100 New Experiences in 12 Months

Over the past few months, I've come to realize that I've stopped being as adventurous as I used to be. Once upon a time, I picked up and moved to Washington DC where I knew no one. That was just a few weeks after I flew out and spent a week pounding the pavement and knocking on doors until someone interviewed me and then gave me a summer internship working for someone else.

Almost three years ago, I created my Bucket List. I've made some progress on it and I'm proud of that progress. The items on my Bucket List still excite me. But my Bucket List lacks one thing: urgency.

Do you know the difference between a dream and a goal? Dates. Goals have dates attached to them. Dreams are "some day" things. Goals have a begin and end date. 

Because I need to find my adventurous side again and I want to live more fully than I have been in the past year, I'm taking some inspiration from Amy Guth, Social Media Manager at the Chicago Tribune. If you don't follow Amy on Twitter, you're missing out. Trust me. She's tough, smart, witty, and one of the coolest women on the interwebs. Amy has decided to spice up her life by doing 1,000 new things in one year. How cool is that?

1,000 new experiences feels completely overwhelming to me, but 100 feels daunting and exciting at the same time. In fact, since I had this idea early last week, I've flown out of bed each morning with new ideas. Some of the ideas listed below are from my Bucket List and some are new. 

Here are my ground rules: "New" is defined as something I've never done or have not done in more than 10 years. My list is ever growing. I will share stories and pictures of each experience. The year kicked off on April 11, 2013 and will conclude on April 10, 2014.

1. Attend a taping of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me
2. Vacation by myself and take care of only me. - DONE 4/11 - 4/15/2013
3. Vacation in Nashville - DONE 4/11 - 4/15/2013
4. Go on vacation and leave work 100% behind (i.e., don't check email or voice mail) - DONE 4/15/2013
5. Stand in the center of both the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium stages - DONE 4/12/2013 and 4/14/2013
6. Play Elvis's piano at the RCA Studio B - DONE 4/12/2013
7. Sit on the stage at the Civic Opera House during a performance - Will be done 6/16/2013
8. Play with the beluga whales at the Shedd Acquarium - Will be done by June 30th
9. Take a cooking class - Scheduled for May 21st at David's Bistro in Antioch
10. Swim 1 mile without stopping
11. Climb the main dune at Sleeping Bear Dunes - Will be done in August
12. Learn a new skill - DONE 4/24/2013 Learned how to make a floral centerpiece
13. Increase by savings account by 2 months worth of expenses
14. Max out my employer match for my 403(b) in 2013 - DONE Increased my contribution to max out the match 5/2/2013
15. Try 20 new foods
16. Lose 50 pounds
17. Attend a concert in Millenium Park
18. Ride a mechanical bull
19. Sing karaoke
20. Attend a baseball game at Milwaukee's Miller Park - Will be done August 15th
21. Take the ferry to Muskegon or Ludington - Will be done in August
22. Run a 5K
23. Take a golf lesson
24. Have a full spa day - massage, mani/pedi, facial, and anything other fancy spa treatment I can find
25. Take an Ivy League Class
26. Stand on the sky deck ledge in the Sears Tower (don't tell me it's called Willis Tower now, I don't care)
27. Visit Mt. Rushmore
28. Do a polar plunge
29. Reupholster my dining room chairs
30. Visit the Museum of Science & Industry
31. Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art
32. Visit the National Museum of Mexican Art
33. Visit the Adler Planetarium
34. Visit the DuSable Museum of African American Art
35. Visit the Field Museum of Natural History
36. Visit the Notebaert Nature Museum
37. Give up Diet Coke (and all soda)
38. Drink a minimum of 64 oz of water each day
39. Have High Tea at The Drake
40. Serve meals in a soup kitchen
41. Tour the Chicago Tribune
42. Attend the Blue Man Group
43. Attend the Book of Mormon
44. Visit Chicago's Chinatown
45. Visit the Illinois Holocaust Museum
46. Reread my favorite books from childhood: the Little House on the Prairie series, Little Women, the Anne of Green Gables series
47. See Oklahoma at the Civic Opera House - Will be done 5/3/2013
48. Visit Galena, Illinois
49. 
    

Putting these ideas down on "paper" was the easy part. Now, I need to get to living life as fully as possible.

Do any of my ideas inspire you? Want to join me on my journey? Let me know and let's team up. Life's more fun when it's experienced with friends.