25 Before 25

Haaaay I am 24 today (go me, yay for being born).

This means that on September 1, 2011, I'll be 25, which sounds like a very fun age characterized by symmetry (halfway through my twenties in case that didn't make sense). I like symmetry and milestones and planning and excitement, and I love lists, so I thought I'd compile a list of 25 things I hope to accomplish before my 25th birthday in exactly 1 year from today. Plus, I'll obviously be documenting the progress on here as I cross items off the list.

So, on this day that I turn 24, I present you with the things I hope to do in the next 365 days. Hold me accountable, friends. I really want to rock it.

1). Run a 5K race. update: trained for a marathon for three months. didn't run it due to scheduling conflicts and minor injury. still plan to do it.
2). Cook a meal entirely from scratch.
3). Add $2,000 to my savings, which will hopefully help my savings account remain "hearty."
4). Relinquish inhibition by sunbathing & swimming topless if only to say I did it in my lifetime (I'll be visiting the Mediterranean next summer for a few weeks).
5). Take a ballroom or salsa class with Tiho. *update: scheduled for fall 2011
6). Cultivate and maintain a small plant & herb garden (probably an indoor one).
7). Volunteer in my community a minimum of 12 times (at least once per month).
8). Attend my first professional conference in the children's literature field and finish & submit my manuscript to publishing houses. *update: I'm scared and too critical of my work. help.
9). Pick a 30-day period to go on a "spending hiatus" (where money can only be spent on essentials, such as groceries and bills). *update: kind of happened by default a couple times throughout the year. I'm still counting it.
10). Take a class at a local college pool to become scuba-certified. *update: no longer an immediate priority. maybe someday.
11). Obtain my Dual Master's Degree in Early Childhood General & Special Education (May 2011).
12).  Re-decorate our office on a budget.
13). Fly a kite.
14). Secure a tenured, or long-term position at a school (my contract as an associate teacher at my current school ends in June 2011 and if there are no long-term openings, I'll have to find another placement for the following academic year).
15). Host a party or gathering in my home complete with thematic invitations, decor, food & entertainment.
16). Plan & book a weekend trip to a city in the U.S. Maybe 2 or 3 different trips if finances and time allow.
17). Hand-write a select group of individuals (close friends and some family members) a letter and mail it. Do this randomly (i.e. not for birthdays or holidays).
18). Design & order business cards to help network and promote this blog and my professional/creative potential.
19). Pay down (and maintain!) my credit cards to less than 25% of their possible limits. (i.e. my main credit card has a limit of $4,500, so I hope to get it down below $1,000).
20). Refurbish a piece of vintage furniture.
21). Create a 5-year career trajectory. Where and what do I hope to be doing for a living by the conclusion of my twenties and what needs to happen along the way to make it happen?
22). Have an outdoor picnic in each of the 4 seasons.
23). Secretly & spontaneously "pay it forward" to a stranger (such as buying their meal in a restaurant or leaving a positive post-it note on their windshield).
24). Do at least one thing that really, really scares me and come out a stronger person because of it. (I can think of at least 3 things that I could arrange for this year).
25). Utilize my new easel, canvases and paint set and gift the creations to people I love.

I really like this list and feel that it is both pertinent and relevant to the things that are important to me at this stage in my life. Has anyone else ever made one before? I'm thinking this might be preliminary to a larger "bucket life list," which I'm sure will be a blast to write down one day.


(image is of me at about age 1)