Monday, May 21, 2012

Things to Do Before I Turn 30

So, a very common blog post is the list of things to do before one turns 30/40/50/etc. I'm about 5 years away from turning 30, inshaAllah, so I figured I should write a list of things I'd like to have done by the time I'm 30. If they don't happen, no worries - I'll do them later on, ka khairee. But hopefully, they'll all get done! Some of these things may seem very small and silly to many people, but that doesn't bother me. They're all important to me.

I'll add to the list as I remember more. Oh, and I decided not to number them so as not to overwhelm myself - haaa haaaaa.

They’re in no particular order. Just the order in which they came to my mind.

  • Spend at least one full summer in Pakistan
  • Visit Afghanistan
  • Learn to sew
  • Learn to belly dance perfectly
  • Record at least one song (just for myself and/or husband)
  • Volunteer at a women’s/children’s support group (organization, orphanage) for at least one full year
  • Fund an orphanage 
  • Volunteer at a senior center
  • Become a women’s counselor (for victims of abuse, rape, etc.)
  • Spend at least 5 full days with at least one elderly person, talking to them, listening to them
  • Master at least 7 languages(4 out of the way so far)
  • Take a road trip throughout the entire United States
  • Take a road trip throughout the entire Pakistan
  • Become an excellent cook
  • Complete my PhD
  • Reflect over one major fear and face/overcome it
  • Go to Egypt
  • Publish at least one book, be it a novel
  • Invent a new holiday/tradition for my family that will bring all of us closer together
  • Teach someone something meaningful
  • Read at least 10 books from my to-read list
  • Learn to completely forgive people who betray/hurt me
  • Ride an elephant
  • Go sky diving
  • Go bungee jumping
  • Spend at least 5 nights (on separate occasions) staring at the stars and reflecting
  • Learn to manage my anger and frustrations maturely
  • Watch a movie shooting
  • Perform in a show onstage
  • Visit all seven continents
  • Grow a garden
  • Each year, write a list of negative and positive things about myself, working on improving the negatives
  • Get in the habit of writing (e-mailing, not texting) or calling a friend I haven’t spoken to in a long time

10 comments:

  1. a long but interesting list - All the best and keep your readers posted about the progress, if possible!

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  2. Thank you for dropping by, Yousaf, and welcome to the blog! :)

    Yeah, a very long list! I hope 5 years will be enough to accomplish these things, but if not, hopefully soon after. The more people grow older, the less they seem to feel inclined to try new things, so I hope that doesn't happen to me.

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  3. The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
    Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
    Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
    Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

    O friend, for the morrow let us not worry
    This moment we have now, let us not hurry
    When our time comes, we shall not tarry
    With seven thousand-year-olds, our burden carry.

    “My friend, let's not think of tomorrow, but let's enjoy this fleeting moment of life”

    These poems are Omar Khayyams and a gift from me.

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  4. What a lovely gift, Bilal! Thank you! :)

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  5. Ride an elephant? Come to India! :D and we can learn belly dance together too ;)

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  6. Dang it - coming to India! How dare I forgot to add that to the list. I also forgot to including "going to Dubai" :p Habbz will kill meeee! I don't know, though - the UAE, I can do for research purposes within the next 5 years, inshaAllah, but India? :( I hasn't even gone to the Afghanistan yetz, manz! k, let's do India, and see what happenz :p

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  7. Noooooo! Dubai can wait coz I'm not there now :P you can ride camels in our beaches :D and elephants in fairs and festivals and stuff. India's the best country to visit any time :P I live in Kerala btw and right now I'm not interested in promotin tourism, but if you're comin I'll show you around ;)

    I want to learn belly dance from Egypt! :(

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  8. I'm determined to finish one of the books I began writing last year - over these summer holidays ( If you're up for it I can run some of my stuff by you sometime).

    I have technically already been published, as an 11 year old I won some silly poetry competition and was published in a children's poetry book LOOOL.

    Grow a Garden? Khudey ta gora, paroon we mowed our garden after 1 whole year on orders from our landlady it was more like a jungle than a garden. I'm usually quite green kho after attacking so many plants with a rake paroon I feel like they're my natural enemies.

    Fund an orphanage .. ao I want to do that too but not just any old orphanage a brainwashing orphanage that will give rise to my private army. I won't comment on them all but I like your list XD.

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    Replies
    1. Oh man, I just saw this comment! You're welcome to "run" your stuff by me any time! qrratugai@gmail.com

      One of the books you've started writing! lol. I'm the same way :S Except in my case, it's laziness that prevents me from working on them.

      LOL @ natural enemies! Sakh, I loooove plants and gardens. I'll start one but hire a gardener handle it for me :p Oh, yah, I forgot to add: marry a millionaire!

      Like the idea of that kind of an orphanage ;) Me tooo!

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  9. very nice blog, there is one thing i like most which is to "teach something to someone meaningful". so i am gona start a project particularly regarding educational awareness among Fata pakhtoons both women and men by opening institutes and arranging teachers training programmes in Govt as well as Private local schools. i am from Fata you can fulfil your dream by visiting hidden beautiful parts of Fata plus you can involve with other women too and share your experience. keep in touch but thats a long term strategy, dont know if that will start in next 5 years but for sure in next 10 years depends on the political and security situations.

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Dare to opine :)

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