My anti-bucket list after 30 years
My 30th birthday is exactly a week from today. It feels weird to type out “30” instead of a number that starts with 2; how am I entering a new decade already?! How are my 20s done? On the flip side, I’m not the same person that I was when I was 20 in many ways, and I’m not sure I’d want to go back to the beginning. I went through college, grad school, and joining the real world all in this decade. I experienced many personal achievements. I dated, like anyone else in their 20s. And while I didn’t put together a 30 before 30 bucket list, I thought I would look back at the things I have done so far in my first 30 years of life, so here we have: the anti-bucket list. (Nicole used to write these lists at the end of every year and inspired me to write my own.)
Survived my childhood with three younger brothers ;)
Played the viola in elementary school
Played soccer, track, basketball, and volleyball and played a year of volleyball in high school
Got into hunter/jumper horseback riding and competing at horse shows
Took three years of Japanese in high school
Graduated with my Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, and Ph.D.
Studied abroad in Italy
Participated in a NASA internship and flew on a research aircraft
Adopted two cats—Rosie in 2011 and then Sybil in 2013
Traveled to Vienna, Austria, spontaneously to visit a friend from high school
Lived in Utah for five years
Attended two Sundance Film Festivals
Published three academic, peer-reviewed journal articles (all as first author)
Attended 41 concerts (Taylor Swift 5x; Matt Nathanson and Lady Antebellum 4x each; Kacey Musgraves, Young the Giant, and Kelsea Ballerini 3x each)
Met some of my favorite singers/celebrities (Kacey Musgraves, Matt Nathanson, Kelsea Ballerini, OneRepublic, Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, and Katy Perry and Paramore at Warped Tour circa 2007-2008)
Landed a job out of grad school in a related field
Visited 24 states (+ drove through DC)
Visited four countries (Canada, Italy, Austria, and Mexico)
Witnessed a total solar eclipse
Blogged for six years so far
Received many blog-related opportunities and partnerships
I’m excited to see what’s to come over the next 30 years! :) Hopefully I’ll be retired by then, haha. (Kinda weird to think about…) Thank you so much for reading and for being a part of my journey! xo