30 Things For 30 Years
Three months ago, I set up a challenge for myself. I wanted to run through a list of 30 tasks before I turned 30 years old.
You helped me build my list of tasks! You started your own lists. It feels like we’re all out in the world trying to do good, be better and share cupcakes.
Except. Well. Um…
I haven’t given you an update on my 30 Things list because well… I’ve already gone and turned 30… and I’m no where near done with my list.
So! The 30 Things Before 30 Years has become 30 Things For 30 Years.
It’s a work in progress. I’m a work in progress. So far, it all feels pretty good.
Here’s the list that’s going to keep me busy this summer.
Let’s be better to ourselves, for ourselves, to each other, for each other. Let’s just do that, and be that, and make a list about that… now!
30 Things For 30 years:
Eat 1 giant birthday hot dog with sauerkraut, spicy mustard, and beer.
It was a pretzel. There was coffee. It was awesome.
Send flowers to 2 friends.
Workin’.
Buy 3 strangers their morning coffee.
1 down, 2 to go.
Take 4 new people to church on Sunday.
2 down, 2 to go.
Make 5 new friends.
Done! But these people might not know we’re friends yet. We’re friends. This summer I’ll prove it!
Mail 6 hand-written letters.
Inspired by the PenPal Project… so far I’ve written 78 letters. No joke.
Compliment 7 strangers.
I love this. Mostly because it’s awesome to tell people that they look pretty.
Leave 8 lucky quarters on the ground.
Done. Easy.
Send 9 of my favorite books to 9 of my favorite people.
Workin’.
Smile at 10 strangers.
I try to do this everyday. It really does feel awesome.
Go in for 11 high-fives.
Workin’. Awkward every time.
Give away 12 fresh cupcakes.
Send 13 postcards to 13 blog readers.
Done!
Tip my waitress $14 above average.
Done!
Leave 15 nice comments on 15 other blogs.
Gotcha!
Make (at least) 16 coffee ice cream cream puffs.
Workin’.
Enjoy 17 beach sunsets.
Workin’.
Give (at least) $18 to my favorite charity.
Workin’.
Pick 19 super ripe figs.
Can. Not. Wait.
Ride my bike at least 20 miles.
Whitney! It’s me and you!
Give 21 bits of advice to a new 21 year old.
Make 22 beers. Yea… make beer.
Andrea! We’re doing this!
Stay up for 23 hours… just for kicks… and bourbon.
Who wants to play sleep-over!?
Take and develop 24 pictures… with film.
Workin’.
Take a 25 year old out to lunch.
I need a 25 year old LA friend… who is hungry.
Take 26 yoga classes.
Workin’. I own you downdog. (not really).
Clean my closet and give away 27 things.
Let’s be real… it could have been way more than 27 things.
Learn 28 new words.
Workin’.
Write down the beauty of the day for 29 days.
Workin’.
Tell 30 people why I am grateful they’re in my life.
All the time. Super important.
181 Comments Add A Comment
amazing list. i really really love it and you are a total inspiration. i’m workin’ on my twenty-one list. ps your advice is the best.
I’m 25, and I live in L.A. ! I’m also verrryy hungry. :)
This is a fun and worthwhile list
I love your handwriting. I wish mine was as pretty as yours. Is that weird?
If it is, then I am a weirdo, too.
That’s awesome. I should work on my list too.
Love this! I’m inspired by the kindness in all 30 of your goals. Your spunk is great!
I love your list! I need to check in on my list to see what I’m forgetting to do.
I think your list is great and that you are still working on it. My list makes up of places to see. A few passport stamps done!
I’m almost 25 and I can come to LA for lunch :)
I signed up for Merriam-Websters word of the day emails:
shaggy-dog\shag-ee-DAWG\
adjective
:
of, relating to, or being a long-drawn-out circumstantial story concerning an inconsequential happening that impresses the teller as humorous or interesting but the hearer as boring and pointless; also : of, relating to, or being a similar humorous story whose humor lies in the pointlessness or irrelevance of the punch line
Just found you. Love you. And I don’t love much.
XO
Hmmm… I am almost 30. I think I need a list. I forgot I was almost 30. I thought I was 27, then I realized I wasn’t 27. I freaked out. I need a list!
Love your list and should make one of my own. I love the handwritten notes- my goal is to write two this week. :)
I love this list – please post about those coffee ice cream puffs!!
I love the 8 quarters.. .You know you’re going to brighten someone’s day who finds each one, probably a little kid and it cost you almost nothing!
Love the list! Inspired me to do my own. Except then I realized I’m about to be 40….
Awesome list! Can we still send you an address…or two? :)
sure!
what kinda bike do you have?
a single speed bianchi.
I love-love-love that your list is mostly all about the little things that you can do for others.
Great list!
I am 25 and I live in LA! although I will be turning 26 in about a month so only a few weeks to get that lunch in :)
I don’t know if it was just a coincidence but it is a Jewish tradition to give donations and gifts in $18 denomonations ($18, $36, $72, etc). The Hebrew word for “life” is “chai” (the “ch” is said at the back of the throat) and the numerical value of the Hebrew letters for chai is 18. Cool beans.
Dude, beer. I CANNOT WAIT.
it’s going to be the best part of my week!! on the real.
I’m right about to turn 25 and would happily alert you to the next time I’m in LA…probably the next month or 2 :)
Selfless volunteerism, of course.
