Somehow, in the four years I spent trying to finish this list, I never paused to think about what would come after it. I sit here at my desk in the middle of a clear Friday night and I genuinely don’t know how that happened.
So I’m forced, instead, to think about the things I’ve wanted most over the last year. Those things include running a 35 minute 5k, which I completed two weeks ago. I wanted to accomplish a lot of the goals I’ve already written about. Basically, I wanted to start living. And I feel like I’ve done that, quite purposefully actually.
I’ve been a firm believer for a long time now that birthdays make much better start dates than the traditional new year. January is just not when most of our lives start. For most of my life, the new year began in September. As I get older, my life calendar seems to begin and end on my birthday. So here I am.
I want to do the things I already promised you all I would do, like perform stand-up comedy at an open mic (you’ll all be invited) and complete an intro flight lesson.
I also want to either start an MBA program or start at a job that could genuinely lead to a fulfilling career. I’ve spent way too long figuring out what I wanted to do. It’s time to either begin doing it, or begin the schooling so that I can do it. I honestly am not sure which path my life will lead me down, but I’m sure I’ll have the support and insight to pick the right road.
I want to do some more superficial things, like run a 25 minute 5k and get my butt off the continent. I want to see my parents, either at my home or theirs in Georgia. I want to cook a full meal for friends that I love. I want to find a cause to volunteer with that lights my world on fire. I want to write and run 200 days each.
It’s still so strange for me to think of the next few years with such openness and optimism. It wasn’t that long that I wasn’t sure I’d have this time to even be alive (story for another time), much less pursue anything I genuinely cared about. As I gain distance from that former life, I gain hope for a life full of love, adventure, and hiking.
So here’s to 30, and the rest of the years that follow it. May I become a keen skier, a swift runner, and a more informed participant in our democracy.