Friday, July 5, 2013

"30 Before 30" with a Twist

I love the concept of a "30 Before 30" list.  I have several friends who have made them.  However, most people I know don't actually get to do everything on their lists.  It's mostly just for fun.  As described earlier this year, my goal-oriented, first-born, overachiever personality can't quite handle this yet.  So instead, I decided to make a "30 Before 30" list sort of in reverse...I looked back at the last decade and made a list of 30 things I actually did in my 20's.  This was actually quite life-giving and fun, which is the point of all "30 Before 30" lists anyway.  Some are deep and profound; some are silly and trivial.  I also tried hard not to make them all about travel, though that certainly is a prominent theme. :)

So in no particular order, here are 30 "noteworthy" things I did before 30....
  1. started blogging
  2. went fishing for the first time
  3. lived in a foreign country for two years a missionary 
  4. maintained the exact same optical vision
  5. bought my first (and second) Macbook
  6. ran a half-marathon
  7. fulfilled my dream of walking on green grass with snow-capped mountains in the background a la Sound of Music (in Switzerland)
  8. drove into a hurricane
  9. started playing guitar
  10. taught more than 200 children
  11. read through the Bible in one year
  12. lived in the inner city of New Orleans for a summer
  13. attempted to and successfully water-skied for the first time
  14. learned to speak Spanish (nearly) fluently
  15. joined Facebook and Instagram
  16. graduated from college
  17. sang regular karaoke and Korean karaoke (noraebang)
  18. watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in person (something I've wanted to do since I was a kid) 
  19. became a regular hot tea drinker each morning 
  20. started contributing to a Roth IRA
  21. survived two very serious car accidents
  22. learned how to mow the lawn
  23. began graduate school and completed more than half of my M.S. in Education
  24. walked along the white cliffs of Dover, England
  25. lived with at least 15 different roommates 
  26. ate at more local restaurants
  27. helped plant a church  
  28. went snowshoeing for the first time
  29. discovered I love bell peppers
  30. visited multiple foreign countries and got my third passport
So, there it is.  My "30 Before 30" list.  When you're doing it in retrospect, it's hard to keep it at just 30. No plans for a "40 Before 40" list at this point, but I do hope to make it to Italy and Machu Pichu sometime in this next decade.  And who knows, maybe by age 40, I'll be laid-back enough to make a "40 Before 40" list and only do half the things on the list. ;) 



2 comments:

  1. Websters defines fluent as "capable of using a language easily and accurately." So you are fluent in Spanish.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Christen, just stumbled upon this as I go back and forth on continuing my blog. This 30 before 30 made me smile. Some pretty significant happenings have occurred in your 30-years young life.

    ReplyDelete

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