So here's my list in no particular order. Some of them are things I've wanted to do for ages, some are things I really should be doing already, most of them are intended to encourage me to make an effort (or more of an effort); do something out of my comfort zone...that can only be a good thing right? Well here's hoping!
1 - Be in a TV audience - DONE
Well this just seems like something fun and exciting. Seeing behind the scenes and maybe even getting on the little screen myself!
2 - Start dating again - DONE
I've done a fair bit of dating. My dating stories have amused friends endlessly; from the 29 year old guy who's Mum wouldn't let him on a stag night incase he got led astray to the guy who went shopping between courses at a meal. Honestly, true story!
My last relationship ended the day before my 29th birthday...I'd basically been let down too many times and listening to more excuses on the phone I realised a) I'd have a better birthday without him b) life would be happier without him. So I said enough is enough. And while I've flirted, been bought drinks and had the occasional sneaky kiss since then, I've not actively sought any male attention. That last relationship had worn me out, I needed to focus on myself for a while. And that time of my life already had a lot of important demands, I was a third year student on a very demanding vocational degree which I needed to focus on. But that's done with now and I deserve some fun again ;)
3 - Visit a Buddhist temple
I've visited other places of worship and the calmness of Buddhism appeals to me.
4 - Deactivate my Facebook account for a month
I do not know what I did before facebook! ...well actually I do, it was called MySpace! But I'm of the generation who grew up just as social media was born so I'm not sure what life would be like without it. And I'm addicted, I'm lost without my phone and forever on FB, Twitter, Whatsapp, Instagram, Pinterest to name a few, I'm so addicted I even wrote my Midwifery dissertation on social media! YES, there is a link and I got a first ;)
FB is definitely the main drain on my time and phone battery! And I'm curious what life would be like without it. Curious and terrified!
5 - Go to a live sporting event
Never done it. Not that into sports but I do recognise that the atmosphere at any live event is electric. And sporting events have a higher electrical charge because there's something to be won, or lost!
6 - Start a skincare regime - COMMENCED (ongoing)
Well I'm not getting any younger and 30 seems a good age to accept I'm a real grown up and have to behave as such....
PPPPAAAAHAHAHAHAHA yeah, I couldn't even keep a straight face as I typed that!
7 - See Les Miserables on stage
I adore stage shows and musicals and Les Mis is one that I've always adored. I've not seen it before but became familiar with the score during GCSE Music and have adored it since. I NEED to see it live!
8 - Complete 5 random acts of kindness - 2/5
No. 1
No. 2
The world needs a little more kindness and I believe in karma so if I send out a little more kindness then maybe it'll all come back around.
9 - Go to a bar alone
A strange one I know but this more about having the confidence to actually be somewhere that is generally for social gatherings and be content with my own company. I can happily go to cafes on my own but to me, a woman going to a bar alone can hold connotations that she either has a drink problem or has been stool up. I want to get over my own prejudices with this one.
10 - Play/dance in the rain
Such fun!
11 - Write about my first RM catch
So I'm just finishing up my Midwifery degree, then I'll be a registered midwife (RM) and us midwives don't deliver babies (we leave the pizza boys on mopeds to do deliveries). We catch babies in our hands that women have birthed into the world. And the first catch as a RM will be one I want to remember.
12 - Start a new habit that's good for the soul - STARTED
Looking after yourself isn't just about following the green cross code when crossing the road or eating healthy food. It's about holistic well-being, so I want to look after that part of my life too.
13 - Do Go-Ape
Swinging through the trees like a cheeky monkey, what could be more fun!
14 - Graduate - DONE
As mentioned I'm coming close to the end of my degree. While this one is kind of a sure thing at this stage, graduating at 30 has been a goal I've been working towards for over 4 years now. It's a long time coming and definitely worthy of this list.
15 - Climb a mountain
I'm from Cumbria...I don't think I've ever climbed a mountain. I'm not delusional, I only want to get to the peak of a smallish mountain...I'll save Ben Nevis for my 40th!
16 - Complete a 365 challenge - COMMENCED (ongoing)
Do something every day for the first year of being 30.
17 - Host a vintage afternoon tea
I love baking, I love hosting, I love afternoon tea...so I'm gonna do it all
18 - Treat my family to dinner out
My nearest and dearest consist of 8 adults, 1 teenager, 1 child and 1 toddler. We're a big group and they've all got me through a lot and I want to thank them collectively.
19 - Complete a colour run
I don't do running, but if I did then I'd want it to be fun and wild and bright and merry.
20 - Lose 28lbs - 13 down, 15 to go
Ties in with the whole 'start looking after myself theme'.
21 - Find employment - DONE
Graduating is one thing. But it's no good having a vocational degree if I then don't put it to some use and prove that the last 4 years of student life has been worth it.
22 - Move out of my parent's house...again! - DONE
They've sacraficed a lot in their retirement to support me in my life choices and I'm eternally gratefully. But dear God, I cannot wait to move out and feel like a grown up again! I've spent too much time recently thinking "I sound like 17 year old me again, STOP IT!"
23 - Visit a new country
Travel broadens the mind. I love travelling but have not done enough by far. So I need another pin on the map this year!
24 - Fly in a small aircraft
I've got over my fear of flying but I'm curious how I'd cope in a small aircraft. And why do small aircrafts seem that much more flimsy?
25 - Register with a dentist, make an appointment and go!
I'm a wuss when it comes to dentists. I had a lot of dental work when I was younger including operations and braces. I dreaded going to the dentist and the day my last set of braces were removed felt like freedom! And since then I've rarely been. I've not been registered or had a check up for a few years. I did have to attend an emergency dentist a little while ago and he was lovely when he realised my tears were from anxiety not pain. But like every thing else, I really do need to start taking more care of myself and that includes my gnashers!
