25 things to do before I'm 25

Tomorrow I turn 24.  That happened quickly.  Just last week I filled out a form and wrote down my age as 22, so clearly I'd barely caught up with 23 before this came around.

23 was an interesting year.  It certainly had some fabulous ups.  My family got our house, which has made us so happy.  I went on a wonderful beach trip with Scradley, and my friends threw me an amazing surprise party when I was too overworked to stop and celebrate my own birthday.  It definitely had some serious downs, though, too.  Scradley's ACL tear was a highlight, alongside some irritatingly persistent health struggles of my own, and a bit of a lifecrisis of direction.

Crutchy and wheezy here?  Could have skipped that.

If I had one bone to pick with 23, I'd say it was that I've felt at times like I was just drifting.  I went in with one set of directions, and when they changed half way through I didn't really stop to think about where I would go next.  I just kind of pottered through.  This year, I'd like to go about it a little differently.  In an effort first to define what I want from myself, and then to hold myself accountable for it -and inspired by this fine lady - I've written a list of 25 things I'd like to achieve before I get to 25. 

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THE LIST:  25 THINGS TO DO BEFORE 25 

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1.  Visit one new US state
2.  Begin writing the book
3.  Get my German back to conversational fluency
4.  Have my apartment featured by a publication I admire
5.  Get a dog
6.  Keep exactly to an exercise schedule for one month
7.  Keep close enough to an exercise schedule for six months
8.  Get paid for my writing
9.  Improve my photography
10.  Make two new recipes a week for a month
11.  Go somewhere I've never been
12.  Make it through one entire season in perfect health
13.  Make a new friend
14.  Work for an employer I love
15.  Write our screenplay with Scradley
16.  Collect and catalog my family's recipes
17.  Go camping
18.  Finish my master's degree
19.  Publish my thesis
20.  Send out Christmas cards
21.  Save for a ticket home
22.  Take a weekend getaway trip with Scradley
23.  Get a drivers license (Yes, I'm 24 and I still don't have one.  I'll explain that another time.)
24.  Throw a really great party
25.  Develop a new skill

According to Buzzfeed, 23 was the worst of the decade, so it's all up from here!