I published my won’t-do before 36 list last year before my birthday, and almost forgot about it—my 36th birthday is really sneaking up on me.
I think I did a damn fine job of accomplishing everything on this list through some serious f*cking challenges, personal and global. Through a really traumatic job and subsequent job loss, through a really tough breakup and subsequent pandemic dating whatever the f that is, through a quiet really sad time and subsequent intense self-work, I managed to also NOT do a lot of the shit on this list.
A sample of things I am very pleased with myself:
- ✓I won’t stop pursuing sublime happiness. I don’t always know what that looks like, but I know it when I feel it.
- ✓I won’t forget to be vulnerable.
- I forgot earlier this year that this was my goal, but I won’t lose sight of this need again.
- ✓I won’t see all the places in the world—but I’ll want to.
- ✓(hahaha) I won’t put so much pressure on myself to be something or do something (how utterly under my own pressure was I last year?!)
- ✓I won’t lose sight of the wonder that is who I’ve become, am becoming, will be … and that she’s always, constantly, changing and growing.
- ✓I won’t take for granted the beauty of living next door to my brother; 2 miles away from my parents.
- ✓I won’t let Nali die (SHE WON’T EVER).
- ✓I won’t get as skinny as I did from Montezuma’s Revenge, because too much wine and too many late nights and too much laughter are found in those pounds—and I love those.
- ✓I won’t base my worth on what others think of me.
- ✓I won’t ever be without a tattoo again! Holy shit.
- ✓I won’t accept complacency. Wallowing is fine, but I take ownership for my choices.
- ✓I won’t stop the reading train I’ve jumped on…
- ✓… and I won’t apologize for loving YA fiction as much as Pulitzer-prize-winning novels.
- ✓I won’t travel all the time to escape home.
- ✓I won’t lose touch, though, with the people who matter SO much to me: in Aspen, Vail, OC, DC, SA, Seattle, Norway, and more.
- ✓I won’t settle. Into or for anything.
- ✓I won’t just write Feel Good Friday posts; I’ll create more new blog content.
- ehhhh I won’t be afraid of anything.
- ✓I won’t operate out of risk-aversion.
- ✓I won’t cling so tightly to a current life as to not to let a new one in.
- hahahah pandemic I won’t spend money over my means.
- ✓I won’t say no to donating money to causes I believe in.
- hahahah pandemic I won’t drink too much wine.
- ✓I won’t value others’ needs for my time over my own.
- ✓I won’t hold back.
- ✓I won’t eat allllll the “healthy” swedish fish.
- ✓I won’t forget to journal.
- ✓I won’t let small things annoy me.
- f*ck! I won’t say f*ck quite as often.
- ✓I won’t stress over OR for my body.
- ✓I won’t have this adult acne next year.
- ehhh I won’t leave DailyHap to languish in obscurity.
- ✓I won’t buy crap I don’t need just because the advertising or branding is awesome.
- ✓I won’t sacrifice sleep for anything.
- ✓I won’t hold myself accountable to an arbitrary list of numbers! SO THERE.