My 30 Before 30 Bucket List
Avoiding the quarter century crisis, whatever that is.
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While putting together this post, I did a little Google-ing to inspire me and I was surprised to discovered that I've already achieved and experienced so much, like getting lost in a foreign country, going skydiving, partying in a big city (Tokyo), sitting front row at a fashion show, hike a glacier and experience a huge sporting event (the AFL Grand Final). I've been so fortunate to do these amazing things, and it's so rewarding to look back and relive them.
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MY 30 BEFORE 30 BUCKET LIST:
1. Begin writing the draft of my novel. I've had the idea for my first book since I was 10-years-old (aka. the far more creative and carefree me) and I will complete it one day. I've started writing it a zillion times since then, but I haven't been able to just switch off from the rest of the world and not be influenced by what I think I should write, rather than what I feel like writing. Update coming.
2. Go swimming with the whale sharks. The honour of swimming amongst the gentle giants of the ocean would be a life changing experience. You can actually do it off the coast of Western Australia at Ningaloo Reef, so one of these days I'm going to make the trip north and tick this one off the bucket list.
3. Roadtrip through the US. This one has been on my bucket list for years, and we're hopefully going to do it either next year or the year after, so fingers crossed. Pacific Coast and Route 66, we're coming for you.
4. Roadtrip through my own state. I've been lucky to see so much of the world, but have neglected travelling through my own beautiful and diverse state, Western Australia. I mean, travellers here have seen more of it than I have. I really want to go down south again, all the way to Esperance, up north along the coast up to Broome and inland to Karijini (and the list goes on!).
5. Buy a designer bag. I've dreamed of having my very own Givenchy Antigona bag for a long time, but I've never made the plunge. Those that know me, know that I am very money conscious and very rarely spurge on myself, a far cry from what I was like during my early university days). I'm going to do it though; I'm going to buy my very own amazing quality designer bag over the next five years, and boy-oh-boy, is it going to feel so good knowing how hard I worked for it.
6. Complete a digital detox. 48-hours without phones, the internet, television and any other gadgets, inspired by Estée Lalonde. My whole life is based around the digital world, especially seeing as though my career is as well, so I want to go without them for a whole weekend and just enjoy the finer things in life, like reading a book, go to the beach and explore a new place, minus the pressure of documenting them. Though, let's be honest, I'll probably still vlog my experience.
7. Write an e-book. I have already begun writing it, but for the moment the whole project is tight lipped, so stay tuned.
8. Spot a whale off our local beach. We missed out this year, but hopefully next migrating season we'll get some time to go whale watching off the beach down the road from us. Can you believe I've never seen a whale?
9. Post at least 5 times a week on Lion in the Wild for a year. At least. I've actually been able to accomplish this over the last 5 months, but I want to be able to do it for a whole year. For anyone that runs a blog, you know how much time, hard work and commitment goes into creating content, so it's going to be a big challenge keeping it up throughout far busier times of the year. Honestly though, I absolutely love creating content for you and blogging here, so it's more fun than anything else.
10. Exercise consistently. While I've already begun my Spring Fitness Challenge, I have been finding it difficult to workout consistently (although these 3 things are definitely helping to motivate me). I want exercise to become a very normal part of my daily routine.
11. Go back to New Zealand. It's one of my favourite countries, which you might be able to tell by the fact that I've already been three times and want to go back again. New Zealand is this remarkable place of significance for me and I know I'll go back time and time again throughout my life.
12. Experience the Northern Lights. This is probably the most uncertain item on my 30 Before 30 List because there is no guarantee that you'll see them, no matter where you find yourself, but hey, one can dream, right?
13. Visit a new continent. I've been to Asia, North America and Australia (obviously), but I would love to explore another new corner of the globe and I have a feeling it will be Europe, given the above. Who knows though!
14. Buy another house or apartment. As I mentioned before, Brad and I are very money conscious, which is a big part of why we've been so fortunate to have already built two homes in a short lives. I guess you could say property is our 'thing' and it's what we want to invest in further for our futures; bricks and mortar. If all goes well, we're hoping to buy or build an investment property before we turn 30. Heads down!
15. Write a letter to my 30-year-old self. What would you say to your 30-year-old self? It's only 5 years away and I know that I'll still be the same person, but I want myself to know how far I've come. Would you write a letter to your future self?
