Even Numbers Rock

When I was little, er, younger, turning 22 was a big deal.

I’d be old. I’d have my life together.

I’d be fabulous and have a puppy and be engaged to a sexy soccer player scientist, and obviously working on a book about my travels with my archaeology team while working towards my Ph.D in Egyptology.  Yes, by 22 I’d have the world wrapped around my freakishly small pinky.

Well, I don’t have a puppy. I also decided years ago that trying to work in sand while wearing cute shoes without messing up my hair was just not rational (Damn you Angelina Jolie). Plus, chemistry is a bitch.

Pause for moment of nostalgic reflection.

Sure, I haven’t been to every continent yet, touched a polar bear, pierced my eyebrow, or become the next Nancy Drew, but damn, 22 you be fine.

I have successfully survived a few scandals and bad friendships, discovered my limit when it comes to booze, spent too much on a pair of heels to then only wear them once and, yes, dyed my hair red.  I have climbed a mountain in Norway, flirted with Italians while sipping wine in Paris, eaten fish and chips out of a cart in English country land, and taken a ridiculous amount of goofy pictures along the way.  I have convinced foreigners I am a reality TV star, received my first degree, collected a handful of truly spectacular friends, and landed a sweet gig in a sexy city. Success, success, success.

Turns out, 11 year old me had big plans, but that Ph.D won’t be hanging on my wall until closer to 33.  We are wildly okay with this (as in Me, Myself, and C).  As it were, at 22 I have become amazing enough to dedicate an entire blog dedicated to sharing my amazingness. Swell.

But what is a rah-rah-birthday-post without a LIST?! I love my lists.

Without further ado, here is my list for the next decade.  As my man Seth Godin would say, write it down, accountability is key. And so:

    *Visit every state. And Egypt.

    *Learn to tolerate children.

    *Go to grad school.

    *Land my first husband.

    *Take sailing classes.

    *Experience a wine tour.

    *Convince someone to name their child after me.

    *Start a foundation dedicated to health education and policy.

    *Convince a guy to go to the airport and get on a flight to a random city with me.

    *Go vegan for a year. Write about it. Learn from it.
    
    *Save someone’s life.
        
    *Buy something off Ebay.

    *Become wildly tech savvy by finding an insufferably cute person to teach me everything they know.

    *Take over the world.  And invent a new holiday every year.

So friends, what say you?

-H