Saturday, February 22, 2014

- - 23 Goals I Would Like To Accomplish Before Turning 23 - -

Hello, hello!

It is said that it takes 6 weeks of doing something consistently to develop a good habit.

That is kind of what brings me to what I am going to talk about next. Last night I was reading through a few blog entries by Rebecca of Hello Pretty Bird! when I stumbled upon her "30 Before 30" post, which chronicles her progress in achieving the 30 goals she has set for herself before turning 30 this year. Feeling inspired, I've decided to take up my own version of that challenge. Since it'll be a while before I get to a milestone (an age that ends with "5" or "0"), I've decided that just ahead of my upcoming birthday this April (when I will turn 22) I am going to set 23 goals for myself before turning 23 years old in 2015.

To read about what these goals are, please read further...


The main reason why I'm posting this in public is because of accountability. I've set private goals for myself before, but it seems I often fall short of achieving them or get unmotivated halfway (or right at the start, unfortunately). 

On a more personal note - for the past couple of years I've struggled with a lack of motivation in various areas of my life. So I'm really hoping that these goals will help me become more positive and get me to start living - as opposed to simply surviving, if you know what I mean. 

I will be updating this post on a regular basis, so please feel free to check back if you would like to see my progress and to possibly cheer me on. :)


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23 Before 23:

1 | Read 25 fiction and 10 non-fiction books (preferrably outside of school). -In progress!

Fiction:
                1. "Just J" - Colin Frizzell
                2. "Chill" - Colin Frizzell
                3. "Madame Bovary" - Gustave Flaubert
                4. "The Handmaid's Tale" - Margaret Atwood
                5. "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" - Agatha Christie
                6. "Sing You Home" - Jodi Picoult
                7. "Vanishing Acts" - Jodi Picoult
                8. "Gone Girl" - Gillian Flynn (currently reading!)

Non-fiction:
                 1. "Life After Life" - Raymond Moody
 
2 | Watch 50 movies & 10 documentaries. - In progress!
Look out for posts every Friday that are dedicated to film reviews! You can take a look at all the previous Film Review Friday posts here.
 
                 1. The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
                 2. The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
                 3. The Animatrix (2003)
                 4. A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
                 5. 22 Jump Street (2014)
                 6. Open Grave (2013)
                 7. Sin Nombre (2009)
                 8. The Thing (1982)
                 9. Into the Wild (2007)
               10. V for Vendetta (2005)
               11. Enough Said (2013)
               12. Bridesmaids (2011)
               13. Lucy (2014)
               14. The Bling Ring (2013)
               15. Walking Tall (2004)
               16. Bad Words (2013)
               17. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Documentaries:
                 1. Maxed Out
                 2. Pink Ribbons, Inc.
                 
                
3 | Finish watching all the seasons of "Lost" with Andrew. - In progress!
                 Currently: We are currently watching season 4

4 | Go to 10 concerts/performances.

5 | Take up a new hobby.

6 | Clock in 500 hours of volunteering. - In progress!
                  Currently: 12 hours

7 | Make 10 different meals and/or desserts (with or without help).

8 | Go to 5 new restaurants/food places.

9 | Go on a scavenger hunt somewhere in Toronto via UrbanQuest.

10 | Visit 5 new places. - In progress!

                 1. Arbonne meeting at Gore Meadows Community Centre

                          I was approached by a lovely lady at one of my jobs who turned out to be an Arbonne consultant. Even though I had an idea that this meeting would be about network marketing, I decided to go to it anyways. The presentation was interesting, but a lack of interaction and unfamiliarity with Arbonne products as well as a lack of start-up finds ultimately prevented me from becoming a consultant. However, it is a legitimate form of business, so if anyone is interested, I encourage you to look into it!
 
