32 Things to Do or Change Before I Turn 32

I’m not big on celebrating my birthday anymore. In truth, I really only mark the occasion out of a feeling of obligation.  I don’t think the fact that I lived 365 days deserves celebration, other than thanking my parents for creating me  I mean, it is nice to be acknowledged and get a little bit of attention for no particular reason. It is nice to hear from people I don’t speak with regularly. But if I’m being completely honest, I could skip the day all together and it would not be that big of a deal.  It was always a big to-do for me when I was younger, and I always made a fuss.  My theory was that I could celebrate for the day before and the day after, as well.  Unfortunately, having a birthday on December 6, and going to college proved futile for my birthday partying ways.  From college through law school, my birthday was always right before finals week, making celebrations difficult. Instead of big parties, I switched to dinner with friends. After law school, I worked more, and went out less.  I was splitting time between legal work and the food service industry, making a consistent social life somewhat difficult.  Instead of massive celebrations, I switched to a small gathering of friends at a bar, drinking, dancing, and freezing our butts off in the Vermont winter.  The last two years, however, that changed into going out with one or two friends the night before my birthday, toasting at midnight, and then getting beyond hammered.  This resulted in sleeping through my actual birthday, too hung over to do anything but spoon my dog and whine. Productive, right?  Probably not the best idea for an ex drug addict, either.
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This year, being in between my apartment in Los Angeles and moving in with my boyfriend in New Jersey, I’m staying with my parents in northern California.  No friends here, no desire to go out and get hammered, no real urge to do anything to mark the occasion except eat the brownies my boyfriend mailed me and get a decent gluten free meal with my parents. When asked by a few of my Instagram followers how I was planning on celebrating turning 31, I had to think for a few minutes.  I wasn’t really doing anything to celebrate. I wasn’t expecting any gifts because I had not asked for anything, and I wasn’t expecting my parents to make a fuss because I didn’t ask them to do anything. I decided instead of making a big fuss about myself, I would make a big fuss for myself.  I’m giving myself a present this year.  I came up with the idea to make a list of 32 things to do or change about myself before I turn 32 on December 6, 2017.  I will be blogging and posting on Instagram about my experiences as I check things off.
I really hope my list inspires you to go out and give yourself something for your birthday. Not a present you can buy off the shelves, but one that pushes you to try and learn new things and grow as a person.  Enjoy!!
 
32 by 32

1. Become a CONSISTENT non-smoker
2. Advance my yoga teacher training
3. Learn Spanish
4. Try a new sport
5. Be more consistent
6. Be less flakey/better at following through
7. Procrastinate less
8. Save more money
9. Work out a student loan payment plan
10. Talk with friends and family more
11. Write more when I’m happy
12. Be less confrontational
13. Get up earlier/be productive earlier
14. Get back into legal studies
15. Become immersed in the Northern NJ and NYC yoga scenes
16. Take up DAILY meditation
17. Skydive
18. Start bouldering again
19. Keep a plant alive
20. Meet more people/become more involved in my community
21. Do two consecutive pull ups
22. Become a personal trainer
23. Renew and USE passport
24. Train Cailey as a therapy dog
25. Do volunteer work
26. Take a photography class (it’s been too long)
27. Be able to hold a one armed balancing pose (at mom’s request)
28. Start a YouTube yoga tutorial series
29. Knit something to completion
30. Work on remembering names better than faces
31. Learn to both listen to and HEAR people better
32. Plan my first yoga retreat