What's left of this one: my thirty before thirty.

The big 3-0. Dirty thirty. Twenty nine again. 

October 4th. It's coming, whether I like it or not {For the record, I like it}, and with a thirtieth birthday, comes a blog about said thirtieth birthday. And with that blog comes the cliche, must-have list of things I want to accomplish before the big day. 

I was doing some "research" online, and reading the blogs and lists of other brave thirty-somethings that have gone before me, I noticed that their lists were all very similar. They almost seemed panicked. 29 years, and a lot of chances that hadn't been taken. Opportunities missed. So much to do and see and experience before thirty. So much to check off of a list. And truthfully, I don't feel that. I guess I never realized how much life I have packed into the last decade, until I read about all the things that others hadn't.

I have moved to cities where nobody knew my name. I have partied in Vegas. 

I have been terrified and taken the chance anyway. I have grown my own garden, gotten tattoos, lived alone, kissed a stranger, climbed a mountain, and chased my dream. 

And then I chased a different dream. 

I've lived on another continent, gotten in mud fights and I've opened my heart. I've been hurt when expectations and reality go their separate ways. I've confronted my doubts, and been surprised by hope. I've been content and restless {sometimes at the same time} 

and I have been brave. 

My twenties have been confusing, chaotic, and chock full of semi-questionable decisions, they have also been free, and wonderful, and littered with decisions that have led me to right here and now, and that's pretty cool.

But as amazingtown as my twenties have been, there are a few things I wanna do before I blow out those thirty candles... 

And here they are:

1. Learn how to cook the perfect over easy egg.  

Why do they intimidate me so much? And why are they soo greasy? /// Update: Nailed it. Oil and flip free. I just did what this lady said, and they were perf!

2. Get rid of #alltheclothes!! 

I'll be doing a modified version of project 333, and I'll make sure to blog about it...it's going to get real. 

3. Go wine tasting.

I know, right?! How have I never done this? I shall pound grape...in the classiest way possible, of course. 

4. Take my body back.

I have been using life and grad school as an excuse to be lazy and stagnant, and I don't like how I feel. No more. Less Doritos, more broccoli. Less beer, more water. 

5. Re-do my bedroom.

It's bad, you guys. It's cluttered, the walls are blank, and my mattress is on the floor, like some kind of 19 year old frat boy. Get it together, Medina!

6. Spend an entire week without social media.

I've gotten pretty bad. I know I will thank myself for this one...and you probably will too! ;) 

7. Run a 5k.

And by "run a 5k," I mean, without wanting to die. This pairs with number four. I will get my booty up and moving again! 

8. Write {at least} ten nice notes, and send them to random addresses/leave on random windshields.

Because I just think about how I would feel if I got one! So fun. 

9. Make a time capsule to open on my fortieth birthday.

I can only imagine what would have been in a time capsule I made when I was twenty! Yikes, lol 

10. Go skydiving. 

This one seems like a given. Again, how has this never happened? 

11. Go to a nude beach...and join in.

Because, they're doing life right. 

12. Figure out what the heck I’m going to do for my 30^th birthday.

Vegas, Disneyland, a night out on the town, all of the above?! Who's with me?

13. Make it a habit again to floss…every day.

I am the worst!

14. Give blood.

I've usually been inked too recently to give, but right now would be a perfect time to save some lives. 

15. Get my dream job!

I added this one, because I thought it would be fun to cross off. OMG, you guys...I'm a real life teacher!!!

16. Have a classic Disney movie all-nighter. 

Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, Little Mermaid…the works. And booze, duh.

17. See the Avett brothers preform live.

I have tickets!!! I'm freaking out!!! If they play The Ballad of Love and Hate, I can die happy.

18. Restart my succulent garden 

After I let my last beautiful collection perish in the great Portland Snowmageddon of 2014. RIP *pours one out with kombucha*

19. Change my own oil.

I'll just YouTube it. 

20. Get my fortune read

(Just for lolz.)

21. Learn to drive stick shift

Because you never know, and I feel like it's one of those things you should just know.

22. Learn to love myself more deeply.

This is so huge. It's something that I have been learning as a twenty-something, and something I will keep learning. How to be gentle to myself. How to say no. How to say yes. How to be okay with me. All of me. I already, at thirty, feel so much more in tune with myself, my strength and my womanhood. Here's to a decade of deeper self love. <3

23. Go salsa dancing.

Portland has to have some sweaty, underground salsa club that is just waiting for this girl!

24. Start saving money.

And while I'm at it, make a budget. And stick to it. Ugh, boring. 

25. Re-watch Lost.

4-8-15-16-23-42. That show changed my life! And because, Sawyer. 

26. Start blogging at least twice a month.

Even if no one ever reads it, I love how good it feels to just say it. 

27. Make my own pickles!

I like pickles. 

28. Make a five-year dream board.

Because It's cheesy, and I'm cheesy. And also because while it's not great to obsess about the unknown future, hot husbands, cute babies, and redecorating houses, and while I'm not in any kind of race to get there...those things are desires of my heart, and it's fun to think about sometimes.

29. The Giants win the NL west and make the Postseason.

This one is slightly out of my hands, but seeing as the postseason starts the week of my birthday, it only makes sense. #BEATLA {And then they'll win the World Series in a sweep!}

30. Not give a shit about turning thirty.

I stole this one! Thirty is a big one. There's a reason we write blogs about it, and go skydiving because of it, but it's nothing to be scared of. I'm not behind or ahead. I just am. Right here is perfect. Happy birthday to me!

So there you have it. My thirty before thirty. 

If you're still reading, I love you, and you should join me!!

I'm so ready to pop champagne and step into a decade of new possibility, but until then, I'm going to celebrate what's left of this one. 

Cheers!!

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