In a perhaps grandiose attempt to get the most out of my final years of my 20s, I’ve challenged myself to get accomplish many, many goals by the time I turn 30. This list started when I was 26 and I hope to see nothing but bolded goals by my 30th birthday. There are 5 categories with 30 goals in each. A bit crazy? Perhaps. Totally awesome and a great way to carpe’ diem? Hell yeah!
Personal Growth:
1. Ask someone out
2. Accept a date with someone unexpected (March 2011)
3. Go on a weekend vacation by myself
4. Go to class one day without makeup on (EAD 893, April 2, 2009)
5. Go one month without buying any coffee house drinks
6. Jump off the Black Rocks in Marquette
7. Heal from the hellacious break-up and find closure (I don’t know that I’ll ever fully be there, but it’s a journey and I’m so much further along than I was when I penned this list.)
8. Tell my dad I forgive him
9. Keep a plant alive for three months minimum (the hyacinth I was given counts because it was a bulb when I got it and I coaxed lovely purple flowers from it before it died–it is an annual after all)
10. Go on a t.v. fast for one week
11. Dance on a bar (November 2008)
12. Take a motorcycle riding class
13. Say “yes” just once when I have the instinct to say “no” (June 2010–I accepted a coffee date with a guy I met online even though I was intensely scared and nearly cancelled 23468 times before we met. But I did it!)
14. Redefine what true love means to me (Spring 2011 onward–it’s a work in progress and sometimes painful but also exquisitely beautiful)
15. Learn how to make an authentic foreign dish (October 2011–my residents and RAs taught me how to make sushi!)
16. Give my sister a great graduation gift
17. Accept a dare (August 2011–I woke up, got ready and got to training in 8 minutes despite claims I couldn’t do it!)
18. Give up the internet for one week (June 2010–being on vacation makes it a LOT easier to accomplish this!)
19. Plant a tree
20. Make a list of 100 things I like about myself (finished July 2009)
21. Participate in four “buy nothing” weeks
22. Take myself on a date once a week for one month
23. Write a letter to read to myself on the morning of my 30th birthday (written on the eve of my 27th birthday)
24. Leave a 100% tip for good service (March 2009)
25. Send a Christmas card that features solely me (December 2008)
26. Fall in love with myself
27. Have one computer-free weekend (June 2010–it was basically more of a week!)
28. Go two months without shopping at Target
29. Purchase new plates and silverware post-graduation (done November 2009)
30. Reach out to someone who has been abused and make some good come from my situation
Mind, Body and Soul:
1. Tone my arms
2. Learn to meditate/calm my mind for 10 minutes
3. Do a 5K race (March, 6, 2010!!!)
4. Learn to tango, mambo or salsa
5. Honor friendships on Sweetest Day or Valentines Day by giving a rose to a dozen people
6. Donate blood at least once a year
7. Re-learn to do the splits
8. Go for a walk three or four days a week for one month (August to September 2011)
9. Make a sexual bucket list (July 2009)
10. Read the Bible
11. Get a bikini wax
12. Stay up until sunrise and watch it
13. Kayak in Lake Superior
14. Try Sudoku—finish at least one puzzle
15. Write in my healing journal for 30 days straight (December 2008)
16. Work out twice a week for six weeks straight (training for a 5K will do that to you!)
17. Drop two pants sizes
18. Attend a domestic violence vigil (September 2010)
19. Give up candy for one month
20. Get a facial
21. Improve my posture
22. Find out my blood type
23. Lower my blood pressure
24. Go one week without caffeine
25. Use the stairs more and the elevator less
26. Take a yoga class
27. Purchase a Nativity scene/set
28. Try reiki
29. Have three vegetarian or vegan days (1/3)
30. Volunteer for an organization I believe in (domestic violence, LGBT rights, children’s foundation, etc…)
Creative:
1. Buy a DSLR camera
2. Find a use for my bridesmaid dress
3. Complete an essay project for my mom’s birthday
4. Participate in a craft exchange with at least one friend (October 2009)
5. Submit at least 3 essays for publication to various magazines (2/3)
6. Expand my blog readership
7. Complete “The Artist’s Way”
8. Frame and display my best shots from my UK trips
9. Grow an herb or two (clarification: real herbs, NOT illegal herbs)
10. Re-read the Harry Potter series
11. Attend a Renaissance Fair (September 6, 2010)
12. Own a Polaroid camera (June 2010–a Twitter friend sent me one! Woohoooo!)
13. Try video blogging
14. Try improv (Christmas 2009 and 2010 with cousins–surprisingly I’m pretty good at making up shit on the fly!)
15. See Spring Awakening on stage
16. See The Lion King or Mamma Mia on stage
17. Post a Missed Connection on Craig’s List (June 2009)
18. Host a theme party (80s, toga, ugly sweater, etc…) (March 2011–a surprise birthday party for my Sister-in-Residence, Sister Lois. It was a huge success!)
