Hi everyone! So I am doing a special blog post for today as it is my 21st birthday!! Woohoo! The inspiration for my blog came from an ad on the side of my Facebook page that said “21 Things You Want to Do Before You’re 21.” Of course, I came up with a list of my twenty-one items only a week before my birthday, so I didn’t have a lot of time to complete everything. I also picked some items that I had previously accomplished, but still felt that they were worthy enough to be included. Unfortunately I did not have time to complete everything on my list before today, but I think that it is important that I have set plans to complete them in the near future. As much as this started out as a funny and lighthearted idea, I found that it caused me to be introspective and really think about all that I have accomplished and all that I want to accomplish. Overall, it was refreshing and insightful. I would recommend that you try it out yourself sometime, just to see what happens. So, without further ado, my twenty-one things:
1) Smile every day: During a rough time a while back, I discovered an inspiring line in a Simon & Garfunkel song while driving along: “All I have to do today is smile.” I think that it fits me perfectly…not only do I need to learn to take a second away from all of my crazy activity and just chill out, but I also need to have a positive attitude. We’ve all had those days when things just pile up and life seems so ridiculous and unfair. But if you smile, it will make everything a little bit better :)
2) Travel the world: I’m working on it! From a young age, my family has been traveling. Although now sometimes I get to pick where I go, and even sit in the front seat of the car if I’m lucky, they are the ones that instilled this love of traveling in me. They let me know that it is possible, that it isn’t too tricky, and that even if things don’t go exactly as planned, you’ll still treasure the memories of the mishaps.
3) Learn to play an instrument: This one would have been impossible to do in a week and is still hard to do in a lifetime. Even though I’ve been playing the flute for something like twelve years (this is a lot to a twenty one year old!), there’s still a lot to learn. But that’s part of the fun, right? Music has always been huge to me…my mom recently told me that she views my flute as my “kind of third arm.” I can’t think of a better explanation. It has led me to have great experiences and meet great people. Here’s to more of both!
4) Read a whole book in a weekend: I saw a phrase somewhere that read “Before I had friends, I had books.” Truer words could not have been spoken about me. I was a bit of a loner in elementary school, usually with one close friend, and I spent a lot of time at recess reading while leaning against the red brick of the school. Most of my favorite books are the ones that I discovered at a young age, and Roald Dahl will always be a big favorite of mine. Again, it’s thanks to my family that I discovered my first and great love of books. Thanks to Mom for only letting me take out six or seven books at a time at the library, and making sure that I (usually) didn’t manage to lose them in my room somewhere.
5) Try something new: A bit vague, I know, but it’s the thought that counts. Pushing outside of the comfort zone has never been a talent of mine, although I don’t think it is for anyone. For now, I’m going to go with moving to a new country for five months counts as something new :)
6) Laugh so hard I cry: It has happened many times, thanks to the plethora of totally awesome friends I have. I find that I’m laughing more here than I was at home, mostly because I was too busy being productive all the time to find the time. But really, what feels better than that burn in your abs that lasts until the next day because you spent the whole night before laughing to the point of ridiculosity?
7) Go tramping with friends: If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that I barely survived our tramping experience on the Alpine Crossing. However, it brought an amazing feeling of accomplishment, some laughs, and a solid night’s sleep. Can’t go wrong there.
8) Fall in love: It’s happened to the best of us, although not always for the best. But every time you fall out of love, you learn how to do better next time: either don’t be so stupid and mess it up, or don’t be so stupid and fall in love with someone who will violate the first condition. It’s great when it’s good (and it’s never been better) but if something goes wrong, simply refer to items #9 and #17.
9) Eat gelato: Although gelato is preferable, lemon in particular, ice cream or sorbet is also acceptable in a pinch. Notice that I have nothing on this list that refers to eating a healthy diet or exercising regularly. This is not because they’re not important, but really, gelato tastes better than carrots. And it’s my birthday. I will be fulfilling this requirement for the millionth time this evening.
10) Be independent: Somewhat similar to some other items on my list, but important in its own right. Although I feel like I have grown more independent since leaving home to go to UMBC, and even more so since I arrived in New Zealand, there is still room to improve. Since a relatively young age, being able to support myself and my endeavors has been important to me. Although I still have a little way to go before being completely self-sustaining, I take solace in the fact that I do as much as I can to stand on my own two feet.
