If you haven’t sold you have not made anything - it’s just that the market values the asset you hold higher than what you paid for it.
If you did sell you made 25k for storing your previous savings in the stock market
It is a choice you made about what to do with your money
Unrealized gains are gains. Of course it can go down but no one should subtract that number from their wealth. Appreciating assets are what make most people wealthy.
What if the OP sold and immediately bought another asset that had similarly appreciated? What if they sold, changed their mind, and immediately re-bought the same asset? In both these cases the "made" 25K (or somewhat less if we factor in cap gains tax) is in a similarly precarious position to the just-keep-holding case.
Is it the case that to have "made money" you need to take that money permanently out of play? Does that in turn mean then when you invest money that money shouldn't count toward your net worth because it might lose value in the future?