I can be your 25 year old friend! I live in LA and I’m usually hungry :)
Oh my gosh – I’m 25! And I live in LA! And I’m ALWAYS hungry! (Well, tomorrow’s my 26th birthday so maybe it won’t count for your list…but if we go by the Hebrew calendar, I’m not turning 26 for another couple weeks.) So if you need a 25 year old I can be your woman!!!
And by the way, your list is so inspiring. If there were 20 more people like you smiling at strangers around LA and sending their friends flowers, this city would be so awesome! You’re inspiring me to be nicer to people. Thank you.
Good work on your 30. I have been wondering about how you were doing on these
Well now – myself included – there are a whole lot of 25 year olds in the LA area in need of a lunch date! I say we throw a potluck party because hey why not? Of course those over and under 25 could just be an honorary mid-twenty something for the day and join in. What do y’all say?? :)
Your Doing Great!
We should all make our own list no matter what out age. Life is so short we need to brightening our lives and the lives of others as much as we can.
Wow Jow, great work! It can take a lot of courage to admit you haven’t reached your goal yet, so good work for re-setting the goal posts and keepin’ on going.
Also, a possible addition to your list of new words – cooee. It’s an Australian word, used to get people’s attention. Pronounced just as it looks “coo” (like a bird) and “eee” (like at the end of ‘Joy’, very short and almost cut off). It’s used for fun in the bush, to get the echos going. There’s nothing like really yelling it out, and getting one back from someone who’s out there too, but invisble in the gum trees and ferns. It’s also used when you drop in to someone’s house ‘Cooee, anybody home?’ Sort of a gentle, polite ‘hey’. I love it, and for some reason have been thinking about it a lot lately.
Love you Joy xo
love it, thanks for the inspiration!
Joy the Baker. My sister is 25, she moved to LA last year, she is an aspiring actress-singer and a current blogger, and she loves you. If there is any tiny chance you might consider making her your 25-year-old, I would…do something. Send you at least one handwritten pen pal thank you note from NYC, for example. hearts and ice pops, julia
I’m 25 and live in LA! Let’s do lunch! Alcove? Food Truck? Food crawl?
Love the list!! especially the High 5s! I totally do that and people often react the same way. I’m certainly not stopping ;-)
You’ve already accomplished so much on it! And you have an entire year to finish the rest :-)
Joy if you need any words to learn in… polish/ farsi then I can help and teach/write some.
Im not sure how many Polish live in California but Im sure many of Iranian :)
First in polish “cze??” [Cheshch] and mean “hello”. Easy peasy :)
I’m turning 25 (in a few months…) and live in LA. Also, I just opened up my first few bottles of home-brewed IPA. It tastes like beer, which is exciting. I’ve already got a second batch fermenting; an espresso cream stout that I think I’m going to call Hipster Bitch.
love this! and wish i was 25 and lived in la so we could do lunch!
You’re pretty awesome and I look forward to your blog each and everyday, you’ve put a smile on my face many a’times =)
Absolutely. Freaking. Love. This.
I’m turning 28 in a month so I have a bit of time to do this myself. Thankyou!!!
Thankyou also for cinnamon pull-apart bread. Made me feel like a professional (a.k.a. awesome) and made my boyfriend feel guilty he never bakes for me (hurrah!).
Happy days…
That’s an awesome list! I am turning 27 next week and I’d love to go through my very own list!
btw I would love to be 25 yo and be in LA…..that would be one.glorious.lunch!!!!!
You are such an inspiration Joy! Also- I am so excited to hear that you are gettin’ your downward dog on! I am a yoga teacher and yoga is a HUGE part of my life- it inspires me to be a do-gooder every day…but I also LOVE cooking and baking and all things that make life a little bit sweeter (like loads of butter and sugar*) and unfortunately, these things do not always jive with “the yoga lifestyle.” It’s all about finding that beautiful, delicate balance though, right? I’m working on it. I’m ok with the fact that I will probably working on it forever : ) Giving a fresh baked cupcake to a stranger in its own way is doing yoga and THAT I can totally dig. Anyhoo- you kick a#! and I would love to hear about your yoga adventures should you be so inclined to share. <3
I love your list. Every time I see it I’m reminded of how much I love it.
I’ll be 25 on the 26th of August. I am very hungry and eating takes lots of creativity at the moment. Feel like coming to London? Yes, London, England… not Ontario.
I’m 25! Ok…I was almost a decade ago but who’s counting? And truth be know, I sure don’t act my age! ;)
This is great :) It makes me want to do something similar…
YOU ROCK! So inspiring, I love it. Gotta do something like this! The pen pal one is a fav -”never underestimate the power of a handwritten letter” right? Also, you can so ride your bike 20 miles. My friends and I rode our bikes from San Diego to Seattle last summer, and one of my favorite days was riding from Long Beach (blech) to Santa Monica. We rode all along the path and it was great. There are also some great rides up in Solvang! I loved riding through there, absolutely gorgeous and there are some great people living there. So yeah! Can’t wait to hear about that adventure! Post pictures when you do!
-Anne (http://annetheadventurer.blogspot.com/p/social-action.html)
love bourbon, sugar comas, yoga, totally interested in making beer and i’m 25… you should take me to lunch… just sayin’ in a totally i live a billion miles away from you (texas) but we could totally be friends kinda way. totally platonic. word.
Nice! Would love to read a blog post on your attempts to make beer! My friend bought a beer making kit and he’s made all kinds of stuff….banana beer….coconut beer…IPA….think about all the other possibilities!! =)
Love!
This and your 21 pieces of advice post are two of my favorites you’ve ever written. So inspiring. Thanks for making me smile today. You can count me as one of your 10 strangers for the day.