30 before 30

I turned 25 in August and, whilst I realise I'm still a young'un, my birthday did feel like a bit of a milestone. Halfway to fifty. Five years until I'm 30. Where is life going?! I feel so silly saying that - does anyone else feel the same?! It sounds so cliche but as I get older I'm finally realising that the saying "life goes too fast" is infact true!!

One of my worst traits is that I'm so impatient. I've found that in my mid-twenties I'm surrounded a load of people who are so sorted a in their relationships, their jobs, their housing situations etc... but then on the other hand I'm also surrounded by a load of people who are so UNsorted - Living each day as it comes, living for the present with no real plan. I see myself somewhere between the two, which can sometimes be can be difficult. I'm sorted in the sense that I have a respectable career and I've found a man who makes me happier than I've ever been... but there's so much I still want to do. 

I'm slowly but surely learning that actually, life is better when you're patient and I must stop comparing myself to others. It's not the end of the world if I'm not on track to have a baby at 29... It's not the end of the world if it takes us another year to buy a house. I am thankful that I have a job which reminds me so often of how precious life is and there are so many things I can be thankful for.

But it is nice to plan ahead and have some goals... Realistic ones that is. So I've decided to compile a list. Because who doesn't love a list?! I've thought long and hard about 30 things (30 realistic things) I'd like to do before I reach that big old three oh...


 
1. Buy a house!!

2. Keep running regularly.

3. Finally pay off the rest of my student debt.
4. See the Northern Lights.
5. Save a decent(!) amount of money.
6.  Cook Christmas dinner for the family.
7. Visit New York again.
8. Get a dog.
9. Treat my mum & sister to a spa weekend.
10. Finish the scarf I started knitting.
11. Cycle from London to Paris.
12. Take up yoga.
13. Get a car (I haven't driven in 6 years so this is a bit scary!).
14. Learn to ski.
15. Make more time for friends who live far away.
16. Take a ride in a hot air balloon.
17. Give blood.
18. Take a spontaneous trip somewhere (I am so organised usually and plan way in advance... I need to get better at being spontaneous!).
19. Plant a vegetable garden and eat the produce.
20. Attend a live England football match.
21. Spend more time with my brother because he's so awesome and I miss him these days.
22. Enjoy an 'exotic' beach holiday - somewhere out of Europe.
23. Purchase a sewing machine and learn to sew properly.
24. Worry less.
25. Go to Disneyland (I've still never been!!!)
26. Visit my sister more often.
27. Read at least one book a month.
28. Have a photo shoot.
29. Lose a stone.
30. Find 3 things each day to be happy about!



So there it is. My list of things that hopefully I can gradually tick off, so that in just under five years time I can look back and think "yeah, I really embraced my twenties".


Let me know if you have any personal goals - I'd love to hear them and be even more inspired!

Lydia xxx