Exactly one month ago I turned 30. Inspired by my fabulous and inventive friend Ginger, I created my own 30 Before 30 List just after my 28th birthday. With two full years to complete the list I was ambitious, listing things like: run a full marathon, travel to see my favorite band in concert, summit 3/5 NW volcanoes, and eat at all the restaurants in my new neighborhood.

By the end of 2012, I had completed some of my easier to do’s, but certainly had a ways to go. Then, by the end of 2013 I was really feeling the pressure. I had just 5-months and, like, 13 things still on my list. D’oh. 

I endeavored on, determined to finish ALL of my tasks. Then, around mid-March I realized there were just a few things I no longer had the time/desire to do. And you know what? That’s okay. In the end, I went a scored a solid 27.5/30 on my list. You can’t ask for any better than your best – which I feel confident I gave. 

Despite some reservations, I’m going to share my list in full. I hope hope it will inspire you to set achievable but far reaching goals for yourself. It may surprise you that some of these are incredibly personal and not at all about outdoor achievements. In some cases I had an original goal but crossed it out in favor of a more achievable/realistic/desirable goal. In that case I’ve shared the original goal, but have crossed it out and shown the replacement. For the items not achieved I have listed them, but vaguely. Perhaps I will eventually unroll those for you when they’re finally complete.

So here it is, as written, the Complete 30 Before 30 List: 

1. Climb & Ski Three Volcanos (this is a big goal, so each volcano counts for one): Adams
2. Climb & Ski Three Volcanos: Baker (so nice I did it twice)
3. Climb & Ski Three Volcanoes: Rainier! (bonus of Hood and Helens with an honorable mention for admirable attempts on Glacier and Shasta)
4. Run a Marathon
5. Ride the STP Unpack and get over baggage from relationships past
6. Visit Africa Go Skydiving
7. Ride and elephant Allow myself to cry in front of someone without embarrassment
8. Pay off student loans
9. Hike Mt. Si
10. INCOMPLETE: Climbing goal
11. INCOMPLETE: Personal fitness goal
12. Travel for a Mumford & Sons Concert
13. Buy an Audi Become known for something (skiing in a tutu)
14. Kayak in Lake Union
15. Find a job I love (Bonus: they picked me in part due to this blog, and now I get to have my writing published!)
16. Run 100 miles in a month
17. INCOMPLETE: Technology goal (half-way though!)
18. Grow basil at home Run a beer mile
19. Hike the Enchantments
20. Buy a new computer
21. Use National Parks Pass in 3 parks
22. Try standup paddleboarding
23. Listen to monks at St. Mark’s Cathedral Visit my neighborhood Monastery 
24. Spend a day painting Get completely out of comfort zone (date auction anyone?)
25. Take a 1-month hiatus from drinking
26. Participate in the Fremont Solstice Parade
27. Publish 200 blogs (I had 75 to go when I wrote that goal)
28. Try every restaurant in my neighborhood
29. Ski 12 30 consecutive months for Turns All Year (I’m now on month 32!)
30. Throw a kickass thirtieth birthday party!!!

Celebrating 30 in style.

I could certainly write about each of these goals and what achieving them meant to me personally, but ultimately this was my journey, and my lessons will be different than yours. The overarching theme, though, is that it’s okay to make changes to your list and goals. It’s totally fair to want to adjust along the way. I don’t view 8 crossed-out items on my list as ‘failures’. I took stock of my place on this journey and allowed myself to change direction when it felt necessary. It’s a success to redirect the course of your life when it’s not going in the right direction. One of my favorite quotes of all time, which I’ve posted before, is this:

Turn around and take a step forward.

What’s next? I’m not entirely sure. My goals for 2014 are to continue my best efforts to make a big impact at my awesome job, travel somewhere with lots of yummy limestone to rock climb (Thailand? Back to Hexico?), and enjoy a little more time solo time reading and sleeping. Yeah, after the last few months I could really go for some long afternoon naps in the sun.