I turned 30 last Tuesday, and to be completely honest, I was not really looking forward to my birthday.
Chalk it up to the numerous gray hairs I've been finding in the last few months, the fact that I'm treading water professionally (which means we can't do fun things like move to a larger apartment), and the last two of my girlfriends in Toulouse who moved (one to Dijon, the other 25 km outside of Toulouse).
But I had a really nice moment with my fellow dance class members on Tuesday night sharing cupcakes and Blanquette de Limoux after class. And Saturday night we had dinner with 8 friends at a restaurant around the corner from our apartment, then had cake and bubbly (from Gaillac this time) back at our apartment.
A high school friend of mine posted on Facebook a list of 30 things he did before 30, and reading through them I actually started to feel inspired by my own achievements, and then a little less negative.
So here is my list of 30 things I did before 30 (in no particular order):
1. Drove from Massachusetts to Alaska, then Alaska to California, the second trip solo. As one of the post-cards I bought along the way says "I survived the Alaska highway".
2. Saw a musical on Broadway (The Producers) and in the West End (Phantom of the Opera).
3. Learned to speak French
4. Went scuba diving in the Caribbean
5. Graduated from Mount Holyoke College
6. Got married
7. Learned to knit and crochet
8. Went to Question Time at Westminster
9. Got my Masters degree
10. Did Spring Break in Miami
11. Moved to France
12. Got a cat
13. Went to the Labyrinth Masquerade ball 3 times
14. Saw David Gray 3 times in concert
15. Went to Ireland
16. Cooked food grown on my own balcony garden
17. Went swimming under the Pont du Gard
18. Learned to drive stick and got my French driver's license
19. Went to Prince Edward Island and visited the Anne of Green Gables museum
20. Bathed in the hot springs at the beach on Ischia (Italy)
21. Played the piccolo with a band
22. Starred in a (student) movie
23. Was a bridesmaid
24. Learned to ski
25. Slept in a tent in the Pyrénées
26. Played on the 8th grade tennis team
27. Walked the Freedom trail in Boston
28. Saw Niagara Falls, twice
29. Danced till 4:30am at a wedding
30. Learned to appreciate wine
4 comments:
Congrats, that's a great list! It's funny, speaking French and living in France is such a banal part of our daily lives now, that seeing it written like that in a list of accomplishments makes it stand out for what a big deal it really is.
Happy belated birthday!!
And that is such an awesome list! I should really do the same sort of list next year when I turn 30. Some days, I feel like I've gotten no where in my 20s, but that can't be completely true!
Shannon
Wow that's a really great list! And such a good idea. I wish I had thought to do something like that last year when I was feeling down about turning 30.
What a good idea! I wonder if people before used to feel the same way about turning 20 the way our society feels about turing 30. Like, in Jane Austen's time, a lady at 20 was practically over the hill, right?
I love number 29. Pretty much any soirée when I can make it past 1am here is a big deal for me, haha.
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