Hey, I'm 31.
It hasn't exactly been a great year when it comes to reaching my birthday goals. It's been a good year for progress in general...just not quite in the ways I had planned. Here's the breakdown.
As of Friday, September 9, 2016:
1 complete
2 modified
2 partially complete
5 incomplete
2 modified
2 partially complete
5 incomplete
1. Create and distribute a zine!
Remember zines? I've been digging the idea of mixed media lately, and as a child of the 80s/90s, this seems like something I should do.
INCOMPLETE.
I did the brainstorming. I did the research. I did the planning. I just didn't quite get to the execution of this project.
2. Non-paper Poetry Project (at least ten poems)
A month ago or so, I was sitting in a restaurant with a few friends, and a poem came to mind, so I scribbled it onto a napkin. The imperfection of it appealed to me...the unfinished nature of it, and how it captured both the poem and the setting in which I wrote it. So here's my idea: write at least 10 poems on anything but regular paper--napkins, cardboard, trash, cloth, etc. Then take a picture of it and at the end, put all the pictures together in a collection.
PARTIALLY COMPLETE!
Poems complete: 5
This was a fun project. I'll do a separate blog post with the results.
3. Reduce BMI (body mass index) from 23.2 to 19.7 (goal weight = 115…down 20 pounds from current weight of 135)
My current BMI is totally in the healthy range. So is my goal BMI. So why bother with this goal? My reasoning is this: I spend a lot more time on camera nowadays, and it really does add ten pounds. Also, most of the work out goals I've had are things like "complete this many things." And after I complete them, I stop working out. I think it will help me to have an end goal...to make my goal "results-based." PLUS, this goal combines both exercise and diet.
MODIFIED. I made decent progress on this one:
Oct 2: 23.1% BMI/135 lbs
Oct 10: 22.7% BMI/132.8 lbs
Oct 15: 22.5% BMI/131.2 lbs
Oct 31: 22% BMI/128 lbs
Nov 12: 21.7% BMI/126.8 lbs
Apr 12: 21.1% BMI/123 lbs
My FitBit was life-changing. And I learned that I CAN do things like diet and exercise and get a certain result. But at a certain point, the goal weight just became...less important to me. I'm still interested in living a healthier lifestyle, and the things I learned during this time were really valuable. My biggest lesson was that I CAN change my lifestyle. But I decided not to follow through all the way down to 115 lbs. Partly because I got mad about the fact that I felt like I HAD to in order to get jobs, and partly because I didn't want to have to buy new clothes.
4. Run a 10-minute mile, 3 separate times
I know I just talked about these kinds of goals, but look, this is sort of PART of the above goal. And I want to do it. I know a 10-minute mile seems absurdly slow. But I'm absurdly slow.
PARTIALLY COMPLETE.
The last recorded time I have is from Nov 12 - 14:57. And I really started to love running. (Between my FitBit and the Zombies Run 5K app, running became REALLY fun.) And I think I'd still like to reach this goal someday. I just didn't make it this year.
DONE! Month of October.
As of October 10th, I'm still going strong.
October 15th, half-way there! The cravings are still strong, but I'm still on the wagon.
November 1st: BOOM! MADE IT! (Now time to celebrate with some soda!)
6. Go on 5 new hikes
Every time I go hiking, I think to myself, "I've got to do this more often." And now that I live in a place where I'm surrounded by HUNDREDS of hiking opportunities, I'm going to hike more often.
PARTIALLY COMPLETE.
1. Living Room Trail, November 3 - Hella windy and steep. Amazing views, but too close to the city. I could still hear and see construction work going on. Oh well.
2. Thayne Canyon, August 21 - Lovely! Steep going, but gorgeous.
I've still got lots of time to keep exploring, and that's just what I'm going to do. (I MUST go to the Timpanogos Cave!)
7. Nude modeling
I never got to this goal for my 29th year, but I'm still interested in it. I want to be a model for a figure-drawing class.
INCOMPLETE.
One day. Someday.
8. Get paid to write at least one thing (published online, in a magazine, etc)
I have no idea how this is done. But I want to figure it out and do it.
INCOMPLETE.
I'll be honest...I didn't really try.
9. Complete temple work for 3 family names (baptisms, confirmations, initiatories, endowments, sealings)
Hooray for the spirit of Elijah!
INCOMPLETE.
I have no excuse.
10. Go stargazingI have no excuse.
I do this all the time, just in the sense that I look up every time I'm outside at night. But I want to actually go out to someplace with little light pollution with the express purpose of looking at the stars.
MODIFIED.
I didn't go star gazing. But I DID go up into the mountains to watch the lunar eclipse, and did some star-gazing while I was up there.
Notably, while I didn't reach a lot of the goals on my list, I DID do a lot of important, awesome things that WEREN'T on my list. I started grad school. I got a speaking role in a film for Lifetime, which made me SAG-Eligible. I played a romantic lead in a comedy at a major Utah theatre. I joined an improv troupe. I landed a speaking role in an HBO mini-series directed by Stephen Soderbergh. I watched the entire series of the X-Files, while personally making over a dozen cross-stitched gifts. I completed another year of NaNoWriMo, bringing my list of novel manuscripts up to three. I got a new job...two new jobs, actually. I made new friends and new connections. I redecorated our living room with a teeny tiny budget. I braved LASIK surgery (which is one of the best decisions I've ever made). I deepened my relationships with important people in my life.
Because it's been such an unexpected, unusual year, my instinct is to change the way I do these birthday goals. I didn't accomplish a lot of the goals on my list simply because I was busy pursuing others. But those other goals aren't as easy to track in the same, tidy ways...things like "make progress in my career" can sometimes depend on the decisions of other people, and those don't make good specific goals, although they make great general goals. I'm wondering, too, if maybe I should change how I number things. The "9 Things While 29" format was cute, but it's becoming a little impractical. Maybe I'll just do three things each birthday year.
I'm still debating. My new birthday goals are on hold until I make a decision.
I've also got some thoughts about growing older in general, but I think I'll save those for another entry as well. Here's to another year on earth. It was a crazy one, but I'm grateful for it.
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