100 Things to Do Before I Turn 25

November 17, 2009 separator Life

Update on August 16, 2012: Read this with a grain of salt, as I’m fully 26-and-a-half now… ;D

I will turn 24 on December 3, and I often think about the time that’s flown by and all the goals I’ve still yet to accomplish. There’s something to say for accountability, so this is my epic list of ‘Things to Do’ before the next big birthday. Here’s my list of 100.

What’s at the top of your ‘To Do List?’

  1. Clean my apartment. *In the process of cutting down on clutter. You get a tour when it’s finished!
  2. Visit a completely new country. *Belize in August 2010! (Yes – you’re allowed to be jealous.)
  3. Go back to Guatemala.
  4. Learn HTML and CSS. *I know enough to pretty up my blog!
  5. Take a website design class.
  6. Learn to think before I speak a little more often.
  7. Learn Arabic.
  8. Try a Long Island Iced Tea. *Terrible, bad idea. That’s all I have to say about this one, and you don’t get any pictures.
  9. Run every day for a whole week. *Getting back in the habit, anyway.
  10. Run a half-marathon. *Finished in 2:18 in the midst or a torrential downpour!
  11. Run a full marathon.
  12. Make a headboard for my bed.
  13. Raise some money for the Ronald McDonald House of the Bluegrass. *$14K and counting!
  14. Organize my life. *Well, I organized my junk drawer…
  15. Actually use my planner.
  16. Paint something beautiful.
  17. Become a bourbon connoisseur. *I still don’t love it, but now I’ve toured Woodford Reserve, Maker’s Mark, and Four Roses, and I can say that I love a mint julep!
  18. Learn to spell the word ‘connoisseur’ without spell check.
  19. Send a letter to everyone I love.
  20. Do something crazy with my hair.
  21. Put my sewing machine to good use.
  22. Spend more time with Mish and Rosco.
  23. Try TTV photography. *I’ve purchased a Kodak Duaflex and a Kodak Brownie, so that’s a start!
  24. Make a real difference in somebody’s life. *Working on that with Bridges Beyond Borders.
  25. Grow an herb garden. *I’ve got some sprouted basil seeds!
  26. Start a compost bin.
  27. Get a really good summer internship (hopefully paid?).
  28. Get Bridges Beyond Borders off the ground.
  29. Find five new bands that I’ve never heard of to adore. *So far: One eskimO, Broken Bells
  30. Become a legit yogini. *Been to three classes!
  31. Cook something with tofu.
  32. Have a wine and cheese party.
  33. Actually use all my bubble baths and pretty lotions.
  34. Recycle everything I possibly can. *Even getting a second recycle bin for my apartamento!
  35. Get the guys tuna a little more often because it makes them so happy.
  36. Visit my best friends.
  37. Go to Austin City Limits.
  38. Do something that scares me.
  39. Take a beautiful picture of something completely ordinary.
  40. Bake bread from scratch.
  41. Ski. *Freaking love it!
  42. Buy a new couch.
  43. Spend 24 hours away from my computer.
  44. Get ‘A’s in all my grad school classes. *semester one : ✓semester two : ✓
  45. Find my university ID card.
  46. Do the laundry before I get to my last pair of clean underwear.
  47. Paint my nails every color of the rainbow.
  48. Make something from nothing.
  49. Buy an original piece of art. *Loves me some Cricket Press!
  50. Curl my hair.
  51. Make another really epic cake.
  52. Get my handwriting as a computer font.
  53. Get some of my digital pictures actually printed.
  54. Reread an old favorite book.
  55. Get a bike.
  56. Watch the Star Wars movies.
  57. Go an entire week without getting a bruise.
  58. Invent a really delicious recipe.
  59. Commission my brother to paint me something gorgeous.
  60. Get a Google Page Rank of four for the blog. *Still a three… *sigh*
  61. Pick a favorite kind of wine. *And the winner is: shiraz!
  62. Finish decorating my walls. *Getting there!
  63. Meet up with my lovely friend Katie.
  64. Catch up with somebody I’ve lost touch with.
  65. Feed some ducks.
  66. Get something published.
  67. Sew a piece of clothing from scratch, and then wear it somewhere fun.
  68. Clean up my e-mail inboxes. *Glorious. Just glorious.
  69. Clean out my car. *Though subsequently wrecking it wasn’t on the list…
  70. Learn to like the cold. *Possibly never going to happen, but I’m learning to deal…
  71. Buy a really schmancy dress, and then go somewhere equally schmancy.
  72. Celebrate absolutely nothing.
  73. Buy myself flowers just because they’re pretty.
  74. Plant some tulips in my apartment’s yard. *Somebody beat me to the punch and planted mass quantities of daffodils. They were gorgeous!!!
  75. Light the candles on my porch, and enjoy my little piece of outdoor space.
  76. Start sleeping at a normal hour. *Getting there, but I’ve hitting that Tylenol PM a little too hard…
  77. Eat more healthy and natural foods.
  78. Figure out how to make butternut squash fries crispy.
  79. Go on a trip with The Mister. *Mexico and Belize in August 2010!
  80. Find my passion.
  81. Create a 100-word memoir.
  82. Quit complaining.
  83. Splurge. *I got some really cute wellies and a fun umbrella. Does that count?!
  84. Get rid of all the unnecessary things.
  85. Have 1,000 blog subscribers. *Over 1,500 now – thanks, you guys!!!
  86. Always wear sunscreen.
  87. Inspire somebody.
  88. Go an entire week without driving anywhere.
  89. Reach 100 shop sales. *Up to 78 now!
  90. Go an entire day without working on anything.
  91. Design my own blog template completely from scratch.
  92. Learn to live with my crooked teeth (unless somebody wants to get me Invisalign…).
  93. Dance.
  94. Study for something more than 48 hours before it’s due. *Okay, so I only did it liiike once, but it still counts…
  95. Try something I think I’ll hate.
  96. Make a moss terrarium.
  97. Plan a really epic date with The Mister at least once a month.
  98. Wake up early enough to enjoy a cup of tea and a book before my day starts.
  99. Go surfing again.
  100. Find something to smile about every day.