19. Try henna (September 2010)
20. Finish UK 2008 scrapbook
21. Read the Feminine Mystique
22. See part of the AIDS quilt
23. Organize all my NMU and MSU photos into albums—real albums not digital ones
24. Design one piece of crafty art to hang on my living room walls (November 2009)
25. Participate in the Gimme Your Stuff exchange
26. Get paid to write something
27. Read five book recommendations from friends (3/5: The Help; The Hunger Games trilogy; Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs)
28. Memorize a Maya Angelou poem
29. Start a holiday tradition
30. Make all holiday gifts one year (December 2008)
Professional/Investing in my future:
1. Complete my Masters Degree (May 8, 2009–one of my proudest days EVER!)
2. Attend at least one professional conference a year (2/4)
3. Find a mentor
4. Be a mentor
5. Keep in contact with my closest cohort friends after graduation
6. Pay off my major credit card (It’ll be done by my 30th birthday if all goes according to plan!)
7. Begin learning Finnish
8. Purchase an external hard-drive and backup all my laptop files
9. Participate in the Day of Silence
10. Present at a national conference
11. Invest in stock
12. Reduce my shoe and purse collection by 25% (May 2009–Moving is a great motivator for minimalizing…and I’m sure Goodwill was happy with my massive donation!)
13. Invest in at least one good suit (September 2011–I found a fantastic pinstriped suit at a second-hand store and it fits me and my style beautifully! Sweet and savings-friendly!)
14. Have at least $5,000 in savings by the time I’m 30
15. Bake cookies from scratch for my staff (December 2010–I baked them Polka Dot and Sugar cookies with the help of a very cute, very awesome man)
16. Clear the clutter from my desk and actually use it (Summer 2011–the desk is clean! Now I just have to make it into an inviting writing space that inspires me!)
17. Add to my 401(K)
18. Begin watching CNN/news for a couple minutes a day
19. Apply for the EmpowHer ACPA Mentorship
20. Apply for at least one job I do not think I will get (March 2011)
21. Apply for at least one job in a different country
22. Present at a leadership conference (November 2008)
23. Take advantage of one training session offered for free through DRL or MSU (December 2008)
24. Write a book review or another piece to be published in a student affairs publication (June 2009 my essay was published in “More Stories of Inspiration” by NASPA)
25. Challenge my staff to grow through utilizing reflective learning regularly
26. Volunteer at a national conference
27. Find a better/healthier work/life balance
28. Volunteer for a committee outside of my department (February 2010 – present–I am now on the Board of Advisors for the Institute for Women’s Leadership! This is a HUGE thing for an RD as it is normally a Director-held position!)
29. Stop swearing so much (another goal that’s a work in progress but getting better)
30. Donate to my alma mater (NMU) and the SLFP
For Fun:
1. Buy a pair of real diamond stud earrings (December 2009–I didn’t buy them, but my mom gifted me a pair of gorgeous square studs after I shared with her this goal. She felt I shouldn’t have to buy myself diamonds because I’m “worth it”.)
2. Donate $5 to each goal I do not reach by the age of 30
3. Save $5 for each goal I accomplish and buy a frivolous item with all the money on my 30th birthday
4. Adopt a pet (March 2011–I got a fish named Indihar. It’s the closest thing I’ll have to a pet until I live off due to rigid rules. Sigh.)
5. Wear a wig in public for fun
6. Start planning a trip to Scotland/Ireland/Italy/Greece
7. Do the tourist-y things in Chicago: see Second City, tour Oprah’s studio…
8. Attend a Red Wings game
9. Drink pink champagne (New Years Eve 2008)
10. Travel to one continent I have not yet visited (May 2011–I’m calling this one good since I travelled to Russia and that’s basically in the Asian continent. It’s as close as I’ll probably get by the time I’m 30.)
11. Visit Scranton, Pennsylvania
12. Have my tarot cards professionally read (April 2009)
13. Kiss under the mistletoe (December 2010)
14. Reunite with my closest friends from NMU (July 2010–on my Michigan vacation I saw my best friends from college and it. Was. Glorious!)
15. Celebrate New Years in a big city and not Michigan for once (NYE 2009–Chicago, baby!)
16. Purchase a nice pair (read: Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, etc) of sunglasses
17. Attend an Oktoberfest celebration
18. Meet Jen Lancaster and let her know how much I admire her (May 6,2009–one oe my best days ever!)
19. Visit the West Coast (June 2010–one amazing trip!)
20. *private*
21. Return to Disney World (March, 2010–yessssss!!! Can I go again?)
22. Watch one movie featuring each of the Bonds (Connery, Craig, etc..)
23. Treat mom to a mother/daughter spa day
24. Eat Indian food (November 2010)
25. Purchase and give three scratch-off tickets to three random people
26. Make crab rangoons
27. Purchase new glasses with rhinestones on them
28. Buy three new dresses—one of them must be red (2/3) (Check and check on the red one–on sale for $20, too! Squee!)
29. Pay for the person behind me at the coffee house
30. Learn to make baked brie (December 2008)
