28

Today I turned 28.

Normally I am not that fussed about my birthday but this year is different. I don't normally do deep and meaningful blog posts but today it feels appropriate.

Becoming single again is making me think more about things and what I want to do with my life and I am sad to say that although I have an idea of what I want to do, I haven't done much to achieve it. After talking at length with a friend I came to the realisation that I cannot honestly say I have ever been content with life and as a result I have a habit of always feeling like I am missing something.

So now is the perfect time to change all of that. I have been inspired before by the beforethirty.com website and now I feel I actually need to work towards what I want to do otherwise before long I will be much older and not in a position to do all the things I want to do. I will only hate myself if I never do them.

I have mentioned before some of my goals for this year but there are plenty more that I really want to do as part of a bigger picture and rather than just talking about them I am going to start working towards them!

So here are my 19 things I wish to do before I am 35 (I would say 30 but there is no way I have enough money to do them before then). Adding these to the 9 challenges I am to complete, this takes me up to 28 - very fitting:

1. Travel - this is something I should have thought about doing when I left University however I was so in debt that I never had the money to do it. What I would like to do now is get rid of my debt, secure a training contract and go travelling before I start. I would love to go for a year but if I can only afford 6 months that will be enough time. On my list of places to go would be Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, India, Russia and Canada. There are also so many other places I would love to go.

2. Go on holiday on my own - I've never had the guts to do this. I have always been a firm believer of travelling with someone to share the experience but there is a part of me that is wondering if this is something I could do.

3. Get my dragon tattoo - I have been telling people for the past 10 years that I am getting a dragon tattoo. This year instead of talking about it I am going to go and get it!

4. Get my motorbike licence - My mum has one, her partner Andy has one, two of my uncles have one and having been a pillion on an ex-boyfriend's bike I decided I wanted to be in control and would love to get my licence. Due to cost I haven't done it so far but it is something I want to get.

5. Run the London Marathon - I started entering for the Marathon back in 2004 and so far have not got a place. Now as you will be able to tell from my Challenges Challenge for this year, I am getting into some serious training for the runs I am doing this year so hopefully next year I will get my marathon place and then I can cross this off my list.

6. Ride a Speedway Bike - this is an old one but something that I still want to do. Ever since I was a kid I have wanted to have a go on a bike on my own. I have been on one with a rider but its not the same. So I would like to at least complete 4 laps on a bike on my own.

7. Hold a dinner party - This is one of the daft ones. I like the idea of having a Come Dine with Me dinner party with my friends. I have a new found love for cooking and this seems like the next logical step.

8. See a proper opera - I would love to go and see an Opera where you have to dress up black tie style.

9. Keep my bank account in the black for a whole year - I think the last time this happened was before I was 18 and didn't have the ability to take out credit. I would love to be earning interest on my account rather than paying it to the bank.

10. Climb a mountain - I have talked to my friend Matt about climbing Mount Olympus as part of the Challenges Challenge but due to money constraints it is unlikely that will happen this year but I would love to climb a mountain and be able to look out at what I had achieved.

11. Take up a car mechanics course - Now I am not talking about being able to strip and engine and put it back together again but I would like to be able to service my car and fix some problems when they happen rather than pay someone else to do it. I do feel sometimes that being female I get ripped off by garages so if I could at least diagnose things myself, I shouldn't get ripped off.

12. Learn to skate backwards on ice - I used to play ice hockey but one of the few things I can't do is skate backwards. I am hoping to pop down to see my friend Gary at some point this year who still plays and get him to teach me.

13. Take up roller skating again - not quite linked to the one above but I used to skate all the time. Its a great way to keep fit and I would like to get back into it.

14. Learn to make a baked cheesecake - I love New York Baked cheesecake and I would love to know how to bake one myself.

15. Donate Blood - I hate needles. The thought of giving blood petrifies me but I know it is for a good cause so I will overcome my fear and I will donate.

16. Go Greyhound racing - somehow I have never been. Despite many speedway tracks up and down the country being part of a greyhound stadium I have never seen the dogs racing.

17. Get down a ski run on a snowboard - Although I went to Bulgaria in 2004 and had some snowboarding lessons, I never made it down one of the slopes with confidence or without falling over. There is talk of going back to Bulgaria in 2010 and this time I want to make it down a slope!

18. See more small films - such as avaunt guard films and foreign films. Can't explain why, I just like the idea.

19. Stop Procrastinating - from the above it may be obvious that I am a nightmare at doing things and have a habit of putting off til tomorrow what I could be doing today.

I'm sorry if I bore readers with my lists but I find that putting things down in this blog spurs me into action. Unlike John at beforethirty.co.uk I will keep these tasks up as I would hate to tell the world I am going to do something and then fail. It was bad enough a few years back when I failed my first monthly task.

So any help would be greatly appreciated and any encouragement would also be nice!

Comments

  1. 28 is a weird old age, isn't it? We not 30 yet so we're not actually *old*, but no longer can we get away with saying we're "mid-twenties"... ;)

    You've got some brilliant stuff there on your list (I particularly approve of the cheesecake and dinner party challenges) and I wish you bundles of luck with it all. I look forward to reading all the blog updates of your progress. :) One thing I would advise is to not beat yourself up too much about not having done these things before; we're still very young, and it's often the smaller things you've achieved and experienced so far in life that make you the groovy person you are; you might not be able to make a list of them, but they're just as important. xxx

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  2. Do no.19 first, the others will fall into line. Suddenly you'll be wrinkly and wish you got on with it. (I speak from experience) YogiJohn

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  3. An inspired list! Hopefully there will be something positive that came from the end of us...

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  4. Love the list. Great ideas. We've just spent the weekend with my mum in law as we found out she has cancer and it's terminal. It certainly makes you realise that life is short, and you should make the most of every moment. Go Carys!

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  5. Clair Brown2:13 pm

    This is a great idea, I keep thinking about all the things I should have done before I got poorly but always put them off and now I cannot do them and just have to hope I get better one day!
    If you havent been greyhound racing by the time you come to visit next, we shall have to have a night out at the dogs in Great Yarmouth. It really is a fab night and they have just re-modelled the stadium and you can sit and have dinner and watch the races, it really is fab.
    Good luck with the list xx

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