30 Before 30

One popular trend in the blogging world is creating time-sensitive bucket lists. With my birthday just past and realizing what awesome things I’ve done in my adult life so far, I thought it would be fun to set some really long-term goals to reach for before the big 3-0.

Here are a few things I hope to accomplish in the next seven years:

Lifestyle

1. Have my own place. While I will probably take on roommates for the next few years to save money, I eventually want a place all to myself so I can express myself fully in the entire space.
2. Change my surname. I’ve never cared much for my surname. I used to look forward to the day when I get married to take my future partner’s name, but why wait? Maybe they’ll end up having something equally, if not more, difficult to pronounce. Not to mention, if I’m going to be a published scientist and author someday, I want it to be my name, not theirs. With that, I hope to change my surname to something I love (don’t worry, it will still be somewhat in the family) and will be happy to carry with me for the rest of my life.
3. Become totally fluent in Spanish. Although Diego says my Spanish is better than I think it is, I’m not comfortable in my skills quite yet. I can read most anything (or figure out the gist of it with context) and write okay, but my speaking and listening are abysmal. I hope to take proper classes to grow my skills and practice.
4. Get a car. I will either prioritize living on my own or getting a car first… at current rates with my job the latter is more possible.
5. Double my tattoos. I have four at the moment and hope to have four more, no matter how small.
6. Get a dog. While I set the goal of getting some pet this year, it will likely be something small and low-maintenance. However, no pet can ever be as amazing as a dog and I hope to have my own furry friend once I’m settled into my career.
7. Read 100 more books. That’s a bit more than one book a month, seems easy enough.
8. Attend a dance class. For the longest time, I’ve wanted to take a dance class. I’m dismal at dancing, but I find it so fun and would love to learn properly!
9. See 30 musicals in my adult life. 19 down with the most recent one being Chess for my birthday.
10. Complete the Fellowship Quest… because what’s a bucket list without something alcohol related?

Travel

1. Visit six continents. Three down.
2. Visit 35 countries. 18 down.
3. Do 150 dives. 35 down.
4. Complete the Camino de Santiago. In September, I walked half of the Porto to Santiago de Compostela route… just the wrong half. I got too tired and injured to make it past Baiona. I hope to return to walk from Baiona to Santiago de Compostela soon.
5. Go skydiving and/ or bungee jumping.
6. Visit three more U.S. states.
7. Take a holiday with one or both my parents.
8. Go to a music festival. I have never been to a multi-day huge festival and as a big music lover this seems like something that is bound to happen in the near future anyway.
9. Spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square.
10. Visit five national parks either in the U.K., U.S. or elsewhere for that matter!
11. Book an impulsive trip. I mean, not too impulsive. I’d take the weekend off from work, but just show up at the airport and ask them for the cheapest return flight.

Career

1. Be a published scientist.
2. Become a dive master. This isn’t in my travel because for recreational purposes, I wouldn’t feel the need to go beyond my current qualification. However, if you want to do marine biology, a dive mater qualification is usually required.
3. Publish a book.
4. Go to a conference.

It doesn’t take a mathematician to notice that my 30 Before 30 list isn’t actually 30 items long. That’s because as it’s so far away, I would like some flexibility to add and edit the items.

But for now, here’s to the future.

Photo by Tim Johnson.