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30 before 30 Update at 29

I turned 29 last week and it made me reflect on a lot of things. My journey, where I am now, where I’m going. When I was 26, I made a 30 before 30 list. It was all the rage amongst bloggers. I wrote a whimsical list of things I wanted to achieve. Year after year, I realised the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Just how life got in the way of the merriments that I’d wished for myself.

I’ve accomplished a lot however in the last three years, on and off my bucket list! Today I share my 30 before 30 update at 29!

There are the items from my list that I’ve already accomplished:

>> I’ve visited another 5 European countries, and I’m still going!
>> We’ve taken two cross-country Scottish road trips
>> I’ve moved in with my Brit in Edinburgh, then to Stirling and last year we bought a flat!
>> I raised nearly £200 for charity by abseiling down the Forth Rail Bridge
>> I’ve gone to two music festivals in Scotland in the past few years
>> Read 150 books and counting
>> Went on a writing retreat in the north of Scotland
>> I finished my first novel – albeit the first draft was shit – about St Andrews
>> While I’m in no way fluent (or able to whip it out at will) I’ve been learning Danish for the past two years.

There are a few items I won’t be accomplishing. I realised that very early on. Last year as we started planning the wedding, honeymoon and visa renewal (all coming up in 2019!), I realised how much of the next two years is planned and how much we need to save. It won’t allow for going to Australia or the US or even Asia before I turn 30. No shame to it. I still hope I do them in my life, but definitely not in the foreseeable future.

However, for the next year there are a lot of items I have planned or plan to schedule:

>> Learning to surf
The Brit got me a lesson for my birthday! I need to book that for later in August and hope the water Dunbar isn’t too cold.

>> St Andrews Reunion
There are quite a few St Andrews alum on our wedding list, so hoping for a reunion in St Andrews!

>> Hiking
I will be hiking a munro later this month with some colleagues near Pitlochry. I would like to go hiking a few more times as well and enjoy the Scottish outdoors a bit more.

>> Solo travel
I still plan on going on a trip by myself to a country I’ve never been before. Haven’t planned that yet but hope it’ll happen this winter!

>> Triathlon
I will be taking part in a wee triathlon later this month. I’ve been training for the past four weeks and I’m getting there. If I like it, I already have a second one lined up.

>> Whisky tasting
I’ll be off to a whisky tasting soon, so hopefully that helps me improve my whisky knowledge. My first wine tasting really opened my mind to wine, so hoping this does the same with whisky.

>> Going to shows and putting myself out there
For my on-going items, I want to keep going to cultural shows (so many coming up in the autumn), keep auditioning and try to sell my writing. I’ve done quite a lot of that in the past few years and I’m so proud of myself! 

>> Learn to play my ukulele
As an actionable item, I aim to pick up my ukulele at least once a week to practise. I know one song at the moment and I’ve owned it for nearly four years…

>> Study towards another degree.
While I’ve been accepted to do PhD at four universities in Scotland, and I’ve technically accepted my place at Edinburgh, funding has been an issue. During the process I’ve realised that in a year and a half I’d get home fees, saving myself probably about £13k a year in fees, so that’s tempting to wait until then.

>> Getting a tattoo
Before the wedding, I would like to get a wee tattoo, but don’t know if I’ll have the guts!

Regardless of this list, I’m so immensely proud of everything I’ve accomplished in the past few years and I know the next year will be amazing too! Here’s to more success, more trying and failing, more laughing, more working out until it hurts, and more pushing myself.

Do you have a 30 before 30 or other bucket list?xx

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