30 Before 30

The older I get, the more I realize one day I will wake up and it will be too late. Too late to experience something, too late to forgive someone and tell them you love them, or too late to make a difference. Time has a funny way of slipping by quickly; and change occurs so swifly you may not even notice it - until it's too late.

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. ~Fr. Alfred D'Souza


That said, I have since decided to devote myself not to the "why we're heres" of life, but to the "while we're heres" of life. The list below details my "30 before 30" - the experiences I will endeavor to take full advantage of my life over the next two years. I want to fully engage in life: love, get hurt, forgive, laugh, experience new things, be scared, overcome challenges and push myself to be even more successful.


"Dum loquimur, fugerit invida

Aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero"




1. Complete a pole dancing series
2. Go Skydiving
3. Learn stand up paddle board
4. Try snowboarding
5. Complete 30 day Bikram Yoga Challenge
6. Hike the Bright Angel Trail (into and out of the Grand Canyon)
7. Run the NYC Marathon
8. Perfect a pasta sauce from scratch
9. Buy a plant and keep it alive
10. Take a wine tasting class
11. Go ice skating in Rockefeller Center
12. Take a dance class
13. Sunbathe in Central Park
14. Stay up all night to watch a meteor shower
15. Go to the opera - specifically, Carmina Burana
16. Go white water rafting
17. Attend an Eagles game
18. See the cherry blossoms in DC
19. Do something selfless for a stranger
20. Read "10 Greatest Books of all Time"
21. Learn to meditate
22. Go skinny dipping
23. Build something that will outlast me (with my own hands)
24. Buy myself a diamond ring
25. Join a choir in NYC
26. Attempt to trapeze
27. Apologize to the people I have hurt and forgive those who have hurt me
28. Get a pair of Louboutins
29. Go to the NYC ballet
30. Complete a personal training certification course