Last year I made a bucket list to complete by my “golden birthday.” Twenty-four goals to accomplish before my 24th birthday on February 24, 2020 (hence 24 by 24 by 24).
I’ve always enjoyed setting goals for myself. By making a bucket list with my birthday serving as the deadline, it became a way for me to document the year and challenge myself. Some of the goals were surprisingly easy, while others made me realize how big of a procrastinator I can be. Below I have listed out each goal I accomplished, as well as a note about each one.
24 by 24 by 24
- Try a new restaurant each month
- Successfully completed!
- Do a 100-day challenge
- Walked 10,000 steps a day from May through August.
- Go to a festival (of some sort)
- Attended the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.
- Sew an Outfit
- I successful sewed a satin green dress.
- Find a new hobby (join a club)
- I have become active in a local organization that includes volunteering and working on agricultural projects.
- Have a Photo Shoot
- Technically, I did do a photo shoot this past summer (although it was with my sister, and not with my wonderful friend Gillian (hi!)).
- Start and keep a gratitude journal (at least 2xs a week)
- This goal was surprisingly one of the easiest to complete, and I think it has benefited remembering all the little things I have to be grateful for.
- Bake a dessert and gift some of it out
- This was accomplished! I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies and gifted some out to my friends and their families.
- Designate time each week for meditation
- In my opinion, I did accomplish this goal. I created a habit this year of going hiking at least once a week by myself. I found that this time often proved to be a good time for self reflection and creativity.
- Go to a
baseballfootball game (with friends!)- I ended up NOT attending a baseball game with my friends – however I did attend a football game! And for that reason I would like to consider this goal a success, even though it was not completed.
- Go hiking with a new friend
- Completed!
- Write a collection of poems/short story
- Wrote some poetry while fulfilling my writing retreat goal!
- Read 24 books
- I read 23 of 24 books.
- Have a writing retreat with Laura and Abby
- Participated in CampNano Wrimo 🙂
- Go to a new city by myself and spend a day there
- I unintentionally accomplished this goal! I planned a trip to Hawaii with my friend who accidentally missed her flight! Thus I arrived in Hawaii eight hours ahead of her and took that time to walk around Waikiki.
- Give up soda for a month
- Accomplished! After a week of not drinking any soda, I stopped missing it. While I do occasionally drink soda now, I certainly have cut back.
- Go to a concert
- This is a goal I accomplished but I cannot remember for the life of me who I saw. Interestingly enough, I already have been invited to four concerts for this upcoming year! Although, I do not think I will make it to all of them.
- Take a class on something I’m interested in (surfing, painting, ext.)
- This goal I initially thought I did not accomplish, until I remembered that for my job I have taken several courses this past year in topics I’m interested in. These included classes about drying herbs and niche agricultural markets.
- Run an under 10-minute mile
- Surprisingly enough, this goals was actually not difficult to complete!
- Visit my friend Katie
- This goal was one of the ones that I added as an alternative at my six-month check in. Excitingly, I was able to visit my friend Katie before she moved across the country.
- Clean out my room
- This was another alternative goal. And while it originally was grouped with the goal to “donate clothes,” I separated them because of how much time they each took to do!
- Donate Clothes
- My closet is able to breathe.
Looking at this list, I only accomplished 22 goals, rather then 24. A 91% success rate. I also did not achieve my overarching goal of completing all these items; however, I still consider the year an amazing success. It has been filled with both positive and negative surprises. I had more adventures then I could ever imagine, but also personal family matters I never could have anticipated. My 23rd year was remarkable, and it is only in retrospect I can appreciate everything I accomplished.
Of the goals I listed for myself, I am most proud of having read 23 books. Although this is one shy of my goal(24 books), I am so happy to be in the habit of reading regularly. While I enjoyed many of the books I read, the one that stood out the most would be Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein.
However, here are the goals I did not complete before turning 24. Some I added throughout the year, which is why I have more than only two goals which I did not accomplish:
- Make something extreme (think art)
- I sadly did not make anything I would consider extreme.
- Visit Nicole in NY State
- However, I did see her when she returned to Maryland. I hope to see her eventually in New York!
- Sing karaoke
- I realized I love singing but not in front of people.
- LOTR Extended Movie Marathon/visit Kamille in NYC!
- This was not accomplished, however I still plan on seeing my friend hopefully soon!
- Do a styling trip with Tevin
- After talking with my friend Tevin, it became apparent that our work schedules made this very difficult to near impossible. We still want to meet up for this fun activity.
Of these goals, the ones I want to accomplish this year are making trips to visit my friends Kamille and Nicole. I rarely get to see them, and they live close enough I could always make a three-day trip out to them.
I am now debating if I should create another list for my next birthday – a 25 by 25. While it is not nearly as catchy of a title, I think there is definitely potential. Any ideas, suggestions or advice is welcome for my next year of goals. 🙂
Chasing serendipity 