Today I turn 23. Twenty-three. This is the first birthday that I don’t achieve something by getting older – or have a Taylor Swift song to play all day long. Instead, I just think of Blink 182’s “What’s my age again” lyric: “nobody likes you when you’re twenty three”. Great, thanks Tom Delonge.
Sure there are things that make me feel older – there are celebrities younger than me, that I have friends that are married, and that I referenced a song recorded 15 years ago...(Google it, 15 years). But I’m definitely content with what I’ve achieved in these 23 years.
My 21st birthday does not feel like two years ago. That got me thinking: another two years and I’ll be 25. There are so many things I always said I’d achieve by 25. Initially, I quietly kept a list of 25 goals to achieve by 25. That list grew, and the items slowly got checked off. After some inspiration, the list became 101 things to achieve in 1001 days.
Catch Trade Winds is where I’ll write about completing this list over the next near three years. Three years of stepping outside my comfort zone, of pushing myself, and of finding extraordinary in the ordinary. Goals don’t have to be climbing a mountain or sailing around the world, it’s the little things that make life fuller and richer.
Begins: January 21, 2014
Ends: October 14, 2016
1. Buy my first home.
2. Swim in the ocean on both coasts (Atlantic and Pacific).
3. Own a sailboat. August 2013
4. Go to Sail-In Cinema with friends.
5. Graduate university. June 2013
6. Create a new tradition.
7. Watch the sunrise and sunset on the same day.
8. Apply for an MBA.
9. Re-learn French.
10. Write letters to people when they come to mind.
11. Read every book of the Bible.
12. Spend a day paying it forward.
13. Land a dream internship or job. February 2014
14. Improve my golf game.
15. Repurpose something I would normally throw away.
16. Donate to my alma matter.
17. Go to a live taping of a show.
18. Buy a piece of original art.
19. Throw a surprise party for someone.
20. Write a letter to each of my grandparents.
21. Ski down a mountain. February 2014
22. Join a professional association.
23. Take a good passport or license photo (for once!)
24. Go winetasting at a vineyard.
25. Memorize a family recipe.
26. Create my own recipe.
27. Eat clean for 30 days straight (no carbs!)
28. Find a church I love.
29. Dance all night.
30. Build a website. November 2013, January 2014
31. Reconnect with an old friend.
32. Start a retirement savings plan.
33. Visit the Caribbean.
34. Read more.
35. Try 3 new foods.
36. Sleep on the beach under the stars.
37. Volunteer for a cause I’m passionate about.
35. Work out 4-5 days a week for 3 months.
36. Attend a professional conference.
37. Give up diet coke for a month.
38. Follow a devotional for six months.
39. Memorize a verse a week.
40. Create a “master resume” to pull from for specified applications.
41. Start blogging. January 2014
42. Do freelance work.
43. Read more.
44. Do a random act of kindness weekly for a month.
45. Find my dream workout class.
46. Visit a country I’ve never been to.
47. Land a dream internship or job.
48. Treat myself for landing the dream job.
49. Rent vespas.
50. Re-learn French.
51. Visit 10 new cities.
52. Turn off all electronics for a weekend, and pray or read when I would use electronics.
53. Take a spontaneous trip.
54. Drive on the Pacific Coast Highway.
55. Upgrade from iPhoneography to a DSLR. January 2014
56. Take a photography class.
57. Spend a day paying it forward.
58. Go on a mission trip.
59. Get in the habit of practicing piano again.
60. Lead people to Christ.
61. Go to an outdoor concert.
62. Find the right skin routine.
63. Have a picnic.
64. Ice skate in the snow.
65. Go to Disney World as an adult. January 2014
66. Upgrade my laptop. October 2013
67. Go hiking.
68. Build a fort and watch movies on a rainy afternoon.
69. Take a cupcake decorating class.
70. Go to an outdoor spa. January 2014
71. Try a blow dry bar.
72. Be a tourist in my own city for a day.
73. Invest in suiting wear.
74. Try a juice cleanse.
75. Find a sailing club. March 2014
76. Race competitively.
77. Blog regularly for a year (or more).
78. Take a road trip.
79. Make someone cry tears of joy.
80. Throw a Super Bowl party.
81. Shoot a gun.
82. Watch 10 new documentaries.
83. Go a week without eating processed foods.
84. Take professional photos.
85. Buy stocks.
86. Run a 5K.
87. Run a 10K.
88. Run a half marathon.
89. Go on a cruise.
90. Design and order business cards. February 2014
91. Go parasailing.
92. Put a message in a bottle.
93. Make 5 crafts from Pinterest.
94. Make 5 recipes from Pinterest.
95. Drink 2L of water every day for a month.
96. Donate blood.
97. Swim 40 laps (50m x 40 = 1km).
98. Teach my golden retriever, Gracie, a new trick.
99. Drive a car in England on the opposite side of the road.
100. Send someone I love flowers just because.
101. Save $20 for every completed item.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” –Mark Twain
