I suppose it’s natural to want to feel like you’ve accomplished something before you turn 30. It’s such an arbitrary number, but culturally, there is a significance to it that we haven’t seen since 21. Maybe it’s because we feel like we need to have life figured out and be settled down by then, maybe it’s just because it’s a new decade. For whatever reason, when I was 27 I decided I needed to make a list of things I wanted to accomplish before then. So I wrote down my 30 Before 30 list.

On my 30th birthday, I looked back over the last three years and I had completed around a third of my list – but that third contained all the things I wasn’t sure if I would actually be able to accomplish. I was proud of what I’d done, how I’d grown as a person and was surprised by the things I had accomplished that weren’t on my list. It was a great little birthday gift to myself. And since I turned 30 in the middle of the Covid pandemic, was pregnant and living away from friends and family, I didn’t end up doing anything extravagant. But reflecting on what I had been able to do leading up to that day made me feel very grateful.

So here I am, now 32, and ready to do this again. It was hard writing my list this time around and I gave myself a few peramaters:

• These goals had to be for me – there are a whole host of things I want to accomplish with Tim and Shale, but I wanted to keep this list for myself.
• Create a list that combines growth, facing fears, personal passions, and things I’ve put off.
• Make a list of things that make me happy – I didn’t want it to include anything I’d dread.

Simple.

So here’s what I’ve come up with.

I will update the list below as I complete them, so keep an eye out! I’ve also chosen to keep a couple of these private for now, but may share them later.

1. Take a course on something I’m interested in, that will help me be more well-rounded (flower arranging, writing, photography, etc.)
2. Visit a new country
3. Finish reading the Count of Monte Cristo in French
4. Reach B1 level in French (I’m currently A2)
5. Finish writing my book
6. Formulate my own facewash
7. Learn to can applesauce & huckleberry jelly
8. Try standup paddleboarding
9. Visit a new state
10. Have fresh flowers in my home, every day, for a month
11. Try rock climbing at a gym
12. Scuba dive
13. Complete my reading challenge
14. Take a heels dance class
15. Design & create a master bedroom that we love.
16. Establish a devotional routine.
17. Enter a writing contest and/or publish something somewhere
18. Go on a writing retreat
19. Make homemade ice cream
20. Replace my favorite flats (Paige chewed my original pair)
21. Go out dancing
22. Travel by train overnight
23. Ride in a hot air balloon
24. Get involved with a non-profit or charity
25. Revive this website
26. Buy some Seek Discomfort merch
27. [Private]
28. Write a friend a letter
29. Learn to arrange flowers (this cannot count for #1)
30. [Private]
31. Order a book from Shakespeare & Co.
32. Find a signature perfume
33. Refinish my vanity
34. Host a party
35. Start an apothecary garden.

Have you ever completed a ‘bucket list’ challenge? If so what was your experience?