14 comments

  2. Wow, I love your list… it reminds me of something I have to do… create a list of things to do LOL!

  3. HAHA you are awesome! I’m not sure I could even think of 100 things to accomplish…

    Anyway, for the record, we are almost exactly 6 months apart B-daywise.

    As for myself:
    6. I completely agree
    8. Don’t
    9. Try CrossFit, it is the only thing that has motivated me to do that…
    28. Sounds like a great plan, if you ever need a PR person let me know
    41. Have you never skiied? or snowboarded?
    53. I bought a photo album to make me do it
    78. OMG I know!
    82. same here
    92. Some orthos make their own version now which makes it cheaper
    99. you can come visit!

  4. oh i did a list like this a few years ago! such a good idea! it’s amazing how much motivation it is to actually write it all out!

  5. Much of that list sounds like a lifetime of work! (take it from someone older than 25!) But that’s OK. It’s a great list!

  6. I love your blog- and this post made me smile- maybe at 24-25 you will have enough energy to do all this stuff in a year! Happy soon birthday.

  7. That’s quite a list! I’m 42 and have done many of these things, or something similar. But, bourbon connoisseur? I guess it’s not pretentious like wine, and I bet there’s some cute guys who know their bourbon!

  8. O.m.g. I just typed a really long response only to hit the “refresh” button and lose it all. Blah!

    We must talk about Bridges not Borders!! I dreamed of a very similar idea in high school and undergrad! My life has taken a different turn but that would be SO amazing.

    Also, #63 is a MUST DO. Seriously. I’ve neglected our chats lately and I miss them!

  12. Are you feeling the quarter life crunch?

    Just remember you are only practicing to be an adult right now. You will be a real life, official adult after age 28.

    Keep it fun, keep keeping in touch with your Self, your true friends, your real relationships, and your true aspirations.

    Keep that list on a fluid rotation, it will only keep getting bigger, for a long time yet.

    Enjoy the ride.

  13. wow…..you are quite ambitious…good luck…you might want to re-name it “100 things to do before I’m 50”.
    p.s. happy birthday (early)

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