Last year I created a list of 22 thing to accomplish before my 23rd birthday. And while that list went fairly well, I wanted to try something new. So instead of half-hearted New Year’s resolutions or an annual birthday list, I decided to try something new this year: 101 things to accomplish over the next 1,001 days.
Some are big, some are small. Some are weirdly specific. And some are things I’ve barely admitted to myself that I want to do. But—unlike some of the other lists similar to this one that I’ve found online—I refuse to make this a list of chores or random to-do’s. “Eat a churro,” “buy new ballet flats” or “get a wedding ring tan line” were some of the less inventive one entries I saw in my Internet perusing. Instead I’ve come up with adventures, aspirations and goals I’d like to accomplish over the next two or three years.
I’m still finishing up my list, but here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
End date: October 13, 2016
- Finish list of 101 things
- Go one month without eating out
- Read 50 books
- Run another half marathon
- Create an organizational system for important documents
- Send 30 handwritten letters to 30 different people
- Go skinny dipping
- Take a trip & stay in an apartment listed on AirBnB
- Buy coffee for a stranger
- Throw a murder mystery dinner party
- Go camping
- Make pasta from scratch
- Take a road trip with my Mom
- See 10 movies in theaters
- Buy an original piece of art
- Join or create a book club
- Learn how to change a tire
- Volunteer five times
- Go apple picking
- Travel internationally
- Sing karaoke
- Learn how to make a latte at home
- Update personal website & portfolio
- See a movie at the drive-in
- Go to 10 concerts
- Learn how to poach an egg
- Freelance for a publication I admire
- Find a mentor
- Learn how to make macaroons
- Start a 401K
- Ride at least one day of RAGBRAI
- Attend the National Balloon Classic in Indianola, IA
- Learn how to code
- Visit three new cities
- Consistently write One Line a Day
- Attend SXSW
- Learn more about using my DSLR
- Adopt a pet
- Make cheese from scratch
- Attend a baseball game
- Find more ways to utilize my Spanish
- Host a wine tasting party
- Try three new foods
- Copy & learn my favorite family recipes
- Get one car wash a month (You’re welcome, Dad)
- Knit a pair of mittens
- Tour the Iowa Capitol building
- Visit New Orleans
- Learn how to make a .gif
- Spend a weekend completely unplugged
- Bake an apple pie (crust included) from scratch
- Stomp grapes for the fall harvest at Summset Winery
- Beat The Simpsons arcade game
- Learn how to make three cocktails (more than two ingredients required)
- Finish a New York Times crossword puzzle
- See the Northern Lights
- Tour Terrace Hill
- Start roadside attraction website with Kristen
- Visit Seattle
- Take a letterpress class
- Host a dinner party
- Go to Eataly
- Set up a well-stocked bar cart
- Visit Glass Beach in northern California
- Surpass 1,000 Twitter followers
- Get more involved with the Des Moines Art Center and/or Des Moines Social Club
- Learn how to make & can my mom’s pasta sauce
- Attend Jeffrey’s high school graduation
- Create a custom stamp
- Host a clothing swap with friends
- Have a movie marathon (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, the possibilities are endless)
- Join a CSA—at least for a few months
- Make creme brulee at home
- Finally hang curtains in my apartment
- Create a scrapbook to document my 101 things
- Write a letter to myself to open on my 30th birthday
- Put $10 in savings for each goal completed
*You can follow my 101 in 1,001 progress under the “Lists” tab on Olio in Iowa.
Good luck, I started my 101 in 1001 list at the beginning of the month, it’s been fun to start working through it!