30 at 30: a bucket list for my thirtieth year on Earth.

My 20’s are officially over, and I’m okay with that.  It was a wonderful decade filled with more milestones and memories than I ever could have imagined – and I’m grateful.  But I can honestly say that other than the fact that I’m really not so fond of even numbers, turning 30 doesn’t bother me one bit.  Thirty is not the new 20.  I’m a smarter, kinder, faster, stronger, more adaptable, confident human than I was at 20 – and for that I’m also grateful.  Also, 30 doesn’t mean the shenanigans are over.  Much to the contrary.  It means you can finally afford even cooler shenanigans.

I decided to make a bucket list for my 30th trip round the sun.  I’ve seen a number of friends do “30 before 30” lists, but I wanted to do things  a bit differently.  I don’t see 30 as a deadline, but as the beginning of a wonderful decade of opportunity.  This list is in no particular order – in fact I intentionally added these items out of order.  This list is quite diverse, ranging from things I could up and do tonight to things I’ll have to chip away at or train for.  It includes things I want to eat, things I want to learn, fitness goals I want to crush, places I want to go  and places and events I’ve always wanted to check out right here in D.C.  The only rule was that it has to be things I want to do rather than things I want to stop doing.  Although I have those too (stop eating Tums like they’re candy just because they taste like candy, stop letting FOMO get the best of me, stop using negative words in the same sentence as my body under any circumstance ever), the focus here is 100% on the positives.  So here goes, it’s going to be a damn good year!

1. Start a supper club
2. Get another stamp on my passport
3. Complete a triathlon
4. Take a Knowledge Commons class
5. Try the November Project
6. Take a class at CHAW
7. Visit a state I’ve never been to
8. Take a cooking class at Culinarie
9. Improve my Spanish
10. Attend a community meeting
11. Complete my Master’s degree
12. Volunteer for a Cooking Matters course
13. Visit the Anacostia Community Museum
14. Hire a house cleaner
15. Go to a professional football game
16. Check out Vintage Game Night at the Wilson House
17. Eat Korean food in Annandale
18. Go to History & Hops at the Heurich House
19. Read/reread these classics
20. Pickle veggies
21. Take a CrossFit class
22. Get certified in CPR/first aid
23. Complete an upcycling project
24. Learn to change a bike tire
25. Make bibimbap
26. Visit the Newseum
27. Take an Orange Theory class
28. Keep a plant alive
29. Go to an event at Politics and Prose
30. Take a Conflict Kitchen virtual cooking lesson

Johanna