30 Things By 30

In the early evening of September 25^th I got a somewhat panicked text from Amanda informing me that she had exactly 6 more months left before turning 30. Yes age is just a number but that doesn’t mean all numbers are easy to think about. Maybe that’s due to society and the message sent that certain life events should be accomplished by those numbers, or maybe it’s because of people in our lives with timelines and checklists. Maybe it’s our parents and grandparents and the sense we get when looking at their lives in comparison to ours at certain ages. Who knows? But whatever the reason, certain ages have connotations attached to them that aren’t always positive.

As I am 8 months younger then Amanda I have just over a full year before I turn 30 and haven’t yet been hit with a wave of panic over it. I would like to say it doesn’t faze me – and maybe on a surface level it doesn’t – but sure when I actually sit back and really think about it, it’s not the happiest realization. Yes, I am happily married and have finished three separate rounds of schooling (university, teachers college and the event management program) but I don’t have an actual career yet. I am still caught between hoping the teaching thing does eventually happen and looking for other possibilities that could lead to a career – for example learning electrical estimating. Plus Brian and I still live with my parents due to the aforementioned lack of career on my part and the fact that Brain only recently got permanent residence and is now contemplating what direction he wants to go in career wise. So my life doesn’t exactly fit the mold I would have anticipated 30 to look like back when I was 20. But on the other hand I have a lot of great things in my life – an amazing family full of parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles and a brother and I am doubly lucky to have most of those relationships with my husbands family - even more mothers, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts and cousins. I also have some great friends and have had some amazing life experiences and incredible travel experiences. So I know I am fortunate and lucky.

Maybe life hasn’t fit the timeline or plan or mold I hoped/planned for, but when does it ever?

Anyway, back to Amanda. Upon getting that slightly panicked text I quickly responded with something along the lines of  “You should compile a list of 30 fun, realistic things to do before you turn 30 as a way to get excited about it and have some fun in the next 6 months.” (I don’t remember my exact wording). I was only being slightly serious and not giving it a lot of thought as my intention was to be upbeat and fun as to put a different spin on it all. But the second I sent that text I started to think about what I had just written.

Why not do a 30 things by 30 list? I asked myself – and then kept texting.

The more I thought about it the more fun and exciting the idea sounded. Amanda and I hammered out the details – we would work on our lists and meet up that weekend and compare them. We also agreed that extensions could be had if needed – especially for Amanda who had a lot less time then I did.  I also gave Amanda. S an invitation to join us in this experience and create a 25 by 25 list – something I think she is still working on/considering.

Coming up with 30 things was harder then I initially thought it would be. If you think of this type of list in terms of a “bucket list” it’s much easier. There are many places I would love to travel to, things I would want to try and life experiences I hope to have – but this list has to be realistic because it’s rooted in the fact that there is only a year to do them. So traveling to Australia and New Zealand or learning to Scuba Dive isn’t likely to happen in that time frame.  In writing my list I thought of things I had wanted to try but hadn’t had the chance or had been putting off, things I should be doing and places I haven’t been to.

Amanda and I met as planned and compared lists and surprisingly there were a lot of similarities – something that should help ensure we motivate each other to keep trying these new things, and in some cases push each other outside our comfort zones.

I plan to blog about these things as I do them and share my experiences, ups and downs with you as I work to complete the following 30 things by the time I turn 30!

    1.     Learn to make Sushi 

    2.     Sing karaoke in front of people [DONE – 10/2014]

    3.     Try axe throwing [DONE – 08/2015] 

    4.     Visit a psychic - [DONE – 11/2014]

    5.     Get certified in CPR and First Aid [SEMI-DONE – 01/2016]

    6.     Finally create the photo book of our wedding (I have been putting this off for 4 years!) [DONE – 12/2015]

    7.     Take Level 4 in Cake Decorating and make a 3D cake  

    8.     Visit the Royal Ontario Museum and/or the Bata Shoe Museum 

    9.     Learn to curl - [DONE – 12/2014]

    10.   Do the H20 floating Pod spa (This one is kind of scary!) [DONE – 03/2014]

1  11.   Get my boating license [DONE – 06/2015]

    12.    Take a bartending/cocktail making class [DONE – 04/2015] 

    13.    Attend a renaissance festival [DONE – 08/2015]

    14.   Go sea-doing

    15.    Go snowmobiling 

    16.   Go to an NFL Game 

    17.    Play Blackjack at a Casino (On my own without coaching from Dad/Uncle Beau) 

    18.    See the Pandas at the Toronto Zoo

    19.    Visit the Scandinavian Spa at Blue Mountain

    20.    Take some sort of dance class (Ballroom, Burlesque – something new)

    21.    See ONCE (the Musical) on Stage [DONE – 02/2015]

    22.    Volunteer Somewhere 

    23.    Keep doing Yoga and Improve 

    24.   Try and do a Selfless Act Every Day 

    25.   Try the Hydrotherapy treatment at St. Anne’s Spa - [DONE – 12/2014]

    26.    Take a Class for Professional Purposes

    27.    Swim with Dolphins

    28.    Go Snow Tubing  

    29.    Learn Archery [DONE – 11/2014]

    30.    Visit the Grand Canyon [DONE – 05/2015]