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Friday, 1 August 2014
Begin at the beginning
Hi, I'm Jo.
I recently turned 30 and I know a lot of people who completed a "30 things to do by 30" challenge but I've opted for something slightly different.
As we approach the ripe old age of THIRTY we feel this is one of the most significant milestones in our lives. Well, at least I did, as did many of my friends...and some friends who are now on that approach are feeling a little trepidation. Many of us feel that we should have achieved certain things in life by the time we reach this landmark and 30 is the age where we are confirmed adults. We've learnt from the turbulence of our teens and through our twenties life has settled and we've become independent and more secure of who we are as individuals.
When I was 18 I sat in the halls at university with my room-mate making our own lists of things we WILL achieve in the next 12 years (our bucket list before we got old!): be ridiculously successful in whatever career I had chosen (I was somewhat directionless), own at least one property, spend 6 months travelling, be published and 26 other things that never came to fruition. Actually that's a lie, I was published a few months before I turned the big three-oh!
While my young-person-bucket-list had got lost there were certain things I had clung onto. As I grew up a bit more I still hoped to be on the property ladder and have started a family by 30. But as we know, life; God; fate; whatever you want to call it had a different idea. My quarter-life-crisis happened and before I knew it I was fast approaching 30 single, as a full-time NHS student living back with my parents surviving off a student loan and bursary! And while these last few years of my twenties have been an incredibly exciting adventure my 29th year sent me into a bit of a panic, this decade was ending exactly as it had started - single, a student, dependent upon my parents, a measly student income and my most valuable possessions being my laptop and mobile phone!
I was able to calm myself in the knowledge that this stagnant decade was soon over, I constantly reminded myself that 30 is the year that everything WILL change. Completing my Midwifery degree shortly after my 30th birthday being the inevitable catalyst which meant I'd graduate, I'd be employed, I'd be leaving my home town (for a second time), I'd be getting an income and could live like a grown up again...but this time it will be better!
And as circumstances meant that I couldn't complete a 30-by-30 challenge, and that my 30th year was already set to be an interesting one I decided to create a list of 30 things I will achieve as a 30 year old. 30 at Thirty.
So, welcome!
This is the start (although slightly late - punctuality has never been a strong characteristic of mine).
So my 30s began and I've no idea when I set this reminder on my phone but it made me laugh when I woke up which is surely a good way to start a new decade, well I'm taking it as a good omen lol! And I created my list. There are still gaps, so suggestions are welcome. And I know some tasks could be considered cheating as they're inevitable for this year, such as graduating, but for me this list is about achievements as well as challenges, but feel free to leave a comment and dispute any.
Here's to a turning point in my life, a fresh decade, a new start and a year full of excitement, fun, terror and everything in between. Feel free to join me. Cheers!
I recently turned 30 and I know a lot of people who completed a "30 things to do by 30" challenge but I've opted for something slightly different.
As we approach the ripe old age of THIRTY we feel this is one of the most significant milestones in our lives. Well, at least I did, as did many of my friends...and some friends who are now on that approach are feeling a little trepidation. Many of us feel that we should have achieved certain things in life by the time we reach this landmark and 30 is the age where we are confirmed adults. We've learnt from the turbulence of our teens and through our twenties life has settled and we've become independent and more secure of who we are as individuals.
When I was 18 I sat in the halls at university with my room-mate making our own lists of things we WILL achieve in the next 12 years (our bucket list before we got old!): be ridiculously successful in whatever career I had chosen (I was somewhat directionless), own at least one property, spend 6 months travelling, be published and 26 other things that never came to fruition. Actually that's a lie, I was published a few months before I turned the big three-oh!
While my young-person-bucket-list had got lost there were certain things I had clung onto. As I grew up a bit more I still hoped to be on the property ladder and have started a family by 30. But as we know, life; God; fate; whatever you want to call it had a different idea. My quarter-life-crisis happened and before I knew it I was fast approaching 30 single, as a full-time NHS student living back with my parents surviving off a student loan and bursary! And while these last few years of my twenties have been an incredibly exciting adventure my 29th year sent me into a bit of a panic, this decade was ending exactly as it had started - single, a student, dependent upon my parents, a measly student income and my most valuable possessions being my laptop and mobile phone!
I was able to calm myself in the knowledge that this stagnant decade was soon over, I constantly reminded myself that 30 is the year that everything WILL change. Completing my Midwifery degree shortly after my 30th birthday being the inevitable catalyst which meant I'd graduate, I'd be employed, I'd be leaving my home town (for a second time), I'd be getting an income and could live like a grown up again...but this time it will be better!
And as circumstances meant that I couldn't complete a 30-by-30 challenge, and that my 30th year was already set to be an interesting one I decided to create a list of 30 things I will achieve as a 30 year old. 30 at Thirty.
So, welcome!
This is the start (although slightly late - punctuality has never been a strong characteristic of mine).
So my 30s began and I've no idea when I set this reminder on my phone but it made me laugh when I woke up which is surely a good way to start a new decade, well I'm taking it as a good omen lol! And I created my list. There are still gaps, so suggestions are welcome. And I know some tasks could be considered cheating as they're inevitable for this year, such as graduating, but for me this list is about achievements as well as challenges, but feel free to leave a comment and dispute any.
Here's to a turning point in my life, a fresh decade, a new start and a year full of excitement, fun, terror and everything in between. Feel free to join me. Cheers!
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