                 2. A tattoo parlour

 At the beginning of the summer a good friend of mine and Andrew's decided to get a tattoo on his back. Andrew and I didn't stick around to see the whole progress of this, but we did participate in selecting a tattoo and just being there for moral support. This was the (almost) final product:

 

11 | Meet up with 15 different friends. - In progress!
                 Currently: spent time with 4 friends

12 | Sign up for GiveIt100 and do something for 100 consecutive days.- In progress!
                 Goal: Read for 100 consecutive days! Follow my progress here.
                            Day 1 = introduction
                            Day 2 = 31 pages (Began "Midnight at the Dragon Cafe" by Judy Fong Bates)
                            Day 3 = 1 page
                            Day 4 = 6 pages
                            Day 5 = 50 pages
                            Day 6 = 14 pages
                            Day 7 = 3 pages
                            Day 8 = 9 pages
                            Day 9 = 37 pages
                            Day 10 = 84 pages
                            Day 11 = 2 pages
                            Day 12 = 77 pages (Finished reading "Midnight at the Dragon Cafe")
                            Day 13 = introduction (picked up "Just J" by Colin Frizzell)
                            Day 14 = 42 pages
                            Day 15 = 16 pages
                            Day 16 = 80 pages
                            Day 17 = 34 pages
                            Day 18 = 64 pages
                            Day 19 = 28 pages
                            Day 20 = 2 pages
                            Day 21 = 2 pages
                            Day 22 = 4 pages
                            Day 23 = 6 pages
                            Day 24 = 12 pages
                            Day 25 = 26 pages
                            Day 26 = 16 pages
                            Day 27 = 2 pages
                            Day 28 = Started & finished reading "Attack on Titan" (manga)
                            Day 29 = Took a break because of sad news...
                            Day 30 = 3 pages
                            Day 31 = 30 pages
                            Day 32 = No lights = no reading!
                            Day 33 = 34 pages
                            Day 34 = 14 pages
                            Day 35 = 7 pages

13 | Post at least 15 13 blog entries every month.  - In progress!
* I had to revise the number because it's actually really tough to get 15 detailed posts in one month. Quality over quantity, my friends!
                            March (13) = Check!


14 | Give myself 100 different manicures. - In progress!
                             Current: 5 manicures



15 | Learn 100 new things.

16 | Learn 100 new words and incorporate them into daily speech. -In progress!

My dear friend, Imadé, recently shared with me the website, www.freerice.com, which allows you to test your vocabulary knowledge AND donate rice to hungry people around the world. Check it out in your spare time! :)

                 1. Nomophobia - fear of being out of mobile phone contact.
                 2. Hypochondria - constant anxiety about your health.

  17 | Learn the capitals of all the countries in the world.

18 | Get my G1 license and start learning how to drive.

19 | Spend 1000 hours away from technology. - In progress!
        (no computer, tablet, laptop, and/or TV)
                   Currently: 20 hours

^ (Edit: 17/03/14) It's actually really difficult to keep track of this challenge, so I'm going to swap it out for the bonus challenge and try my best to spend more time away from technology on my own.

19 | Master eyeshadows.

20 | Do at least 15 things every month to help my parents out.

21 | Get my finances in order.

22 | Read 2,300 pages of homework. - In progress!
                    Currently: 314 pages read
 
23 |Spend 2000 hours at school (in class). - In progress!
                    Currently: 4 hours


*Bonus*
24 | Master eye shadows.


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So there you have it! Some of these are really ambitious, but I am really excited about this next year and a little bit, so I am going to try my best to achieve everything on this list - or at least try to get very close to it.

Some things to note:
- - Some of these goals will overlap and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
- - For #1, these books can't be assigned for school.
- - For #4, concerts/performances can take any form (or medium) as long as I am physically leaving my house for them.
- - For #11, these meetings have to be deliberately planned ahead (although I'm sure there will be exceptions).
- - For #18, I have purposely left out my phone out of the list of technology because it s actually the least of these that I use.
- - For #20, unfortunately it just wont be possible for me to eliminate all of my debt (e.g. student loans) by my 23rd birthday, but I would like to pay off my credit card, and save up consistently.
- - While the first 23 goals are the main ones, I have included a bonus goal for fun. This doesn't necessarily have to be done and chronicled, but it would be nice to accomplish if the other goals don't tire me out.

P.S.: this starts now!


Wish me luck! 
Thank you for reading! -A.~

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