30 before 30 27 before 27

So, it occurs to me that I live a very interior life. I spend way more time inside my head than is probably healthy for anyone. This has lead to decisions that have made little sense to others looking in from the outside. It has also lead to an inordinate amount of obsessing on my end which in turn has lead to at least half of those decisions: 10 lb. bag of sugar, I'm looking at you. I say this as a preface, an explanation - okay, an excuse.

I am going to be thirty.

No, not this year or even next year, but soon. I can feel it, the looming specter of my third decade on this spinning globe. I feel much closer to the ghost of who I will be at age 30 than to the ghost of who I was at 20. But, I recently got to thinking about all of the expectations that the girl I was then had for the woman I was/am to become. So, I turned to Dr. Google for some remedy for my growing angst and came across the idea for 30 before 30. And I made a list. And then, I thought about how 10 items per year for the next 3 years seemed fairly unambitious, perhaps even slothful. So, I amended the list with some goals that will help me reach some of the goals on the 30 before 30 list. And I came up with a 28 before 28. And then, having given myself the cookie and the glass of milk, I realized that its rather lazy to put off till tomorrow what I can start today. So, I made a list of 27 things to do before I turn 27. Mind you, I have approximately 75 days till my 27th birthday.

Now, according to a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology (Lally et al. (2009),) this gives me an ideal time-frame in which to develop some positive habits. So, most of my 27 before 27 revolve around doing (or not doing) an activity for 70 days consecutively. So, it is with the hope of some form of shame-inducing accountability that I unveil my 27 before 27. I hope to review my successes and failures on my birthday and soon after to unveil the 28 before 28.

1. Review my English Syntax textbook.

2. Read: How to Prove it - a structural approach, in an attempt to sharpen my capacity for asserting my opinions with intelligent analysis rather than mere unthinking emotional reaction.

3. Read: Don Quixote. Yes, I know the story. But, I would actually like to read and appreciate its historical and literary value rather than just get through it taking from it only whats necessary to pull off a good grade.

4. Ditto: Pilgrim's Progress. Okay, truthfully, I've never ACTUALLY read this book.

5. Ditto: Gulliver's Travels.

6. Find a red wine that I genuinely enjoy drinking.

7. Read St. Teresa of Avila's The Way of Perfection.

Okay, for 70 days consecutively:

8. Schedule 30 min per day for self-education.

9. Make my bed every morning.

10. Schedule 30 min per day for bible study.

11. Jog 30 min per day - treadmill is fine.

12. Walk a minimum 3 mi. per day during the course of the day

13. Do 100 crunches daily.

14. Quit drinking soda and syrupy drinks. (Quality cocoa and Izze are NOT syrupy)

15. Make morning routine include green tea, breakfast, and vitamins daily

16. Incorporate an Afternoon Tea into my daily routine just after 3pm. Make it
herbal and non-caffeinated for the good of all involved.

17. Drink 75% of my body weight in ounces of water per day.

18. Wipe down the counters and sweep the floor EVERY night before bed.

19. Brush my teeth and floss the way the dentist recommends.

20. Practice yoga at least 15 min. each day.

21. Replace swearing with heartfelt aspirations - most especially, "Blessed be the name of God forever," when I hear the name of the Lord taken in vain.

22. Remember the Divine Chaplet at 3pm daily for 70 consecutive days.

23. Pray grace before all of my meals.

24. Pray the Angelus before dinner at 6.

25. Learn my basic prayers in Latin.

26. Prepare Michael for baptism this year, Insha'Allah

27. Incorporate Insh'Allah into my vernacular.



Wish me luck on the rest! :)