Next Thing On My List: HALES

20, when did that happen?

This summer I decided that there are somethings that I just need to do.
Some are a right of passage, others silly,
and still others I might never do if I keep putting them off.

20 Things to Do Before I am 20

1. Get Baptized
This was something I had wanted to do for a while and finally decided that there was not time like the present.

2. Go on a blind date
Going on a blind date was crazy!  The butterflies in my stomach before hand were unreal and we had a blast swing dancing the night away at Social Dance Studio followed by tea at Hard Times Cafe.  All in all a night I will never forget.  (& although he was really nice, it was not meant to be.)

3. Go to a concert

Jukebox the Ghost!!!
I spent a week learning the songs then our Broom Ball team went and jammed out!

 

4. Have a tea party with Becks
Becks is one of my best friends in the world and I couldn't imagine life with out her.

5. Stay up to watch the sunrise
We sure did stay up all night and although we did not see the sun actually rise we did go ice fishing that morning.

6. Become One with Nature

7. Road trip with Friends
Turned into a weekend in Duluth at a friends cabin.

 

8. Try out for something
I tried our for Fiddler on the Roof and although I did not make it... or even get a call back it was good to get out there.

9. Pay it Forward (Drive Through Difference)

10. Become a Princess
ELSA!! (For Halloween)

11. Learn how to drive a stick shift
Thanks to Josh Ochoa I can now drive a stick shift very poorly!

12. Go up the down escalator
If you want to see me act like a fool then click the link below.
Me Going Up the Down Escalator

13. Participate in the Swap A Letter, Swap A Parcel, Find A Friend: The Perfect Strangers Project
My perfect strangers, Jean lives in South Africa.  Unfortunately I found out that the South African Postal Service is on strike so I am currently waiting for them to go off strike before sending anything to her.  

14. Carve my name into a tree
This was something random that I had always wanted to do.
My Tree by Chris Rice

15. Try Something New
I had never played Broom Ball before J-term and fell in love with the sport.  Falling was a common happening for me while playing Broom Ball, I fell time and time again. We Won our last game!!!

16. Simplify My Life

As seen in a previous post I simplified my life by taking part in the 250 Things Challenge.

17-20...

So, no I did not finish the list.  There were a couple things that I did not get around to or meant to do but could not finish.  That does not mean that I have given up! I am currently learning to ride the unicycle, have plans for a Flash Mob in the near future and will get around to calling Bob Goff at one point or another. 

A little over 6 months ago I came up with a list of things to work towards.  I have never felt so driven and it makes me happy to know that I accomplished so much.  This list has taught me that it is important to work towards something but it is also important to go off script.  

For now I keeping looking at the

Next thing on my list...

250 things challenge

This summer, armed with blue painters tape and 250 numbered note cards I began the process of ridding myself of the excess.  I had just finished diving into the world of minimalism and was reading Dave Bruno's book The 100 Things Challenge.  Although I knew that only 100 things would not be a realistic goal for me, I found Joshua Fields blog post Everything I Own: My 288 Things to be a little more realistic.  I love how Fields emphasized that the number of things is not important or the idea of "counting your stuff" but the idea of having less and appreciating the stuff you have.

As I walked around my room I found myself trying to pick my top 10, the top 10 things I could not live without.  And strangely it was very difficult to decipher what those 10 things would be, let alone my 250 things2.  After looking at all my material possessions for a good while I started putting numbers to objects.

1. My Grandmother old sewing box

2. A vintage camera

3. My favorite sweatshirt

And it went on from there.  Every item was counted. Every item.  There were a couple of exception to the 250 things, for example I counted all of my books as one item and all of my socks as one item.  Also although I pared down on the amount of memorabilia from my childhood I still have a box of stuff of "childhood memories" sitting in my parents basement.  Aside from that every article of clothing, every trinket, every thing.

 I must have gotten rid of over 75% of my stuff from random antique vases to shirts I had not worn in years to stuffed animals I just could not let go of. 

I want to emphasize that I do not hate things, I think that they are an important part of our lives.  It is when they become the focal point in our lives or more important that we fall short and should take time to reevaluate.   

I challenge you to pick 10 things that you do not need, 10 things that you can live with out.  Put them into a box and donate them to Trinkets and Togs (In Waverly, IA) or check out Apartment Therapy's List of 25 Places to Donate Your Stuff.  

Less is Better - HALES