30 things to do before i'm 30 - Part 1

I've been thinking for a while about having a list of all the things I would like to accomplish before turning 30 in 4 years, these are a mixture of things some of which can be done fairly quickly and others that will take a bit more time to accomplish, however having them written down somewhere means I am far more likely to actually try and get everything crossed off!

1 - Learn to drive

I've never had any real reason to learn to drive - I moved to London at 18 to study for my degree and then lived in Manchester city centre for 2 years before moving to Canterbury which has a train line which links to London in under an hour, however with the very real possibility of a move to Norfolk next year i'm definitely going to have to get behind the wheel. 

2 - Go in a hot air balloon

When I was very young a hot air balloon landed in the fields of my grandparents farm and ever since then I have wanted to go in one, there is something so magical about the idea of silently flying across the sky watching everything that is happening below. My family actually had a balloon ride booked a few years ago but we had to cancel as my dad got sick, definitely can't wait to achieve this one!  

3 - Learn to scuba dive

This year I overcame my fear of the sea and gave snorkelling ago, much to my surprise I absolutely loved every minute of it, I spent as much time as possible under the sea looking at fish and coral and just generally exploring the reef around the Maldivian Island we were on. Now I want to go one step further and scuba dive - I love the idea of being able to really explore the sea bed, it also appeals to my fascination with history as I would love to be able to explore a ship wreak. 

4 - Get a tattoo

There has always been something I love about tattoos. I love the fact that they are there for life and will serve as a constant reminder of where I was at a certain point in my life. I actually have an idea of what I want as a tattoo, I just have to decide where to have it done as I want it to be something for me rather than for other people to look at!


5 - Learn how not to take criticism to heart
I could receive 9 compliments and only 1 criticism and yet it is the criticism that I cary around with me. I remember pretty much every negative thing that has ever been said to me, and yet I would struggle to recite 5 compliments. I want to change this - it's not good to carry other people's negativity around. I think the best way to start is by writing down the compliments so that I have something to look over when I start to dwell on the negative comments.

6 - Do something so completely unexpected of me that people need photographic evidence to believe it happened
 Ever since I went to dance school I have always toed the line, I was desperate to get my belly button pierced but this wasn't allowed so I never had it done. I spent my teens taking ballet classes on a Saturday so I vey rarely went out. I actually have done something like this once before - on a school trip I was the only girl who successfully managed to climb and abseil a cliff face, my granddad was so proud I had done it and I have never forgotten the look on his face when I showed him the photographs. I'm not sure what the unexpected thing will be yet but        
i'll be sure to tell you when i've done it!

7 - Buy a real, grown up house
This is actually a joint project with Stuart. We would love to own our own house and have decided to make a conscientious decision to start saving. I am lucky that we both have pretty similar ideas of what we would like - either a new house we can put our own stamp on or an old house which has a history.

8 - Visit 30 countries before i'm 30
I love to travel, the thrill of experiencing new countries never bores me. I love everything about going away from the booking, planning where to visit and finally arriving at the destination. So far I have 7 countries crossed off - France, Wales, Spain, Dubai, Germany, Switzerland and the Maldives, living in Kent means I am going to start taking advantage of cheap ferry travel to do some more exploring.

9 - Speak my mind
I have an absurd desire to always please people, this means that no matter how I am feeling. Even when people have upset me I always want them to feel ok, I am the first to apologise in an argument and because of this I do genuinely believe that some of my friends believe me to be a bit of a push over, i'm not, I have opinions and I think I need to start letting people know if they have upset me, let me down or just made me feel lousy.

10 - Own a designer handbag

This is a totally gratuitous point, but I have ALWAYS wanted to have a designer handbag so this is why it has made the list! I want to be the person to buy the bag to reward myself for a job well done - at 26 I have my own dance school and I think this is something to be celebrated, hence the treat.




the next 10 will be coming soon...

Listening to - Ludovico Einaudi, adore him.
Feeling - Sleepy, I was up at 4.30 this morning and am vey much ready for a mid morning nap.
To do - Finalise my dance routines for this week and get an online food shop done so that I can eat!!