Happy half birthday to me!

Today marks half way through the last year of my twenties.  Only 6 months left.  I wish it didn't bother me so much, and I sometimes think I'm probably making turning 30 into a much bigger deal than it needs to be.  Two of my friends have turned 30 over the past few months, and the world hasn't ended for them...  That's encouraging, right?!

 

My list of '30 things to do before I'm 30' is going quite slowly, with only 3 fully completed.  I've taken a month's break from Facebook (no.5), completed a 30 day photography project (no.16) and tried a new arty skill (no.18).  However I do have another 11 items in progress/ planned...

 

1. Volunteer for a good cause - I head to Uganda soon to work for Dwelling Places, a charity who rescue and resettle street children.

2. Read the New Testament - 9 out of 27 books read, and another 2 started.  It's a struggle to be consistent with this one.

3. Write 30 good memories/ achievements from my twenties - I have about 15 written down so far, but will probably wait until nearer my 30th to publish the list.  Remembering positives doesn't come naturally to me, so writing these down is a good thing for me to do.

4. Read a new book every month - See yesterday's blog post for a half way update on this.

10. Go on a hot air balloon ride - I bought a voucher for this in July and have had 5 attempts so far but each has been cancelled due to high winds!  Attempt 6 is booked for next week.  If that fails, I think I'll need to wait until next Spring/ Summer.  Frustrating, but at least I've got the voucher to do it.

12. Take up piano and learn to play 6 new songs - I've not managed to keep up with the piano practice, so still only have 1 out of 6 songs.  Self-discipline has never been one of my strong points.

19. Make something new on my sewing machine every month - I blogged about this the other day as well.  This has been a tough one, and I'm not particularly enjoying doing it, but know it's good for me.  Like eating lettuce.

20. Upcycle 2 things from a charity shop - In June I altered an ugly necklace into something that I wear almost everyday.  And I recently bought a set of 3 little tables for a fiver which I'm going to sand down and repaint.  Sometime.

21. Lose 1 stone - I've managed to shift 9 pounds and am just about keeping it off.  Only 5 to go.

23. Climb a munro - My dad is delighted that I'm finally taking an interest in the outdoors.  He's taken me up 2 hills in the Ochills near Stirling and, depending on the weather, I may be doing my munro this Saturday!

28. Go to a ballet performance - I've booked tickets to go and see 'The Nutcracker' with a friend and our mums in January.

 

So I'm getting there gradually.  It seems unlikely that I will complete all 30 by April, but I'd like to have at least 20 ticked off.  I'm enjoying having a project to work on, but struggle to maintain my enthusiasm for it, especially when so many of the items have a cost attached to them.  I need to remember that I am doing this for fun and to create good memories, and not just for sake of ticking things off a list. 

 

I was reading back over some previous blog posts, and saw that I wrote this in May when I'd had the initial idea of the list: I don’t want to spend the next 11 months looking back with disappointment and forward with dread.  Instead I would like to take a step towards making peace with my twenties and embracing my thirties.  'Making peace' with myself, my character, my choices in life, my appearance, my childhood, my current situation, my mental health, my bank balance, my relationship with God, my past, my future...  Where do I even begin in doing that?  Perhaps like I said in May, it starts with taking a step.