I am 24, I realize. But for some reason, I’ve been feeling like life is passing me by of late. I think the “twenties” are a deceptively tough time for women. I kind of feel like any moment now, my life is going to get ahead of me. Any moment now, I’ll jump on the “get engaged, get married, buy a house, have some kiddies” train. And, don’t get me wrong, I’m really excited about that stage of my life. Like, really excited. Anyone who knows me, knows I’ve had the baby bug since I was about 16 years old. I just want to make sure that, in my life, I feel fulfilled. No matter how many other things are demanding my attention, I want to have fun, attainable, personal goals that I can work towards. Things that make me a happier, more well rounded person.
I am one of those super lucky people who made a career out of my hobby; dancing/performing. I LOVE that about my life. But, that’s the thing about hobbies… people need them to feel happy. We need something that takes us away from everything else in our lives. I’ve felt a little lost in my life without my “hobby” of dance. Because, as much as I love my job, it’s still a job some days. Lately, I’ve been searching for some hobbies/passions that can help me when I need a break from my job.
Enter, 30 before 30. 30 goals. to be completed by the time I’m 30. I didn’t want these to be like “have a family” or “buy a house”. Stuff like that is so hard to pinpoint. There are so many unknowns with having kids and stuff like that. I want these goals to be about me. So that nothing outside of me can get in the way of me achieving them.
30 before 30.
1. Run a half-marathon
2. Run a marathon
3. Compete in 30 races
4. Complete a 30 day yoga challenge
5. Learn to sew on a sewing machine
6. Take a photography class
7. Take a cooking class
8. Complete a daily photography challenge
9. Blog everyday for 30 days
10. Make a piece of clothing for myself
11. Weigh my happy weight
12. Host a fantastic dinner party
13. Dye my hair an interesting colour
14. Take Mr. Best Things to South Africa to meet my family
15. Take a hot air balloon ride.
16. Be able to still do right and left leg splits and a straddle with my chest on the floor
17. Take a long road trip
18. Become a certified yoga teacher
19. Write a guest post for someone else’s blog
20. Get 100 views in a day on Best Things Happen… (March 10th, 2012)
21. Go bungee jumping/sky diving.. something thrilling and mind bogglingly high off the ground
22. Climb a crazy high mountain. One that takes more than a day is more than sufficient.
23. Stay up all night and watch the sun rise over a beach somewhere beautiful
24. Backpack through Europe with Mr. Best Things.
25. Spend a summer in NYC.
26. Create a recipe and publish a tutorial with beautiful, edited pictures
27. Get a degree
28. Go skinny dipping with Mr. Best Things
29. Volunteer somewhere
30. Move to a new home
One of my 30 before 30 goals was to learn how to sew on a sewing machine! I finally got to it this summer. I pulled out my mom’s machine and the instruction manual and got to work. She’s barely used it, as it had been given to her by her mom in an attempt to get her to sew. It didn’t work. Everyone says I take after my Granny anyway. Turns out my mom was helpful with certain weird things like threading the machine for the first time. Although, we did have to spend a lot of time pouring over the instruction manual. It was frustrating, but the mistakes that I made ultimately taught me how to do it better. Just keep at it.
After the clothes, I decided to make some napkins and actually do my best to make them good. Turns out, sewing is really more like ironing. To get a good seam, I had to iron iron iron the napkins. Oh, and cutting. Measure, cut, iron, sew. The sewing is the easiest part really.
It may not be perfect, but I can do it. I can sew on my sewing machine! Goal: Crossed off!
Lovely Ride 