Maybe it is because I will now have to check the 30-35 box, maybe it's the fact that I know I can't blend in or pass as "college age" anymore...but whatever the reason, I am...right now...choosing to embrace this birthday, not simply as the ending of a chapter, but rather as the beginning of a whole new adventure.
I believe that life is a continual process of self evaluation, establishment of goals, and trial and error. Nobody is perfect, we all have areas than need a little work. However, by identifying our weaknesses we begin to pave the path that leads to greater achievement. Without goals, we would live a stagnant life, spinning our wheels and stuck in a rut. And just as we all have areas that need improvement, we don't always succeed in everything the first time. But in the long run, success is not simply measured in how many times you've fallen down, but rather, in whether or not you are standing at the end.
It is based on this premise that I have laid the following challenge before myself:
Complete the following 30 tasks while 30 years old
Leave the World a Better Place
1. Plant an herb garden
2. Do volunteer work (soup kitchen, food bank)
3. Create a farm to table meal
4. Go 1 week as a Vegan
5. Every month, send 3 cards to 3 friends I no longer see on a regular basis, but wish I did
Live Life to the Fullest
6. Go Zip lining
7. Get a valid passport
8. Go to Yosemite
9. See Les Miserables
10. Become a half Ironman-Do a 70.3
The Hermit is Stepping Out of Her Shell
11. Go on a blind date
12. Give out my phone number/ask someone out
13. Go to a movie in the theater
14. Go out to dinner alone
15. Do a 1 month trial on an online dating website
Enhance the Mind, Enhance the Spirit
16. Read Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
17. Become a registered parishioner
18. Try yoga
19. Read Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
20. Maintain a 1 sentence per day journal recording the happiest moment of the day
Establish Financial Responsibility
21. Go 1 month without spending money at Starbucks/Peet's (when avoidable)
22. Pay bills via credit card (to earn points) rather than directly from checking account
23. Go 1 month without buying lunch out (Mon-Fri)
A Little Randomness to Keep it Interesting
24. Play in the snow
25. Try Brazilian food
26. Go to the zoo
27. Get a gmail account
28. Try making candy at home
29. Climb Mt. Tam on my bike
30. Plan a trip to use my new passport
In true Yoshida fashion I have organized the list into 5 categories. Some are areas of my life that I know need work, some are fundamentals that I was raised with but that I want to further strengthen and some are just things that I think sound fun and want to do. Just as life is a delicate balancing game of being a responsible member of society and living life to the fullest...so is this list.
Over the next year I will attempt to record the progress of this journey...the good, the embarrassing and everything in between...and I hope that in 366 days (leap year) I will be sitting here writing a new blog titled 31 in 31.
On that note...with 3 hours and 5 mins left of being "in my 20s": Here's to the beginning of an amazing new chapter!
