, your parent, your neighbor. Connection with a group – a book club, folks in your neighborhood, your extended family. Connection with nature. Connection with your pets. Connection with your work.
It’s up to you to find the connections that best serve you. And sometimes you’ve really gotta push yourself out that door to make it happen. It can be hard! Trust me, I get it.
I’ve learned in recent years that I’m what’s called an “ambivert” – I have tendencies of both extroverts (hello, cheerleading background and putting myself out there each quarter in this very magazine) and introverts (Read all the books! Watch movies on the couch! Putter around the house!).
I feel most closely aligned with introverts, to be honest. Sure, I’m good in a crowd and can talk to pretty much anyone, but I love a quiet house and hours to myself. But there is always a tipping point, when alone time wavers over into loneliness, and I recognize that I need contact and connection to feel whole and grounded and part of this planet.
When I was thinking about the themes for this entire year, including this winter issue, it was early 2024. A whole calendar stretched ahead, full of promise and possibility. Now, here we are, at the end of that year. What have you learned about yourself and others? What types of connections do you need? What sorts of possibilities are ahead for you in 2025?
(Hint: Read our 8 Tips for Finding Connection below, then hop over Inspire(d) Mental Health writer Olivia Lynn Schnur’s piece about connection to get some more ideas.)
Every day is an opportunity to learn more, change perspectives, do something different. Every day is an experiment in humanity. And we’re all connected through that humanity. We’re all in this together. So: My hope, this winter season, is that we all find the collective strength to work toward a better future.
Happy New Year, dear readers. You inspire me.
XOXO, -Aryn
8 Tips for Finding Connection
1. Assume positive intent
When you approach people with suspicion, you’re likely to find suspicious behavior. When you approach them with honesty and openness, it’s often reflected back
2. Put in the effort
Anything worthwhile is going to take some doing / planning / willingness to put yourself out there. Looking for a place to start? Do activities you enjoy…in public. Odds are you’ll find a like-minded individual you might hang out with in the future.
Want to push yourself? Try learning something new – and meet others doing the same thing!
3. Skip the small talk
People are generally sick of it. Don’t be afraid to dive into questions you actually care about – if the people you’re asking care about them too, you’re more likely to find connection
4. Put down your phone (Wonder how many times we’ve put this phrase in an infographic?)
We can’t say this often enough. If you’ve got someone across the table / in the room / present with you, you should be present with them. Put your device away and do real life conversation. Listen. Be heard. Repeat & enjoy!
5. Extend and accept invitations
Show appreciation for new connections.
6. Be yourself!
It can be awkward and make you feel vulnerable, but you’re looking to find people who connect with you – so you gotta be your own genuine, authentic brand of you!
P.S. Understand you’re not always for everyone – and that’s okay!
7. Be aware of your social stamina
Not everyone gets energy from being around others. Don’t be hard on yourself if you need some time to recharge your extrovert battery for the next outing.
8. Connect with yourself.
Try these ideas: Journaling Counseling Sessions Meditation Taking walk in nature Making a vision board
Check out our Mental Health section to explore even more prompts that help you look within.
