The Thirtieth Year

As 2007 approaches, so does my thirtieth birthday. This is quite a milestone for me. I’ve always felt like a “tween” of the adult world. I’m no longer in college, no longer able to get away with the excuse of youth. At the same time, I don’t feel quite grown up. Where do I fit? Thirty seems to be the light at the end of the tunnel. When I reach that new step, I want everything in order. At the moment, every aspect of my life is in disaray: my apartment, my diet, my finances, things I need to do at work, and even my emotional state.

I’m not at the point in my life where I thought I’d be at this age. I forget to floss. I have clothes all over my floor. I eat more convenience foods than I care to admit. I watch too much television. I don’t have much in my savings. I haven’t read a book in about six months.

I want to be prepared for life’s surprises. I’m not prepared for events such as job loss, pregnancy, etc. I take awful care of myself, how would I even manage to care for a child? I don’t want to turn into some boring old worrywort of a grownup, but I want to find a healthy balance.

So, here at this journal, I’m going to keep a list of ideas/goals/progress. At the moment, the target date is for my official thirtieth birthday, 3 May. I think five months is sufficient time to at least get on the right track.

While I could fill an entire encyclopedia full of things I need to do, I want to keep the goals here focused on just a few specific aspects.

GOALS FOR THE THIRTIETH YEAR:

1. APARTMENT: For inspiration, I’ve bought a book called Apartment Therapy: The Eight Step Home Cure. I spent most of the day reading online about it and people following its principles here.
   
2. HEALTH: My first goal is to cut out High Fructose Corn Syrup. I would also like to incorporate more whole foods into my diet, which will involve making an effort to cook. I want to also strive to go to the gym at least three times a week.
   
3. PERSONAL ENRICHMENT: I want my life to be more than television and the internet. Goals will include reading more books, taking a German class, learning to cook new things could also fall under this category. I want to find a medium to express my creativity, either through writing, taking an art class, or through another medium. Additionally, I would like to strengthen my personal relationships with people.
   
4. ENVIRONMENT: I want to make a huge effort to become more environmentally conscious as a new grown-up.
   
5. CAREER: The first thing I need to do is finish my Wiki project. After that I need to at least have a rough draft of my career path. Where am I headed? I’m a grown-up now, I need direction!