NaBloPoMo 2015: Day 1 "30 Before 30"

Na(tional)Blo(g)Po(sting)Mo(nth), we meet yet again!

Another year, another go at writing one blog post per day for the month of November! I may not have quite crossed the finish line last year, but never fear! I shan't let that prevent me from trying again (...and again and again...).

This year, my content is pre-determined. Sometime around May (I think? June?...March?...), I decided to do a "30 Before 30" challenge: 30 things I wanted to accomplish before my 30th birthday, which was 1 week ago on October 25th. Age is just a number, I know, but 30 still sounded somewhat intimidating. Having a challenge actually made it feel...Fun. I looked through a lot of other people's lists, and quickly realized that most of the "typical" list items I'd either already done (skydive, have a dinner party, fall in love, etc) or there was no way I would be able to do before October (see the Taj Mahal, for example) So I came up with the following list, focusing more on self-improvement and smaller, missed experiences:

✔️1. Learn to make a mixed drink/cocktail

✔️2. Do my hair every day for a week

✔️3. Climb the highest mountain in South Korea

✔️4. Run a half-marathon or 5K

✔️5. Write 30 handwritten letters

✔️6. Be able to do a full split

✔️7. Drink more water

✔️8. Take a pottery class

✔️9. Learn how to take quality pictures

✔️10. Play hooky from work

✔️11. Give yoga/meditation a real shot

✔️12. Improve my posture

✔️13. Learn how to tastefully apply makeup (professional quality)

14. Watch 30 classic films

✔️15. Read 30 books

16. Fix violin strings and start practicing again

✔️17. Finish a coursera online course

✔️18. Do tequila shots

✔️19. Reach my fuel goal of 3,000 nike fuel points every day for a week

✔️20. Try a new food

✔️21. Watch the Terminator movies

22. Paint a picture 

✔️23. Memorize the cyrillic alphabet

✔️24. Do 30 days of happy on instagram

✔️25. Go to a legit wine tasting

✔️26.  Start a website/blog for my new business

✔️27. Unplug for a full weekend

✔️28. Up my Korean language study game

✔️29. Set a morning routine

✔️30. Call my grandma regularly

I finished all but three, and had a blast doing it! The list is in no particular order, by the by, and I'm planning to write one blog post about every item on the list - even the 3 as-yet undone items (in bold). And thus is the NaBloPoMo plan unveiled.

For today? #4 "Run a half-marathon or 5k." Possibly the first thing I accomplished on my list! 6 months ago, my friend Sujeong and I ran a 5K together. It was rather empowering to realize that even with zero training (not recommended, of course) I could run a flat 5K without breaks. 

It made both of us want to race again, but then MERS panic took over Korea, and everything got canceled! Womp womp. The race urge has passed, now, but I'm glad I did it. If/when I get back to a house with a lovely neighborhood or nearby park to run in, I might pick it up again. 

Post-race with our fancy medals: barely broke a sweat! ;)

If you're reading this in your email inbox, click to follow the link through to my actual blog site, pretty please! That way I'll know you checked in on me. Thanks for reading!

Thirtily,

Anna

p.s. For the first time, I've "signed up" for NaBloPoMo on THIS website. If you're also doing NaBloPoMo, or NaNoWriMo, let me know! I'd love to follow along!