All The Things I Wanted To Do Before 30 But Was Afraid To Try

I can honestly say I have had no regrets in my life.  I firmly believe that everything I did, be it good or bad, mistakes and choices, has made me the person I am today and without those circumstances that many could do without, I would not be the person I am today.  Of course not all has been good.  I have had struggles and those struggles continue today.  But it gives you something to work towards.  A better life, learning to make better choices.  And I have no one to blame or congratulate but myself.

With that said, there should always be a desire, a drive, to do more.  Push yourself out of that comfort zone to truly discover what you are made of.  To that end I have now compiled a list of All The Things I Wanted To Do Before 30 But Was Afraid To Try.  Because I am now in my mid-30's I will have to be content with now trying to complete these things before I turn 40. 

In the making of this list I have discovered there are some new items.  Things I didn't consider wanting to do before 30 but now would like to do before 40, so they too have made the list.

1. View an autopsy. 
Now this could be considered morbid by some but it is something I have always wanted to do.  Being a writer and sometimes writing about some dark topics, I always thought it was only common place to want to see how this is really done.

2. Write a novel.
I see this on most people's lists but that is not why it is on mine.  This is something I have always wanted to do and have started many times but to date has remained unfinished for whatever reason.  Through the help of a year long novel course I am taking starting on January 18th I hope to have this accomplished by the end of the year.  First draft at least.

3. Quit smoking.
Ha...well...if you click over to my blog Out of the Smoky Haze you will find that I already started this attempt last year and am documenting all my successes, failures and smoking related stories.

4. Be financially self-sufficient & debt free.
Something I have been striving to do for so long but it just has not happened yet.  It took me a long time to learn the importance behind this and now that I have I am making every effort to make it happen before it's too late.

5. Have another baby...maybe even two. NEW
Before 30 I couldn't even imagine having had one, but now that I have, I would like to have another.  (I can almost hear the phone ringing already, "Hi Mom." 
What many people don't know about me is that I have this absurd fascination with odd numbers.  It seems unbalanced to me to have two children, it has to be three or remain at one.  Or maybe it's the fact that even numbers are too balanced that I need a little tilt.  Now this may not happen because I am not the only person in this decision, so I will probably have to find some way to feel balanced with two.

6. Lose the extra body fat.
A common goal of most women but a goal nonetheless.  I have struggled with my weight most of my life.  It's time to really start doing something about it.

7. Drive across Canada, stopping in every province along the way.
In my almost 35 years on this planet, I still have not seen what else this country has to offer.  Sure I've seen pictures but it's not the same as being able to view it first hand.  I have been to parts of the US, I have been to Europe, but when it comes to Canada, I have only set foot in British Columbia and Alberta.  I know the country is huge and most people haven't seen much more than their own backyard, but I don't want to leave this planet without seeing the rest of the beauty that makes up Canada.  Many have a desire to travel the world, I just want to travel the country.

8. Learn to speak dutch, fluently. NEW
My husband is dutch, straight from the land of windmills and tulips.  His parents are dutch and speak very little english so every time they come to visit, or we go there, I cannot communicate with them any more than a few words I have picked up over the last few years or by sign language.  If anything were ever to happen to my husband I could not talk to his parents over the phone.  On the other hand, he does have two brothers and they both speak english very well, but it would be nice to be able to remove the middle men.

9. Write one short story a month for one year and submit to literary journals. NEW
I have been slacking on my writing over the past few years so I really want to try and commit to writing and submitting at least one short story a month, for 12 months.

10. Take a poetry class. NEW
I have written very little poetry in my life.  I never seemed to get it.  But recently I have this urge to try something different and see where it takes me.  I have started to appreciate this literary form a little more so now would like to actually give it more of an effort and try for myself.
It's finally happening.  It's actually kind of liberating to step out of your comfort zone every now and again.  Even though I just started, I am crossing this off because I am certain I will complete this.  Will be interesting to see if I really have it in me.