30 Before 30 (a Reverse Bucket List)

Today is the last day that I am 30. Sometime ago, I created a “30 Before 30” list or a list of things to do before I turn 30. Well I got depressed last year as I dreaded the big 3-0, and not having accomplished most of the things on said list was one of the things that fueled my depression and existential crisis.

But do you know that story about the black dot? Sharing it with you below, found it here.

A small town chamber of commerce invited a speaker to address its annual dinner. The community’s economy was bad, people were discouraged, and they wanted this motivational speaker to give them a boost.

During her presentation, the speaker took a large piece of white paper and made a small black dot at the center with a marking pen. Then she held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw.

One person quickly replied, “I see a black dot.”

“Okay, what else do you see?”

Others joined in agreement: “A black dot.”

“Don’t you see anything besides the dot?” she asked.

A resounding “No” came from the audience.

“What about the sheet of paper?” – asked the speaker. “I am sure you have all seen it”, she said, “But you have chosen to overlook it.”

“In life, we also tend to overlook and take for granted many wonderful things that we have or happen around us and focus our attention and energy on small, dotlike failures and disappointments. The so called ‘problems’ that we have are usually like the black dot on the paper. They are small and insignificant if we can widen our horizon and look at the whole picture.”

So, you see, I had focused on the black dot in my life. I had forgotten about the bigger, should-have-been-more-obvious thing, which was the sheet of paper, and today I am rectifying that mistake and showing you the “paper” which is the 30 years of my life.

Just a little background for those who may not know this about me – I grew up in a small townish city in the Philippines and while we weren’t exactly poor, we didn’t have enough that I considered grapes to be a luxury item, we never had our own computer at home while I was still a student, and I had never even rode on a plane until after I graduated from college. So most, if not all, of the things in the list I am about to share were things that little me never even thought was possible.

Here is a list of things I did before I turned 30:

(1) Graduated from college with a Bachelor’s degree. Bonus points for doing so on a full scholarship with stipend, therefore saving my parents lots of moolah.

(2) Rode a plane for the first time at the age of 21.

(3) Moved away from home and became independent. This may not seem like such a big deal for other people from other countries, but in the Philippines where we have super close-knit families, it is. In our culture, kids do not leave their parents’ homes unless they move to a different city or get married (and even then, sometimes still no). I know lots of people my age who are still living with their folks. I never imagined myself being like that. I was determined to be independent as soon as possible.

(4) Got hired in my dream company. Not everyone gets hired in the company they think so highly of, they didn’t even think they’d be considered. That company was P&G and though I did end up leaving it in the end, it will always have a special place in my heart as one of my biggest dreams coming true.

(5) Learned how to swim. Again, this shouldn’t be a big deal but it is to me because I nearly drowned three times in my youth and I enrolled in swimming classes once I could afford it so that I could face my fear.

(6) Overcame my fear of public speaking. I was so shy as a kid that a teacher talked to me before elementary graduation about it, saying that I was at the top of my batch but I wouldn’t graduate with honors because I had very little extracurricular activities. I became so the opposite of shy that I even hosted a gig in front of hundreds of colleagues.

(7) Played paintball (and got a gigantic bruise on my thigh that didn’t disappear for weeks).

(8) Went white water rafting.

(9) Rode a horse.

(10) Travelled all over the Philippines. (See list of travels here.)

(11) Moved to a different country. I was never going to just stay in my country forever. I am too restless and I suspect it’s the fault of the birthmark on my ankle. (trying to keep straight face)

(12) Saw a real white tiger (my favorite animal).

(13) Got interviewed for a TV news spot on ABS-CBN, a popular channel in the Philippines.

(14) Became an extra in a movie. The film is called Forever, a Singaporean film.

(15) Ran in a marathon (Color Run, a happy 5k and not a full one, but still!).

(16) Watched Wicked and The Phantom of the Opera musicals live (and took pictures with the cast!). It was my dream to watch these two, and I still can’t believe that I’ve seen them both, and so up close too.

(17) Baked a cake.

(18) Learned to be be a bartender.

(19) Watched the concert of international artists (Maroon 5).

(20) Went camping on a beach.

(21) Danced in the rain.

(22) Went parasailing.

(23) Drove a jetski.

(24) Climbed a mountain. (Though my feet nearly died in the process of doing so in too small shoes.)

(25) Travelled to 8 countries (aside from my own) – South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Taiwan. (See list of travels here.)

(26) Bought my own computer (which was my biggest dream as a kid).

(27) Taught myself how to make videos, and got quite good at it that 3 friends asked me to make their wedding growing up videos for them. For a sample of my work, check out this 1-minute save-the-date. I bet it will make you smile.

(28) Started a blog and maintained it for 8 years.

(29) Wrote some short stories. My favorite is called I’d Like to Buy a Husband, Please. Go read it!

(30) Got hired to be a writer. This was my childhood ambition, and even though I eventually had to quit because I realized that was not the kind of writing I wanted to do, getting validation that I am actually good enough to be a writer so as to be paid for it is one of the best feelings ever.