30 Before I’m 30

These ’30 before I’m 30′ lists are quite cool to read when the person writing it is 20. Sure you can chuck a whole bunch of stuff you want to achieve in a decade, from bucketlist adventures and big backpacking trips to learning a new language or musical instrument. There’s just SO much time…

Well this week I turn 29.

So ya know, not that much time…

OH GOD, THIRTY… *Deep breath*

But I still wanted to come up with a list of goals I want to achieve in the next year nonetheless. Some of them are ambitious, some of them are easy to tick off, some of them are to do with my blog goals and some are about my personal life. But ok hands up, I didn’t list 30 things. I feel like I already take on too much in my life without adding to the pressure. So I’ve only listed 20 things I want to achieve, I feel like that’s enough to be getting on with.

On the flip side, I also thought I would write a retrospective list of things I’ve ALREADY ACHIEVED. Yes that’s more my kind of thing. Less stress about getting things done and more putting my feet up and patting myself on the back for a job well done.

So let’s start with that one first because it’s a lot more positive.

Things I’ve Already Achieved Before 30

I Got Myself A Fashion Degree.
I did the Uni thing and to be honest it was nothing like it is on TV. But still, I was the first person in my family to go to university and I’ve got a BA in Fashion Management under my belt. Go me.

I Backpacked South-East Asia.
And I did it at the right time in my life I think. I completely let go, I partied on the beach, I met cool new people, discovered new cultures and really learnt how to be a backpacker and stay in hostels.

I’ve lived abroad.
For a year during my Working Holiday in Australia. This was actually my first time living away from home and was such an important experience for me, learning to cook all of my meals and budget and pay rent. Again, it wasn’t the crazy party that you think it will be, but I’m still really glad I did it.

I’ve created a successful travel blog.
My little hobby grew to be a second income for me and I’m grateful every day that you actually give a shit enough to read this. Thanks for that by the way.

Something I’ve written has been published.
I’m super proud that I was featured in Blogosphere Magazine quite recently. I also did a few more freelancing gigs this year including writing for Trivago. My name is officially in print y’all.

I live with a boy.
I didn’t want to be all soppy and say I met my soulmate, or The One, or blah blah blah because that’s not really me and quite frankly I’m a realist. But I do think Josh is pretty neat and it’s cool that I’m in a long-term relationship. So there’s that.

But before that I lived alone.
I can’t tell you how nice it is to live alone and I’m glad I got to do it, even though it was only for a few months before Josh moved in. It’s liberating and amazing that everything is the way you like it and you can spend the whole day in your PJs with no judgement. I think everyone should live alone at some point in their lives.

And before that I lived with my best friends.
Yeah I’ve moved house A LOT. But for 2 years I rented a townhouse with my 2 fave gal pals. We were all single and had crazy parties and made bad decisions and even tried on wedding dresses on Valentine’s Day for bants. It was awesome and again something I think everyone should do before they settle down.

I ticked Glastonbury off the Bucketlist.
I’ve actually managed to go to quite a few festivals in my teens and twenties but Glastonbury was the big one on the bucketlist. And it totally lived up to the hype.

I’ve worked my way up in my Retail Career.
I’ve had a bit of a rocky career in my twenties, as I think most people do, just trying to figure out what I want. But in the struggle between Fashion Buying, Marketing, Wholesale and Sales, I’ve managed to work my way up to a pretty cushty job at a Sports Fashion retailer. And I actually like it.

I spent a Summer travelling the USA.
When I was at uni I was considering doing something like Camp America until I thought, hey, let’s take the hard work out of that and just travel across America for 6 weeks instead. It was my first backpacking trip and I visited so many awesome places including Las Vegas, LA, San Francisco, Grand Canyon, Washington DC, Niagara Falls, Boston and New York. Fucking epic.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m not an Adrenaline Junkie.
Ya know how people put skydives and bungee jumping and all that shit on their pre-30 bucketlist? I’ve pretty much just decided that it’s not for me. And I’m ok with that.

I created a life for myself in a new city.
On a whim I moved to a city I had one friend in, got myself the ultimate squad, moved my parents up from Kent, moved my career up from London, met Josh and found us the dream house in a dreamy village with the most Christmas lights ever. There’s something liberating in knowing you can completely change your life whenever you want.

