30 Before 30

There is something about turning thirty. One remembers the number of great rock musicians who have died before they are thirty: Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Jimmi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Buddy Holly. Einstein came up with his major theoretical breakthroughs a few years before his thirtieth birthday. Newton revolutionized physics before that age. By thirty, most great sportsmen are seen to be on the decline, be they footballers, basketball players or tennis players.

When you approach thirty, there is palpable sense that you should have achieved something, come close to establishing yourself. If not securing some little nest egg, then at least deciding what you are going to do with the remaining fifty years you have on this planet. This makes this particular turning point ripe in significance (and for a existential crisis). This has led to an online trend for creating a mini bucket list of things to do, loosely, thirty before thirty.

I am probably being premature about this, but I thought I would start early. All too often people begin this existential soul searching after they cross their 29th birthday, and the tasks they set themselves are a little on the frivolous side (e.g. go sky diving, visit the Pyramids, bake a pumpkin pie!). This is certainly important, but I also wanted concrete (and even occasionally difficult) goals which might take longer than a few months to achieve. Doing 30 things in a short space of time is difficult, giving myself the better part of two years to do so enables me to set harder tasks.

There weren't many ground rules for coming up with the 30 things. The first is, unlike normal new year resolutions they should not be merely aspirational. There should be a degree of achievability. So no vague resolutions of wanting to exercise more. Stating something like, I want to learn how to be proficient in rock climbing, on the other hand, is more specific, and something that can clearly be attained.

Many of the items on the list were things that I have been meaning to do for awhile. The hope is that setting them down in a concrete way will give me the added motivation to actively pursue them.

In no particular order, the thirty things are:

1. Obtain a place in a Phd program and choose a specific field of study at an overseas university
   
2. Learn the basics of English grammar and linguistics
3. Complete a short collection of essays or similar literary endeavour (and attempt to publish it)
   
4. Master a third language to at least basic conversational level (or improve mandarin to such a level)
   
5. Develop an understanding of film theory, film criticism and practical film making
   
6. Create a wardrobe that is comprehensive, fairly stylish, and most importantly one that I am comfortable with
7. Create and maintain a website
8. Blog regularly (4-5 posts a month)
   
9. Host a formal dinner party in which the dishes are all prepared by me
10. Learn how to cook basic dishes and to be comfortable in a kitchen
    
11. Keep a monthly budget and manage finances closely
12. Learn about investing, stocks and shares and create a portfolio (however meager)
    
13. Climb another mountain (at least Kinabalu, preferably Kilimanjaro)
    
14. Master the basics of rock climbing
15. Open a really expensive bottle of wine and share it with some close friends
16. Obtain a driver's license
    
17. Finish watching a list of 50 classic films (see list in another blog post)
    
18. Read twenty classic works of literature (see list in another blog post)
19. Finish in the Top 100 of the World Quizzing Championships
20. Make a return trip to the UK, catch up with old friends, watch Wimbledon, visit Hay-on-Wye (for the literary festival)
21. Write regular film/theater/book reviews and attempt to parlay this into a freelance position
    
22. 
    
23. 
    

As you can tell this list is still a work in progress. Suggestions for the remaining things to accomplish are more than welcome.