16. Get involved in breast cancer awareness. Watching my mum battle and kick breast cancer's butt was both an inspiration and truly terrifying. And we were the lucky ones. One day, I hope that there is a 100% survival rate of cancer and, even better, a cure. With a family history of breast cancer, I really want to get involved in promoting events and fundraising for this wonderful cause. Mother's day Classic, anyone?
17. Donate to an animal shelter or foundation. Having grown up with pets that were first class family members and a love for animals, I want to donate as much as I can to a worthy animal shelter or foundation. Does anyone know of any great Perth shelters or foundations?
18. Complete an e-course. I'm actually just about to start an e-course this week, so I should be able to cross this one off the list very soon. I think it's so important to continue learning and self-educating yourself, no matter your field, and e-courses are a seriously great way to do it in your own time and at your own pace.
19. Add another furry companion to our family. We've had Indi, our cheeky ragdoll cat, for over 2.5 years now and I've loved every single moment. She is my constant companion and words cannot describe how much I love her. Now that we're settled here at the beach, Brad and I are looking at possibly getting a puppy next year as well (which will stop me trying to kidnap Polar, our golden retriever, from my mum and dad - heh-heh-heh), depending on our travel plans. Super exciting!
20. 12 books in 12 months. I love reading, but I don't get anywhere near enough time to really get into a book these days. I always have one on the go though, so the challenge is finding enough time to read, even just a little, everyday. Then I'm going to join my friend's book club and do the 12 books in 12 months marathon.
21. Get married. I know it's totally cheesy, but Brad and I have put getting married on the back burner over the last couple of years so we can build our new house and travel. Since we're a de facto couple, nothing really changes when we get married, but hey, I love the guy. What can I say?
22. Eat more fruit. I really need to eat more fruit. Some days, I don't have one piece, which is terrible. Brad and I are pretty healthy eaters (though we are addicted to Magnum Ego's at the moment - nom-nom-nom), but we're trying to make a conscious effort to buy more fruit for snacks throughout the day.
23. Create a beautiful home. We've definitely already made a very good start on this one, but I really want to have the interior (and exterior) beautifully decorated and styled, with art work, pillows and cosy furniture, something we weren't able to
24. Go to Hawaii. Brad loves to surf, I love to hang out on the beach in the shade, so it just seems like it would be a match made in heaven. I'm not overly keen on tourists though (how ironic is that statement), so hopefully we'll go when it's not too busy. #islandlife
25. Go on one relaxing holiday. All I'm asking for is one holiday where we can just lounge around and read books and swim and drink cocktails and enjoy each other's company without having to work the whole time, you know what I mean? Don't get me wrong, replying to a hundred emails from the edge of an infinity pool whilst sipping on a fresh mocktail sure beats my home office, but still. I will make this happen.
26. Get a king-sized bed. Okay, so this one has been put into motion since we've already ordered our bed and mattress, but I'm keeping it on the list. I remember when Brad and I got a sweet deal on a luxe hotel room when we were in Toronto and it had the biggest bed ever and it was awesome. A few years later and we're finally getting our own luxurious hotel-like bed. Yay!
27. Make more time for my friends. My girlfriends and I have been catching up over brunch for ages now, but I want to make it more of a regular thing, especially since it seems we're all just getting busier and busier. Yesterday, at brunch (funny that), I announced that we should do a once-a-month brunch, to which everyone was super excited. Hopefully I can make it happen.
28. See my family every week. I see my family almost every week now, but I do want to make more of an effort. They live almost an hour from me, so it can be a little difficult some weeks to make time to see each other, but it's always worth it. Maybe we need to do a weekly dinner?
29. Watch IMDb's Top 50 Films. I'm such a movie addict, but looking at it now, there's a quite a few blockbusters that I haven't actually seen yet, especially the older classics. Bring out the popcorn!
30. Finish the re-deign and branding of Lion in the Wild. Finally, this has been such a stop-start project of ours for some time now, but I really want to see our concepts and designs come to life very soon. It'll mark a few big changes for our little online space, that's for sure.
Fingers crossed that I can accomplish each of these things, big and small, and document them as I go here on the blog, so make sure you stay tuned!
What's on your bucket list?
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