Monday, June 3, 2013

40 x 40

I turned 30 this year. Whereas my 20s were filled with a lot of change and growth (college, career, first home, marriage, children, etc), I'm looking forward to the relative stability of my fourth decade. Ben and I have a house we love, we're done having children, we're both steadily growing in our chosen careers... we're ready to just be for a bit.

While we may not have any major life events on the horizon, I still want to make sure I'm seeing and experiencing as much as I can. So to keep things fresh and interesting, I developed a sort of bucket list for my 30s. I give you my forty by forty list...

40 x 40
  1. Run a half marathon
  2. Get a PhD
  3. Write a children's book
  4. Learn how to use my DSLR
  5. Read Atlas Shrugged (it's 1,168 pages!)
  6. Become a certified yoga instructor
  7. Take a 3-4 week trip abroad with the kids
  8. Enjoy a glass of wine in Napa Valley
  9. Complete a sprint-length off-road triathlon
  10. Take a beach vacation with Ben (children optional)
  11. Visit the Grand Canyon
  12. Learn how to play guitar
  13. Knit something
  14. Serve on the board of directors for a non-profit
  15. Learn how to use a sewing machine
  16. Make a quilt with my mom
  17. Visit New York City
  18. Master the art of the French press
  19. Learn to say "hello" in 20 languages
  20. Become a rock star chef on the grill
  21. Take a tap dancing class
  22. Go white water rafting
  23. Climb a rock wall
  24. Ride in a hot air balloon
  25. Learn to play poker
  26. Read every book that has won a Pulitzer Prize in the fiction category
  27. Give a speech in front of a large group of people
  28. Visit the White House
  29. Participate in NaNoWriMo
  30. Perform in a community theater production
  31. Win an award for personal or professional achievement
  32. Donate $1,000 to a non-profit I care about
  33. See the redwoods in California
  34. Go skiing in Colorado
  35. Take surfing lessons
  36. Give blood
  37. Join the National Bone Marrow Registry
  38. Host Thanksgiving dinner
  39. Get a tattoo
  40. Be part of a flash mob

4 comments:

  1. Good luck! Those are great goals!

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  2. Great list, Sam! Every time I try to make one of these I end up with only two things: Adopt an old dog and enter a jalapeno eating contest. However, I turn 30 in a couple weeks and you've inspired me to work on a real list.

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  3. I love this so much. Let's be on the lookout for awesome combinations of achievement like:

    Take a tap dancing class in a hot air balloon
    Give blood while getting a tattoo
    Run a half marathon through the Redwoods while listening to a Rosetta Stone language mp3 of "Hello" in 20 language.

    Go!

    P.S. I joined the bone marrow registry a few years ago. It was sort of a tough decision to commit to be a donor if the need arise because it is no small matter to actually go through the donation process. My rationale was that I would desperately want someone to donate to my kids if they needed it, so I should be willing to donate to someone else's children (everyone is someone's child, right?).

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    Replies
    1. My thoughts exactly regarding the bone marrow registry! It's sort of like a good karma pay-it-forward.

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Thanks for reading!