It's My Birthday!

Today is my 25th birthday, and although I love birthdays, I'm freaking out a little bit! I'm halfway through my twenties; I've lived through a fourth of a century! I think I'm having a quarter-life crisis. I've seen and done some pretty awesome things in my 25 years, but I feel like there are a million more things I want to do before I get too old! So for my birthday this year, I am going to make a "30 before 30" list. Not that 30 is old, of course (oh em gee, 30 is so old); I just don't think I can come up with enough ideas to make a "40 before 40" list (and I don't want to think about ever turning 40). So here goes: thirty things I want to accomplish before I turn thirty - in no particular order.

Rachel's 30 Before 30 List!

(Click the dates to read about my accomplishments!)

1. Ride in a hot air balloon  5/29/11
2. Go to the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando
3. Stay at a community house
4. Meet someone famous 11/19/10
5. Ride a two-wheeled motorized vehicle by myself
6. Go back to Europe
7. Go back to school (hopefully seminary)
8. Claim a passion/purpose
9. Learn enough about theology to know what I believe
10. Permanently banish my fear of heights by going skydiving
11. Work in an orphanage
12. Be a foster mom
13. Read the whole Bible
14. Write a book, or at least start one
15. Get 50 followers on my blog
16. Have a whole conversation in a different language
17. Lead someone to Christ
18. Laugh so hard I cry (I needed at least one easy one) 11/04/10
19. Climb a mountain
20. Go cow-tipping
21. Go geocaching in NYC
22. Learn to discuss controversial issues without wanting to throw up
23. Preach a sermon
24. Be "slain in the Spirit" (I really want to know what that feels like!)
25. Live somewhere besides Alabama
26. Be in a play/musical
27. Save someone's life
28. Travel solo and enjoy it
29. See the Northern Lights
30. Edit: It was pointed out to me that I forgot #30. I really have no excuse for this, except that I must be getting old. I have decided to leave it blank, because there's bound to be something amazing happen in the next five years that I haven't thought of yet.

Obviously, there are some serious things and some lighthearted things on my list. Some huge life events, like get married and have a child, are not things that I want to consider a "goal" with a time constraint, so I didn't include them. Way too much pressure! The basic goals of life- make friends, grow closer to God, have a healthier lifestyle, etc. - are things that I will never stop working toward so they're not on there either. Many items on the list are connected to personal growth goals- #22 has to do with my self-esteem and #28 with independence, for example. Some relate to my spiritual life (#9, #17, #23), and others are just for fun! 

As I fulfill items on the list, I'll tell about it here on my blog. Thank goodness I have five whole years to work on it; it's a long list! I think this is going to be fun. Maybe being 25 isn't so bad after all!