100 Things I've Done before Turning 30

Photo by Johannes W

As I have been approaching turning 30, I have occasionally felt compelled to google what turning 30 has meant for other people, and inevitably, I have come across a myriad of lists of things one simply must do before turning 30. That can be pretty depressing to read if you’re weeks away from turning 30 and know that you don’t have enough money in the bank to travel to Europe, don’t have the physical stamina to run a marathon at the moment, and have never had a career in the usual sense. So, I decided to turn that concept on its head by making my own list of the things that I have done before turning 30 so as to start my third decade from a place of gratitude and wonder over all of the amazing experiences that God, in His grace, has granted me up till now. Regardless of your age or what birthday you’re approaching, I think it’s something worth doing every so often:

1) I have camped in a tent.

2) I have worked in the service industry (bussing tables in a restaurant).

3) I have sponsored a child monthly through a missions organization.

4) I have received art classes and been to arts camps.

5) I have seen various types of music live—symphonies, jazz quartets, folk duos, violin geniuses, Christian concerts, cover bands, a cappella concerts, etc.

6) I have visited art galleries and entered contests with my own artwork.

7) I have learned (though not very well) the basics of playing a musical instrument.


Photo by Cornelia Schneider-Frank

8) I have read more books than I can count on lots of different subjects.

9) I have been to my nation’s capital to see historical and political landmarks.

10) I have ridden a horse (and an elephant).

11) I have been to a circus and a county fair and a state fair and a fair in another country.

12) I have been to local sporting events and college sporting events and at least one professional sporting event.

13) I have played a sport.

14) I have been snow tubing and ice skating.


Photo by Kelli McClintock

15) I can change a tire and jump a car battery.

16) I have a pet.

17) I have seen a baby goat be born. Probably not on anyone’s bucket list but certainly an experience.

18) I know how to ride a bike.

19) I can drive a manual transmission vehicle.

20) I have owned a little red wagon.

21) I have sung in public.

22) I have spoken in public.

23) I have participated in theatrical performances.

24) I have seen theatrical performances.

25) I have spent time with all of my grandparents.


Photo by Markus Spiske

26) I have planted a garden.

27) I have had my writing published in some way, shape, or form.

28) I’ve been on television (though unintentionally).

29) I’ve made something out of clay, using a potter’s wheel.

30) I’ve painted—pictures, houses, and so much more.

31) I’ve learned how to make baskets.

32) I’ve been hiking.

33) I have been to school dances (we won’t mention that I was the awkward one consoling people in the corner).

34) I have played music publicly.


Photo Dana Devolk

35) I have learned to cook and bake.

36) I have refinished furniture.

37) I can do basic sewing tasks.

38) I know how to manage money using a budget.

39) I am bilingual.



40) I have ridden a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster.

41) I know a lot about my genealogy and family history, courtesy of my grandmothers.

42) I know a lot about medicine because my mom’s a nurse.

43) I have traveled by myself.

44) I have been white water rafting.

45) I have tried various means of exercise.

46) I have been on a cross country road trip. I have just nine states left to see.

47) I have tried many different kinds of food (though I’m always up for trying more).

48) I have kept a journal.

49) I have been on a train, a boat, and an airplane.


Photo by Dimitris Vetsikas

50) I have swum in the ocean.

51) I have swung from a rope into a river.

52) I have learned how to have healthy relationships with others. (Always learning more though.)

53) I have fallen in love, planned a wedding in a foreign country, and gotten married.

54) I have bought a car.

55) I have lived in another country.

56) I have hosted Thanksgiving dinner for numerous people (and have deep fat fried a turkey).

57) I have been to a Civil War re-enactment.

58) I have run a 5k (and won second place).

59) I have taken a self-defense class.

60) I have eaten out and gone to the movies by myself.

61) I have visited the Grand Canyon.

62) I have been at the top of the Empire State building.



63) I have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge.

64) I have seen Mount Rushmore.

65) I have been tubing down a river.

66) I have been a foster mom.

67) I have played in the rain.

68) I have climbed behind Pulhapanzak Falls.

69) I have been a Resident Assistant.

70) I’ve worked for a newspaper.

71) I have taught classes in three different countries.

72) I have played in the snow and made a snowman and snow angels.

73) I have felt an earthquake or been places where I should’ve felt the earthquake but didn’t.


Photo by Pau Mondragon

74) I have climbed the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico.

75) I have hitchhiked.

76) I have gotten my teaching license.

77) I have been to Niagara Falls, New Orleans, Carlsbad Caverns, Garden of the Gods, Yosemite, and Yellowstone.

78) I have been fishing.

79) I have shot a gun (target practice).



80) I have hugged a redwood tree.

81) I have contra danced with strangers.

82) I have been to a coffee plantation and a banana farm.

83) I have visited (as in more than passed through) five different countries—I won’t lie, I wish this number were so much higher.


Photo by Mike Petrucci

84) I have driven in NYC, Houston, San Diego, San Francisco, Chicago, and Tegucigalpa (among others).

85) I have graduated from college.

86) I have cared for a sick person.

87) I have been snorkeling.

88) I have made friends from all different kinds of backgrounds.

89) I have solidified my own political views (but I’m always up for hearing other points of view and learning more).

90) I have experienced my faith as a personal conviction rather than something I was born into or something expected of me.

91) I have prayed for someone else and experienced God working in the situation.

92) I have felt God’s nudging and His voice in my own heart.

93) I have lived by myself.

94) I have developed my own personal sense of style.

95) I’ve done so many things that have been scary to me that I’ve lost count.


Photo by Kaitlyn Baker

96) I have blogged for nine years.

97) I have discovered what my giftings and passions are.

98) I have learned how to say “no.” (Still honing this skill)

99) I have founded a non-profit ministry and am always learning what serving others should look like.

100) I have tried to live my life thus far obeying God’s leading, and that adventure, though not easy, has never disappointed.  

There are so many more things that could and probably should be on this list, but at the very least, it was special to take the time to recognize the phenomenal life I've had thus far and to feel deep in my soul how God has been so faithful and has blessed me so abundantly and more so than I could ever deserve.

What unique things are on your list? Is there an experience that you feel like everyone should have at least once? Feel free to add your own to the comments!