Challenge 25

Life is either a daring adventure of nothing at all.

 - Helen Keller, The Open Door.

For my 25^th year on this earth I have challenged myself to do 25 things that I had never done before.  This week I’d like to tell you about: why I wanted to do this; the 25 challenges and where I am now with my 26^th birthday looming next month.

Variety is the Spice of Life

I’m a very goal orientated person. I like to have a list to work through and check things off. This is when I am at my most productive. I also live for the thrill of an impending deadline – which explains why I chose to make this week’s post the least formed of the three ideas I had at the beginning of the week… Go figure!

At one of my grad scheme events this year we did this personality profiling exercise; we answered a bunch of probing questions, learnt about the psychology behind the profiling and were finally given our personality colour profile. It turns out I am a fiery red-sunshine yellow person. Which explains a lot!  I’m a very out there, go getting person, but I do struggle to see things to completion sometimes; full of enthusiasm and ideas in the beginning, but I can lose interest quickly and be on to the next thing. It’s something I have noticed at work and I’m sure Paddy would agree I need constant attention at home! [Paddy: more like constant supervision.]

I guess I realised some of these things subconsciously beforehand and that’s why I wanted to set myself this challenge. I like being busy and I don’t do well with down time. My masters year was a challenge in itself; I threw myself head first into my studies. And it was the best year ever! I surrounded myself in a subject that I love and a bunch of people who were similarly enthused. I went from strength to strength over the year and I wanted to continue that journey post-graduation. What better way than trying a whole bunch of new things?

Dissertation hand in... Left it til the last minute, as per usual.

Ain’t No mountain High Enough

As this is my 25th year on this Earth, a Herculean 25 task challenge seemed like a fitting way to mark the occasion. So here they are, in no particular order:

1. Get a tattoo
2. Do a mud run - 5/11/17
3. Take a random trip 
4. Visit a new place - 12/4/18
5. Do Veganuary - 31/1/18
6. Save £5000 
7. Keep a diary - 7/6/18
8. Graduate with a distinction - 5/12/17
9. Climb the tallest peaks in the UK 
10. Run a half marathon 14/4/18
11. Camp under the stars
12. Make my own sushi - 13/1/18
13. Do something charitable
14. Take a road trip with friends - 12/4/18
15. Learn to dance - 7/6/18
16. Own stock in a company - 1/4/18
17. Go to dinner on my own - 13/3/18
18. Read a classic novel - 25/12/18
19. Live alone - 19/4/18
20. Make my own clothes
21. Learn a language
22. Grow a herb garden - 2/7/18
23. Attend the ballet or opera - 14/2/18
24. Do something irresponsible/crazy - 17/6/18
25.  Befriend someone that I meet under random circumstances - 12/9/17

My parents will be pleased to know that #1 has not happened... I had a design that I really loved, the ultimate nerd tattoo. But it just never seemed like the right time to get it, or I couldn't decide where. I may be indecisive, but that's better than living with something I hate forever!

Veganuary I loved. I have kept up a lot of the lifestyle changes I made; oat milk and popcorn being my favourites! I'd never had sushi until last year and the budding chef in me thought I could give it a go. Turns out it's easier than it looks and it tastes 100 times better when you have made it yourself. Fish free of course. 

Paddy has helped me tick off a great many of these things (eight to be exact): he took me to my first Wolf Run, he's aided in my running well over a marathon in one weekend (never mind the target of a half marathon I had set) and going to the ballet may have become a Valentine's Day tradition - we just booked 2019. We met under strange circumstances, if you class Tinder as strange and I agreed to marry him less than 10 months after we met. I think that definitely counts as crazy! 

Minus 42 Days…

42 days and I’ll have come 360 degrees around the sun and be back where I started. Yet I’ll be a year older and wiser (I hope). My 26^th birthday will mark the end of my challenge. So let’s have a progress review considering I am 85% of the way through the allotted year. I've completed or am on my way to completing 18 out of 25. There is definitely time to squeeze in a few more. Although I may have missed the good weather for sleeping out under the stars. 

Me as close to my 25th birthday as I could find!! I was too busy writing my dissertation to take selfies (and yes, my friends are hobbits)

Some of the things I have not had chance to do, but my running events this year I think are more than adequate substitutes for some of these. #9 - climbing the highest peaks in the UK - I wanted to get outside and do more nature things. I think the Rat Race events have definitely helped me achieve this; with weekends all over the country, camping, exploring new places, doing things I probably wouldn't have otherwise. I will make one peak as the final Man vs event will see me running up Snowdon (I'm thrilled inside). 

And when you look this happy doing it!! :D

Saving is something that my parents have always encouraged my sister and I to do. But recently I feel like I have the means and a reason to save: a wedding; a house; dare I say it, but even a family… Of BUNNIES! And that direction has definitely helped me get behind the idea, it’s less vague than the idea of a rainy day. I am well on the way to meeting that goal and with a wedding to fund, it's going to come in handy. 

I think I may have underestimated the commitment needed to grow your own food… And so  herbs seemed like  a more realistic thing to grow. How wrong I was. My mum gave me some of her herbs; rosemary, chives and parsley. I forgot to water them and in the unseasonably hot summer we have been having they didn’t survive the week. Sorry mum! Not necessarily an achievement, but I tried. I can't take any credit for the chives below, they seem to have resurrected themselves. 

Some of my chives survived

I wanted to commit to writing a diary to record the things I was doing over the year. However, I was kind of late starting that one at New Year. I made it 8 days before I lost interest. Although on some level I knew this would be the case and I think I put it on there to see if I could commit, form the habit. Apparently not. But I feel like I may have redeemed myself a little having started this blog; I’m reflecting and writing about the things going on in my life, which was my underlining motivation for keeping a diary in the first place. I'm really getting into writing and being accountable to more than just myself has definitely motivated me to keep going, so thank you!

26 & Beyond!

25 has been a good year thus far and I'm not even done yet. Hopefully I can tick a few more things off my challenge list before my birthday... I'll probably end up doing a load of them in the week before my birthday, like the dress I've been meaning to rehab for the last two years. Classic Jennifer. But they will get done!!! 

26 looks to be another action packed year, having just purchased myself another Rat Race season pass. I know what to expect now, I'll have the winter months to prepare (eat my carrots in preparation for the Mighty Deer Stalker event) and my distance and possibly even pace up. Shock horror! There is a women's only event which I may recruit my girlfriends to do with me - Girls get Fizzical (they aren't going to turn down the offer of Prosecco).

Looking a little bit further than just next year, Paddy and I have already discussed putting together an under 30 bucket list. The classic 30 things to do before you are 30. More time means that the things on there get to be a little bit bigger. Owning my own home, travelling to a far flung corner of the world or doing some even crazier things together (I will have to get serious about my training if any of them want to come to fruition). Only time will tell and I want to complete this years challenges before setting myself some new one! 

Thanks for reading and I'll see you same time same place next week.

J xoxo