Just realized I restart my Stardew farm every time I hit year 2, and my buddy thinks that's the wrong way to play | Cozy Game Corners - The Community Guide
I did the same thing for like 300 hours before I finally pushed past it. What helped me was picking one thing to chase each year instead of trying to do everything at once. Year 2 I went hard on the community center, year 3 I focused on getting married and upgrading my house, year 4 I did the island. Once I gave each year its own goal, restarting felt like throwing away progress instead of a fresh start. It also helps to keep a little notebook (well, a notes app for me) of stuff you still want to do, so when you get that itch you can look at the list and see there's plenty left. Your buddy isn't wrong that there's no "right" way, but you might be surprised how much you enjoy the later stuff if you stick with it.