My 25 before 25 birthday bucket list review

Exactly two weeks ago today, I turned 25!

So I thought today would be the perfect day to let you guys know how I have gotten along with the goals I set in my 25 before 25 bucket list.

Before I get into my goals, I just want to take a moment to encourage y’all to set your own goals (if you haven’t already).

I think that setting yourself yearly goals is very important and necessary so that you know exactly what you are striving for and can push yourself to achieve those goals. Three to five goals is more than enough, but if you want to go for the age specific number, then why not?

You don’t have to share your goals with the world, but I would suggest sharing them with a close friend or family member who can hold you accountable to these goals. Having someone who knows your goals, can motivate you and if you choose the right person, they will encourage and support you on your journey.

So anyway, here are the goals I set myself a year ago:

1) Solo travel

Sometimes you just need to take a piece of paper and a pen and write down your accomplishments, because sometimes you don’t realise how much you’ve achieved or how far you’ve come until you see it writing.

I’ve just written a list of the countries that I’ve solo travelled to this year and it’s so crazy to think that me, Debbie the shy girl who stays safely in her comfort zone, has solo travelled to seven different countries!

This just goes to show that you should never underestimate yourself, keep pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and make sure you celebrate every single achievement no matter how small you think it may be.

Also if you’re thinking about solo travelling, which I’d definitely recommend, make sure to check out my blog posts:

• Three ways that solo travelling can change you forever
• Ten tips for taking amazing pictures on your solo trip

2) Donate clothes that I don’t wear to charity

This is still in progress. I’ve started to go through my wardrobe and pull out the clothes that I no longer wear or like, so now I just need to take them to my local charity shop.

3) “Swim” with dolphins

In April, while I was in Dubai with my girl Tin (check out her love and relationships blog), I was finally able to tick this off my bucket list.

I’ve always wanted to “swim” with dolphins and it was such an amazing experience, that I’ll definitely be doing again some time.

Oh and btw, by “swim” I mean kneel in shallow water because I can’t actually swim lol. ???

Check out the other pictures from my trip to Dubai.

4) Go to a concert

In March, I got to see one of my favourite artists – The Weeknd! He was so amazing live and by the end of the night, I had pretty much lost my voice with all the screaming and singing I had been doing.

I was also very lucky to have attended the night that Drake made a surprise appearance. Yes!! I did get a bit girl fan crazy and was screaming at the top of my lungs as I jumped around in a circle – literally! ??

5) Read five non-fiction books

When it comes to fiction books, I could literally read a book a day. The same can not be said for non-fiction books unfortunately.

Reading fiction is my form of escape, it’s how I get away from the stresses of life. However, failing this goal has made me realise that I need to cut down on reading fiction books.

There are so many non-fiction books that I really want to read, but because my head is always in the clouds reading a fiction book, I never seem to have the time. That’s something I’m going to have to work on.

6) Become a morning person

I think I’m just going to have to accept that this is something I will have to continue to work on for the rest of my life… ??

7) Start driving lessons

Ermm maybe next year! ?

8) Learn to play the keyboard

This is not really a priority at the moment, but it is definitely something I do plan to do in the future.

9) Buy a GoPro and a DSLR

I bought myself a GoPro earlier on in the year and I’m so in love with it!

I put buying a DSLR on hold at the moment, as I would like to invest in a very good camera and I currently don’t have the money for that, but I still have my mirrorless camera which is fine for the time being.

10) Write a book

This goal may seem quite ambitious, but when I wrote it, I already had a book in mind.

While in sixth form, for one of my qualifications I wrote a novella on the fictional story of a woman’s experience of domestic violence. I intended to take this novella, work on it, improve it and make it into a novel.

For as long as I can remember, it has always been a goal of mine to be a published author. One day soon! I’m speaking it into existence! ????

11) Spend a day sightseeing in London

I left this goal for summer and then summer seemed to be over way before I knew it…

12) Volunteer abroad

One day!

I’m currently considering working abroad for a few months or so next year.

13) Step out of my comfort zone

I’m proud to say that I have been stepping out of my comfort zone a lot more than usual, from solo travelling a number of times this year to just being more sociable and making more of an effort to start/continue conversations with new people.

Of course there were many times when I stayed safely within my comfort zone, but there were also many times when I broke through that comfort zone.

I am so proud of the progress I have made and I will continue to push myself.

14) Go rock climbing

I almost didn’t complete this goal, but while I was in New York with some friends, we discovered a rock climbing centre under Manhattan Bridge.

15) Watch the sunrise in another country

You probably noticed from goal number six that I am not a morning person, so it’s not surprising that I found this goal very hard to achieve.

After many failed attempts to wake up early and one attempt where I walked out into a horrible rainstorm, I finally got to watch the sunrise on a beach on the beautiful island of Gili Trawagan in Indonesia. I even ended up joining a yoga session on the beach as I watched the sun rise into the sky. To say it was a beautiful setting is an understatement.

16) See a west end musical

I plan to watch the Lion King with a few friends before Christmas.

17) Save

Errmm… I’ve travelled to fifteen countries this year, so I haven’t saved as much as I had originally planned to.

18) Visit 25 countries before 25

This is the goal that I never took too seriously when I first added it to the list. I never thought I would be able to visit eleven countries in less than a year, but here I am a year later having been to fifteen countries (four that I have previously visited before)!

I hope that I have been able to inspire even just one person, and it doesn’t even have to be travel-related. If I’ve been able to inspire one person to push themselves to reach those goals that may seem unattainable at first, then I would feel even more blessed and happy.

19) Learn to cook a new dish at least once a month

Ermmm so six months ago I changed this goal to “learn to cook at least 12 new dishes”.

Fast forward to today… Is it too late to change this goal to “learn to cook at least 4 new dishes”? ???

20) Try an exercise class

My first and only ever exercise class that I’ve attended was a trampoline dance fitness class. It was a lot of fun, so I will definitely be returning to that class and trying some new ones in the future.

21) Learn how to ride a bike

I’m 25 and I can’t ride a bike… maybe I just shouldn’t bother. Joke! Maybe 2018 is the year that I’ll learn… ?

22) Start a YouTube channel

If you haven’t already, make sure you check out my vlogs and subscribe to my channel! My birthday in Thailand vlog will be up real soon, so don’t miss out. ???

23) Go to a macaroon making class

My friend and I attended the class a few months ago and it was amazing!

If you know me, then you know that macaroons are literally the way to my heart, so being able to make my own was a lot of fun!

We got to try out a few different flavours and a peanut butter and golden syrup filling was my favourite. It sounded like an unusual combination at first, but it was sooo good! ???

24) Write a five year plan

This goal was a bit too optimistic.

A year ago, I wouldn’t have even known where to start, but I feel like I’m finally getting to a point where I can work on a one year plan.

25) Celebrate my 25th birthday outside of Europe

Two weeks ago, I was in beautiful Thailand, with a few friends I visited Bangkok and Phuket and was able to have one of my best birthdays to date!

If you haven’t already, make sure you check out my birthday post and my birthday photo gallery. Also stay tuned for the travel vlog coming soon!

 

Although I haven’t been able to cross off everything on the list, I am very happy with the progress I have made, and that I was able to complete nearly all the goals that I consider most important.

This year I will again be setting myself some goals and I plan to put these goals up on my wall. This will allow me to look at my goals everyday and think about how my actions each day can bring me closer to reaching those goals.

I won’t be sharing these goals on my blog like last year, just because they are quite personal, but I hope you will join me in and set yourself some inspiring goals!

 

Well, until next time guys! Debbie???

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