11) Read for fun every day: This is something that I have been able to do since coming to New Zealand. I love it so much, and I’m not willing to give it up when I return home. Although maybe every day is a little ambitious, a page or two before bed could still be possible. Having something small to look forward to in even the busiest of days should help the worst parts seem not quite as bad.
12) Have a Disney singalong with my friends: I have to say that some of my favorite singalongs to date involve me, my car, my siblings, and Disney. Listening to David belt out both parts of “A Whole New World” is a pretty unique experience, let me tell you. And how can you get anything other than good memories from Disney music?!
13) Write about everyone I love and why I love them: I am so lucky that it’s not even funny. There are an unreal amount of people who give me support and love every step of the way. How crazy to imagine a world without even just one of them in my life. So it’s time to tell them what they mean to me and show them how they have shaped my experiences, perceptions, thoughts, and actions. Although this task will not be accomplished in a day (no way!), I’m going to begin work on it very soon. Hopefully it will bring a smile to someone’s face to see how much I love that they love me.
14) Write a blog: Hey, look at that! Mission accomplished (for real). I’m really enjoying this blog, and from what I understand, a lot of you guys are too. I guess you wouldn’t be reading this otherwise. So thanks to all of you for actually making this a legitimate blog and not just a lonely gal writing her life story on the internet.
That’s right, it isn’t even technically a picture of me. But can you see why it might be slightly embarrassing? Along with myself tagged in this, “fail” is also tagged and the caption reads “Oh shit!!!! Open all the doors!!!!” This sad event occurred a few years back at my friend Erin’s house. I was attempting to make some popcorn, but kept pressing the “Add 30 Seconds” button without really paying attention while talking to her and her mom. Suddenly, this disaster occurred. I guess it was pure luck that Erin happened to be holding her camera at the time. There are a series of pictures following this of me hiding outside in the garage to avoid the wrath of all those in the house who now smelled extremely burnt popcorn. Eventually, Mrs. Sears had to buy a new microwave thanks to my shenanigans because everything came out smelling and sometimes tasting like burnt popcorn. Needless to say, I no longer have microwave rights at the Sears’s residence.
16) See beauty that leaves me breathless: Not all difficult when I’m in a country as beautiful as New Zealand. Seriously, my walk to school is probably more scenic than all of Howard County combined. But it’s not only scenery that is beautiful-- people are too. I’m not talking about the movie stars that have personal trainers, but the really great people that I know. The better a person you are, the more beautiful you become in my eyes. On the same token, if you do something that I feel is wrong or bad, I can see you grow uglier as we continue talking. Strange, but true. And it’s great because I see beauty every day, whether I’m walking down the street overlooking Wellington Harbor or walking around campus at UMBC or even walking past the bathroom at home if Anna has left the door open (please don’t kill me…it’s my birthday!!)
17) Buy more shoes: It’s a girl thing. I bought a pair just a few days ago in the spirit of this goal!
18) Believe in myself: Kind of hard to define at times. I feel like I am generally confident in the person I am, and I believe that I am the good sort of person. But every once in a while, someone comes along and decides to tell you that it isn’t true. It’s the worst when it’s coming from a person who you trust and love. But I’ve learned that no matter who says what, I should believe in my choices, decisions, and actions. If I don’t, then who will?
19) Kiss someone at midnight on New Years: New Years has been a bit of a “blah” holiday in recent years. Although I’m always with my friends or family, when the ball is dropping, suddenly you become very alone. I didn’t know if I was going to make this one happen by 21, but someone came to my rescue for New Years 2011. Hooray :)
20) Birdwatch in my yard: I successfully accomplished this task while thinking of what to put on this list and daydreaming. It’s really easy to do here in Wellington, where our yard is right across the street from the Botanic Gardens and I can hear the parrots sometimes in addition to the birds, but it might prove to be a little more difficult once I get back home. In Ellicott City, I could squirrel watch and at UMBC I could people watch…maybe that will count!
21) Finish my essays before my 21st birthday so I can go out and celebrate!
Good list - now finish it. And start working on your "50 by 50" list!
ReplyDeleteI'm personally a fan of the last sentence of #2.
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