It’s my birthday today!
Birthdays in your 20’s can be a tough wave of emotions. When I turned 25 two years ago I had a major crisis over my birthday. 25 felt so significant to me; I was leaving my early 20’s, and it was an age where I started questioning if my life was in line with where a “normal” 25 year old should be. 26 was a bit of a bummer as well, since it was just one step further into my late 20’s (and worse, closer to that scary 30). But I’ve been quite calm about approaching my 27th birthday. Quite possibly the biggest help has been an idea my friend Stephanie gave to me. She started to devise a list of thirty things she wanted to accomplish before she was 30. Instead of shying away from the idea of becoming older, she is taking the next 3 years as a challenge to complete some majorly cool stuff. 3 years is a long time and a great time frame to knock out goals you have always wanted to reach but have never taken the time to cross off your list. I decided to devise a list of my own and had a ton of fun coming up with ideas!
I really let my mind wander and think through great ideas that, when I look back at the end of my 20’s I’ll be proud of all that I accomplished. I tried to be as specific as possible and include some things that would be outside my comfort zone; I’ve included a partial list of mine below. I cannot wait to start crossing things off!
1. Go on the Revolution brewery tour
2. Eat at Alinea
3. Try 50 Chicago restaurants I’ve never eaten at before
4. Go on the Wendella boat tour
5. Cut bangs!
6. Dye my hair blonde
7. Visit Maine, Connecticut and Washington D.C.
8. Go on the Broadway in Chicago historic theatre tour
9. See an opera at the Lyric Opera House
10. Have an appointment with a personal shopper
11. Take a photography class
12. Go on a hike
13. Cook through a cookbook cover to cover
14. Re-read the Harry Potter series
15. Take a cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu
