So I was thinking about things I’ve wanted to do for a while, but just never bothered to take the time to do it. I’m starting to feel like life is passing me by and while I have things I want to do, I keep waiting to do them, so I figured I’d make a list of things I wanted to do before I turned 30. One of the things I find difficult is to write something on a blank slate, so I headed over to Zen Habits, which I occasionally read, and find the most recent article is very similar to what I felt the need to write about. Awesome. Leo poses some questions armed at concentrating on how you’re living your life now vs making a list of what you want to do before you die. Things like that give me some inspiration to write.

I’ve spent a lot of time wanting to do things and not a lot of time doing them for various reasons. Let’s take a look at some of them:

1. I want to get SCUBA certified. I’ve wanted to do this for several years, but a few things have kept me from doing so. One of those was knowledge. I had no idea where to go to do it, what could be required or how I would use it. I was also always told it would be a buddy system thing and I don’t really have anyone to go with. These have always been minor hurtles. The one major thing that has always held me back has been my weight.

2. I want to be fit. Ok, I’m one of those people who’ve been saying that for 10 or so years, and I have only over the past 2 years been committed to it, and even that commitment hasn’t been a strong as it could be. I have lost and kept off a lot of weight but I’m not sure why I can’t leap that final hurtle. It’s a mental roadblock that I just can’t seem to topple. I think it’s being afraid of losing something. Whatever it is good food represents, I need to do some soul searching to fix whatever is broken in this regard. I’ve taken up cooking recently, and I think that may help, as I can make food that tastes good.

3. I want to learn Photography. This is relatively new for me, but I think this interest has been latent for a long time. I’m starting to get moving on this one too, as we now own a new digital camera with some lenses, and I’ve taken some pretty cool pictures. I got a serious boost recently at my cousins wedding wherein I had a good conversation with the Pro photographer there, she was very into helping me along.

4. I want to Travel. So many places to see, so much culture to take in, so little money. But then, excuses, right? I would love to see Ireland. People in my family have told me it’s fantastic. I’ve seen pictures on Flickr (I love that site. Very inspiring), and have had some kind of draw to it for some time. Lower on the list of places I want to see is Australia and Prague specifically. Tying into #1, I want to SCUBA the Reef, and I’ve heard Prague is the most beautiful city in the world.

5. I want to finish school. I have a 2 year degree, and I’d like to complete the 4 year. At least, getting enrolled will get the ball rolling.

So, here’s a list of 5 things. The good news, is I’m only 6 months into 28. I have made myself commitments on a number of these things on this list to do in 2009. I will enroll in school, I will get fit, and with luck, by summer, I will feel good enough in my skin to get SCUBA certified, and I’m determined to finally go to Ireland.

Is this how to live life? To find out what you most want to do and then find a way to do it? Maybe a little. I don’t think I can be confined to a routine anymore. I’m bored with working. There’s a reason I jumped around the job market once a year on average since 2000. I need constant stimulation and change. When you take a step back from your life and examine it, do you feel like a hamster in a wheel? Sometimes, I do, and while I’m sure a lot of people are comfortable in this specific scenario, I certainly am not.

A friend of mine decided she also didn’t fit the “Grow up, go to college, get a job, get married, have kids, retire and die” mold. She ended up selling her house and most of her belongings, quit her lucrative job and spent the next half a year traveling down Central and South America, and continued west. I thought I envied her for a while, and while I may have been jealous that she had done it, I think the real reason I was envious was because I could do it too, I just didn’t, and won’t. We all have different ideas about what life should be and what we can do to feel fulfilled, and when other people do things we precieve to be something we’d like to do, but are too busy dreaming of other things, we get jealous.

All in all, I’m living my life the way I know best, and I’m going to take steps to improve it every day I can. I’ve spent enough time trying to figure that out, and now that I have, I think I can do more of what I’d like to do.