Quarter-Life Bucket List

30 things I want to do before I turn 30!

I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I got the idea of completing 30 things before turning 30 from a former Bachelor, Joey Graziadei. But I believe in owning your inspiration. Joey posted on Instagram back in late May about his intentions to make a bucket list of things he’d like to do before turning 30.

After deciding to ignore the random capitalization of family and friends in his caption, I concluded that Joey may be onto something. Now, I wouldn’t say that Joey’s list gave me many ideas as I’m not a golf, tennis, or wine girl, but the concept resonated. (I also want to note here that Joey did not create the concept of bucket lists, though considering he thought a photo of Ruth Bader Ginsburg was Gypsy Rose Blanchard we can’t be sure he doesn’t think he did.)

During our 6 hour layover in JFK on our way to Switzerland, Ryan and I put together our lists. I will note that Joey gave himself just a year to complete the 30 items. I am giving myself from now until my 30th birthday which is more like 15 months. Ryan, who is an infant, has basically two full years.

Here are some things I considered when creating my list:

1. What are things I’m already doing in the next 15 months? (loophole, I know)

2. What are things I would like to do before my body starts to waste away in my 30’s? (jokes, jokes)

3. How can I make my list vastly more interesting than Joey’s list? (this wasn’t difficult)

So, without further ado, I present to you my list of 30 things I’d like to do before turning 30:

*drum roll*

1. Run a half marathon (see ya in September for the DC half!)

2. Get a new tattoo (perks of your bff being a phenomenal tattoo artist)

3. Travel to Guatemala and hike a volcano (thanks Clay & Grecia for having your wedding in Guatemala)

4. Take tennis lessons (OK SO I’M A LITTLE LIKE JOEY OK???!!!)

5. Climb in Yosemite like Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold (Ryan wrote this one for me…)

6. Visit Humboldt, CA & surrounding forests

7. Go on a backpacking trip

8. Go to a new national park 

9. Dye my hair blonde-ish 

10. Do a color analysis

11. Go on one of these women’s climbing trips 

12. Go on a Kara Duval retreat (alternatively a LYT retreat)

13. See Fitz swim (or try to swim)

14. See a broadway show in NYC

15. Bike the Arlington loop (this was a gimme)

16. Do Old Rag (a classic VA hike) with Ryan (ok we did this on Sunday but I’m keeping this here!)

17. Host a powerpoint party 

18. Check fertility 

19. Plan outdoorsy 30th birthday weekend (cabin thing?)

20. Have a dermatologist check my moles

21. Climb the East Buttress on Mt. Whitney

22. Visit Asheville, NC

23. Read at least ten books from this list

24. Spend a weekend in Woodstock, VT

25. Backpack (or hike individually) Virginia’s Triple Crown (McAfee Knob, Tinker Cliffs, and Dragon’s Tooth)

26. Go white water rafting

27. Spend a weekend outdoor climbing in West Virginia

28. Run an easy trail race

29. Climb a multi-pitch climbing route

30. Visit Hood River, OR

It was surprisingly easy to come up with 30 things I wanted to do and 15 months feels like a reasonable amount of time to get most of these down. I will reiterate that some of these items are already planned, but I truly do want to do them!

I’m really excited to have this list and revisit it every now and then. Ryan’s list is similar with a bit more focus on trail running. I love that we enjoy doing the same things and can explore the outdoors together!

Maybe I’ll do a recap of this list on my actual birthday in September and we can see how many I’ve checked off in 2.5 months! We love a good checklist.