Update: 25 Before 25.

With less than a year left until my 25th birthday, I've been thinking about my list... what I've accomplished, what I've got coming up, and what's left to do. Check it out below for an update on my quarter-life bucket list:

1. Take a trip on the flying trapeze. (Classes available at NYC Trapeze School.)
2. Complete the Walt Disney World Princess Half-Marathon. (Registered! Run takes place 2/27/11.)
3. Get my Equity card! (This one is going to take some serious work.)
4. Publish an article on The Huffington Post and/or Lonny Magazine. (I realize these are quite different publications, but both would mean a lot to me.)
5. Travel to the bottom of the Grand Canyon by mule. (Booked! March 2011!) NEXT WEEK!
6. Volunteer abroad. (Preferably through the She's the First 360 series-- and to Haiti... Summer 2011?)
7. Produce the Miss Not-So-Shore Pageant and raise $2,500 for the Children's Miracle Network. (In talks... March 2011.)
8. Purchase a Louis Vuitton bag for myself. (Certainly not a totally selfless goal, but I'm over it.)
9. Learn to play the cello. (Or at least take some lessons.)
10. Learn to speak French. (This has seriously been a goal for the last ten years.)
11. Sponsor a girl at the Shanti Bhavan Children's Project. (This will hopefully happen after my fundraiser in October '10.)
12. Learn to sail. (There is also, not surprisingly, a school for this in NYC.)
13. Go hang gliding! (This was a compromise made with my mini-me as I am not quite comfortable enough to put sky-diving on the list.)
14. Read (or re-read, as the case may be) all of Jane Austen's novels.
15. Design and create an evening gown for myself. (This, as a pageant girl, has always been a personal goal of mine.)
16. Save $1,000. (My savings account is always floating somewhere around $10... like, why bother??)
17. Pay off credit cards. (Womp, womp. I'm working on it.)
18. Place in the Top 5 at this year's Miss New Jersey pageant. (Can... she... DO IT?)
19. Consume beignets with my "ride-or-die" (her term, not mine) in New Orleans.
20. Ride in a hot air balloon.
21. Gain acceptance to a master's program. (Like.. a real one.)
22. Complete the 5-Boro Bike Race.
23. Take a Cake Decorating Class.
24. Produce a show for the inaugural season of the Musical Theater Academy.
25. Last, and kind-of nerdily least, finally archive my digital photo collection. It needs to happen.


So, as you can see, I'm a little behind. While this is certainly a little nervewracking, it's also an interesting means of finding perspective. Already in the seven months since I created this list, I've developed new interests, new goals, and new dreams... with those come new challenges, new obstacles, new frustrations. The point is, I am learning so much about myself and about life. I'm learning about the importance of continual growth and development, and that's a really wonderful lesson, regardless of whether I'm 24 or 124.


So, once again... hey, life! Bring. It. On.

3 Best Books of 2010

Since we're still in that awkward "getting to know each other" phase, I should tell you that I am a voracious reader. While I do have a soft spot for a good bit of chick lit, I'll try just about anything once. That being said, the list below is a little bit surprising (no romance? no Manhattan-ites in shoes as expensive as some cars?), but really representative of the state of mind I've found myself in more often than not this year...

Half the Sky is just plain incredible. If you can finish this book without feeling compelled to race out your front door and start making a difference, you might want to head straight to the hospital. Your heart is no longer functioning. Seriously, though, as a young woman who has grown up with so many opportunities at her fingertips, it was incredibly eye-opening to realize what a privilege it is simply to be educated and independent.

The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything was another inspiring read. As a graduate of a Jesuit college, I'm often drawn to studies of Ignatius and his particular variety of spirituality. It's so easy to get swept up in the hectic pattern of trying to juggle work and family and boyfriend and friends and the innumerable other commitments we face... I barely have time to get my jammies on at the end of the day before I face plant into bed. It's this lifestyle that lead me to fall head-over-heels in love with the Ignatian outlook-- a contemplative in action. If you find God in every dimension of your life, it makes feeling connected so much easier and, frankly, more real. Not to mention, there are some really cute annecdotes about his years in the priesthood and before.

Finally, The Happiness Project... I stumbled upon this book earlier in the year and I'm so grateful that I did. Fumbling through those first six months after graduation was about as awkward and uncomfortable as it sounds... what am I doing with my life?! Where am I going? Why aren't I a phenomenally successful and well-adjusted actress/business owner/writer/professional already?! It was easy to be critical in my own self-delusion. The Happiness Project helped me to recognize the tiny little victories and to see how easy it can be to enrich your daily life with just the slightest shift in perspective. When you begin to appreciate something as simple as a clean closet, the inconveniences you run up against seem so much less... insurmountable.

It's interesting-- there's a sort of theme here that ties each of these books together: finding perspective. Whether it be via our place in the world, our relationship with God, or our relationship with ourself, it's something you might need a little help with while you figuring out what you want from life and how you're going to go about getting there. If this sounds like something you can relate to, you should probably check these books out... and, heck, even if not!