I’m completely secure in who I am.
I think this is the most important one. I feel like I’m unashamedly who I am these days, warts and all (but no actual warts just for the record. That’s how rumours start). I embrace my flaws, I don’t do something I don’t want to do, I don’t people-please, and I try not to take it personally anymore if someone doesn’t like me. I’m not for everyone. I’m even getting ok with YouTube trolls. Quite frankly, they can suck my dick because I’m deleting their comments. See ya, pal.

30 20 Before I’m 30 List

Ok this one is a lil more difficult. But hey I’m up for a challenge…

1) Take another solo travel trip.
I’ve realised that a solo trip every now and then is good for the soul and intend on taking another before I’m 30.

2) I want to go on a spa day please.
Because I’m a princess that deserves some pampering, aight?

3) Stay in a treehouse.
This has been on my list for a while and I feel like 2017 is the year to do it. Before I truly become a grown-up…

4) Visit Central or South America.
This is the one I have no idea how or when I’m going to achieve it, but I always said I would backpack Central or South America before I turned 30. Now I’m saying I just need to dip my toe in Latin America. Because ya know, I haven’t got long…

5) Go on a Digital Detox.
Because my life is getting a bit too ruled by social media these days. And it would be nice to see somewhere new without automatically getting a phone snap for Insta, several DSLR photos for a blog post and taking footage on my GoPro for a video. I think it’ll do me good.

6) Spend more time with my grandparents.
I live about an hour and a half away from my Nan and Gramps and I haven’t been great at visiting them in 2016. I’m going to do better in 2017.

7) Write… something.
I’m not necessarily saying I want to pursue freelance writing or become a famous author or anything. But I want to write an e-book or an e-product of some kind before I’m 30. I have a few ideas. Watch this space.

8) Create… something.
Similarly I want to extend my brand to merchandise of some sort this year. Again I don’t want to give too much away, but this is a high priority for me. Hashtag girl boss.

9) Finish the Game of Thrones books.
On a less ambitious note, I want to finish all of the GOT books. Because they’re massive and it’s taken me the best part of 6 months to read 1.5 of them.

10) Go on a Food Tour.
Because there’s nothing I love more than experiencing a new city or country via the medium of their culinary delights.

11) Start taking care of my skin.
Because I’m getting older, y’all… Only this year I made the switch from make-up wipes to micellar water. But I’m still pretty slack at taking make-up off before bed or moisturising or exfoliating… Maybe nows the time to stop being a skank?

12) Re-vamp my blog design.
It’s a big job and I keep putting it off. But I’m going to try to give it a makeover REAL soon.

13) Take more photos at home.
I’m always taking photos on my travels but I seem to have stopped taking them at home! I want to get better at it this year. More pics of my fam and besties at home please.

14) Produce more video content.
I’ve been better this year at taking video footage and putting travel videos on my YouTube channel. But now it’s time for the next level – more frequent videos, some more product reviews and blogs. Let’s do this.

15) Collect Christmas decorations on my travels.
I’ve been saying I would do this forever. I think it’s such an awesome souvenir idea and could lead to such a pretty Christmas tree that tells a story of my travels. I’m officially starting this.

16) Get back to baking.
I’ve officially done ZERO baking in the last year. That’s not ok. By the time I’m 30 I want to have a signature bake I whip out for all occasions. Is that a weird goal to have?

17) Learn a ‘bit’ of coding.
I’m not going to be an expert web developer in the next year or anything but I’d like to be able to do a bit more DIY stuff on my blog. I’ve signed up to the Code Academy, let’s go.

18) See something at the theatre.
I haven’t been in years and there’s still so many shows I want to see. Definitely need to get another one in during my twenties.

19) Explore more of my own country.
I don’t think it’s right that I’ve seen a large slice of Southeast Asia but have never been to Cornwall or Manchester. I need to rectify that right away.

20) Visit 30 countries before I’m 30.
This is my main goal and I’m currently at 25. Not that I’m that big on counting countries, I just think it will be a cool little challenge that will encourage me to venture to new countries in 2017. Any recommendations??

What do you think of the goals I want to achieve before I’m 30? Achievable or pretty ambitious? Is there anything you have on your bucketlist to achieve by a certain age?

Let me know in the comments below or tweet me @HeelsInBackpack!