I’m now 25

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It’s not scary, not that it should be, but it’s a milestone nonetheless. Our brains prefer order and creating milestones out of arbitrary dates and lengths of time that pass. In this instance, it’s a birthday, and is often considered a “big one”.

I don’t feel old, but sometimes people think I am older than that. The old man clothing, pipe and preference of whole grain cereals with copious amounts of fiber; make people wonder sometimes.

I’m not a huge fan of birthdays (mine, not others), maybe that makes me a bit cynical, but as I hit this milestone I will be looked at differently when people ask how old I am. Age isn’t really a determining factor in how I see the world, I know 80-year-olds with more vim and vigor than 20 year olds, and well other young people who constantly look like death will warm them over soon.

I feel that: .

My soul is old, my body is young.

My memories are many, my mind is sharp.

My past is storied, my future is bright.

This, is my quarter-life crisis.

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Since I’m not going to go buy a sports car or do whatever the cliche is for men to do in when they’re in crisis, I’ve got this plan. It is slightly stolen from other people, but the best ideas usually are. The problem I run into with lists is the same thing I run into with when I play “I have never”. I’m usually the first one out and have trouble finding something I haven’t done. Here’s a list, of not necessarily things I haven’t done, but things I want to do. Follow this page for updates.

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26 things to do before I’m 26 (in no particular order)

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  1. Go Camping for a full week (yes, really)
  2. Go Back to China
  3. Have an insect dinner with friends
  4. Go on a road trip somewhere far away
  5. Eat something brand new that I have never eaten before
  6. Random Acts of Kindness to Strangers
  7. Float/Canoe/Kayak in a river
  8. Take a Technology/Social Media Fast
  9. Write a song.
  10. Ride my Bike to Work more.
  11. Re-read the Hobbit.. again.
  12. Start learning French
  13. Get new Boots
  14. Finish that book I started
  15. Get a Tattoo (unless I don’t)
  16. Vote in local/national elections
  17. Try something I didn’t like, again.
  18. Go on a Blind Date (She can be blind as well, or deaf. I’m not particular)
  19. Learn the names and locations of 95% of the countries in the world
  20. Get photos taken of me for my mother to get her to stop badgering me.
  21. Walk to Work for a week.
  22. Go Without Coffee for a Month
  23. Go Vegetarian for one month (see how it fits)
  24. Go Out Dancing.
  25. Create something new
  26. Enjoy the heck out of life