Month: September 2021

How to Try New Things as an Adult

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Being an adult is hard. We get stuck in our own little bubbles and just work, cook, and clean…and clean some more. (Seriously though…so much cleaning…) Sometimes we have hobbies beyond watching Netflix or HBO, but it’s hard to do things after work – even if we’ve been sitting for eight hours a day.

BUT….isn’t there that one thing you’ve always wanted to try or do. Maybe you want to learn how to play the piano, or you want to get back into playing the sport you loved when you were a kid. Maybe you want to learn a new language and then go visit a new country to practice. Whatever it is, it can be kind of scary to start as an adult and especially to start alone!

As adults, we’re not used to trying new things unless we get a new job or move to a new city. Even then there’s some guidelines in place for what we should and shouldn’t do. Starting something new when you know no one and you’ll (most definitely) be bad at it is scary! We’re not used to being bad at things once we reach a certain age. But it’s also exciting. You can be terrible and get better! Here are three tips to just start.

  1. Do your research: Find a class that’s beginner friendly. I started going to ballet class as an adult without any foundation and did some in-depth research on beginner classes. Some classes claim to be for beginners, but you need a base level of knowledge to take it. In the end, I found a 6 week beginner class that claimed to be for people with no dance background and it was! It was great to be with people and learn with adults who had no background in dance. We could all fumble along together.
  2. Try it out: If you can’t determine if it’s a beginner class, you can call and find out. If you’re still not sure then, take a deep breath, and just go. If you hate it and feel out of your depth you don’t have to go back! You’ll never see those people again so be as terrible as you can be. But at least you’re trying.
  3. Keep going: Maybe you enjoyed the class. Go back! Maybe you felt foolish. Go back! Or if you didn’t like it at all (like one dance class I tried where the teacher was rather rude), then don’t go back. Find something else! We have the freedom to choose what we do and don’t do and where we spend our money, so spend your time and money on things you enjoy. 🙂

I hope to get back into ballet now that the studio is open again. And I want to try a few other things – some recipes, go to some new museums, and just generally get out of my apartment again. What do you want to try?

Until next time.

5 Out of the Box Vacation Ideas

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Photo taken by me!

Take the Train! This is the only vacation idea I have actually done on this list, and it was a fun experience. I took the train across the United States in my own sleeper car from LA to Chicago to DC. It was an interesting experience and I would do it again up and down the West Coast. Amtrak has multiple routes you can take so you don’t have to spend multiple nights and three days on a train. I didn’t stop along the way because I was eager to get where I was going, but there’s always that option too!

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Horseback ride through Iceland. This is next up on my trip list. There are several companies that run multi-day horseback riding trips around Iceland. I think it’ll be a great way to see the countryside and meet some people at the same time. Food and board is included for the time period of the trip, so the price is all inclusive (at least the one’s I’ve looked into). I don’t think I could handle anything more than four days since I haven’t ridden since high school, but they also have easy one hour trips or half day trips for anyone who might not want to spend multiple days in the saddle.

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Take a Steamboat down the Mississippi. Am I actually just a transportation nerd? I don’t think I am, but I do think it would be cool to take a boat down the Mississippi and experience the different cities and states from Minnesota to Louisiana. Mostly I just think it’s interesting to experience something a different way than usual or than from the typical hotel/car vacation (which is okay too!).

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Join an Earthwatch Expedition. I just discovered this and I think it’s so cool! You can book a trip to help out scientists and researchers with their environmental studies, whether it’s helping to tag birds or counting pieces of plastic in the ones (erm…at least that’s my understanding…). You pay a set fee for the trip and room and board is included. It might not be everyone’s idea of a fun trip, but something to do off the beaten path and a new and different experience to try.

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Trek through Scotland. We all think of going hiking in our hometowns (well maybe not everyone), but why don’t we also think of going hiking in another country. You might not be able to see all the usual sights, but you’ll be able to take it slow along the countryside and maybe see some beautiful small towns and scenery while you’re at it. You can always do a day or two in the big city and hit all the tourist sites at the beginning or end of your trip.

What do you think? Are there any vacations you’re just itching to take (especially with Covid) or any out of the box vacation ideas you can’t wait to plan? Or are you a beach and relax kind of person. I’m also that kind of person, but my brain has been going a bit haywire over the past year and a half!

Planning to take a sabbatical

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As mentioned in my recent post, I’m trying to take a sabbatical in a few years. I haven’t brought it up with my employer yet, because it’s several years out and also there’s a good chance I will have to quit my job altogether. I’m planning to take off 9-12 months, although this plan could change over time based on any number of factors. Maybe I’ll get a new job! Maybe I’ll buy a house (ha) and need to pay the mortgage! Maybe there will be another recession! Fun things…

However, the current plan is to take some time off and reset, and I want to plan for that in advance so that I have enough money. Really there are two separate, but intertwined goals.

  • Save enough money to take a significant period of time off and not feel overly stressed about having enough money.
  • Feel like I’m in a good place with my retirement savings knowing I won’t contribute to it for a year.

Maybe there are other finance related goals to consider, but these are the two I’ve come up with for now. I’ve laid out how much money I need to save each month to get these two goals in place.

Spoiler Alert: It’s A LOT.

Some considerations:

  • I will have to pay for my own health insurance
  • I need to make sure I have money on top of my emergency fund in case anything disastrous happens
  • I want to have more money saved than necessary in case it takes me a long time to find a job

Again, I’m sure I’m missing something, but this is my thinking for now. I’ve definitely let lifestyle inflation creep into my life and I’m aware I’m going to have to cut back on a few things to make this happen. More on that in the future!

Do you think there’s anything else I should consider? Let me know!

One way to set goals

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Have you heard of SMART goals? It’s a way to set goals or take larger goals and break them down into actionable steps. I like this system because it really helps me think about my goals and break them down into steps I’m actually able to accomplish.

I have written a book before – a middle grade novel. I’m very proud of that accomplishment because writing really is hard, but when I sent out to a few agents I didn’t get any bites. Maybe I should have tried more agents, but I got discouraged and got new ideas in my head (those beautiful new ideas). I really believe in this currently story I’m trying to write and I do want to get it out of my head and into the world, but life gets in the way and work gets busy so I need to set serious goals for myself!

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-based

Write a book

  • Specific: I would like to finish editing my book by the end of the year.
  • Measurable: I will edit 2 pages per day.
  • Attainable: I will cut back on my social media time and try to get out of bed earlier (instead of just laying in bed and scrolling through TikTok.)
  • Relevant: I need to write my book because this is something I’ve always dreamed about and think about on a daily basis.
  • Time-based: End of the year!

I’ll try to do regular updates on my goals because I really need accountability partners and you’re it!

How to get the life I want

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The short answer is I don’t know, and the long answer is you have to work for it. The past year and half has been hard for everyone, and while I am certainly more privileged than most, I’m still not happy. It’s due to a number of reasons that I’m still digging into and my unravel with time, but at the moment I have three goals:

  • Take a sabbatical in the next few years
  • Find what makes me happy and do more of that
  • Finish the novel I’m writing and try to get it published

That’s it really.

I do want to acknowledge that part of starting this blog again is to try to cultivate a small source of income for when I do decide to take my sabbatical. There’s a fair chance I would have to quit my job and I would feel much better knowing there’s a small amount of money coming in.

In the coming weeks I’ll be figuring out content I want to share, updating by 18 in 2018 (clearly), and generally stumbling around in the dark and trying things. What fun!