When I was 24, I made a list of 30 things to do by age 30. I turned 29 in January, so I have 8 months to go and quite a list up ahead of me. Italicized items are the ones I’ve finished.
30 by 30
Travel:
1. spend a summer abroad.
2. go to morocco.
3. spend a week in paris in the springtime.
4. take a vacation on each coast
5. see a show on broadway.
Education:
6. finish (or start, for that matter) graduate school.
7. read don quixote.
8. learn spanish.
9. have something published.
10. learn arabic.
Goals with tangible results:
11. finish the quilt grandma and i started when i was 10.
12. have a successful vegetable garden.
13. knit socks.
14. paint a room red.
15. develop a “signature” dish or menu.
Fun:
16. go camping and keep my freaking out to a minimum.
17. follow a band on tour (again).
18. win at pub quiz.
19. stay out clubbing til the sun comes up.
20. attend a “black tie” event.
Personal ‘improvement’:
21. build a fun yet professional wardrobe.
22. get some sort of computer certification.
23. build credit.
24. learn to live on a budget.
25. join a gym (and go regularly).
Defying easy categorization:
26. fall in love.
27. win an award.
28. have a well-stocked wine cellar.
29. perform music in some sort of live setting (not karaoke).
30. have a child.
latterdaybohemian 
Ok, first of all, this makes me feel old – I remember you making this list. Wow.
Second, I would quibble – I think you’re further along on this list than you think. 🙂 I think you have several signature dishes/menus; I think you have a fun yet professional wardrobe; I think you’ve done an amazing job of building credit in a terrible situation; I think that perhaps dancing in the rain at High Dive can count for clubbing til the sun comes up; and I think that all the conferences you’ve presented at in the last year go a long way towards having something published.
Just a best friend’s perspective. I can’t believe how much you’ve grown in the last eight years, love – and I’m so proud of you each and every day, and honored to still call you a friend. Take my words for whatever they’re worth – I think you’re an incredible almost-thirty-year-old.
Love you. 🙂
LikeLike
Wow, your list is so much more organized and ambitious than mine. I purposely threw in a few gimmees, just so I would feel good about myself. I think my favorite is “paint a room red.” 🙂
LikeLike