While I have not yet surpassed the quarter-century milestone myself, growing further and further away from my carefree teenage years definitely has me thinking about my life’s “bucket list.”Oh goody. So this is a list of 40 things a 24-year-old thinks I should do in the next 98 days in order to feel like I'm on track to living a fulfilled life. Or in order to be considered a Queen, maybe? Or as she says:
The ever-increasing number of birthday candles on the annual sweet symbol of aging should be an inspiration to continue to live our lives to the fullest. Not all to-do lists have to be formidable! These 40 things to do before you’re 40 should serve as a source of inspiration as opposed to a source of stress!See? It has to be good. *I've removed most of the clarification blurbs.
1. Go abroad.
Done!2. Read a classical novel in its entirety. 
Done! (What were you reading in high school and college? Just curious. Not the classicals I guess.)3. Write a thank-you card.
Done. What kind of uncivilized people need to add this to a 40 before 40 list?! Oh right. Millennials.4. Cook a new recipe.
Done. Since I've cooked something from a cookbook at least once in my life....5. Write in a journal.
Done. I have written at least one journal entry in my life.6. Smile at a stranger. For no particular reason.
Done. Since I'm a woman raised in the South and that's what we are taught to do. It's kind of a thing.7. Go 24 hours without technology.
Since I was born in 1977 I have definitely spent at least one 24-hour period in these almost 40 years without technology. More recently I did Outward Bound and putting up my phone for a week was one of the hardest and easiest things I've ever done in my life.8. Laugh until you cry.
It's been a long time but I've definitely done this.9. Sing karaoke.
Done, bought the machine.10. Get your adrenaline pumping.
MUST TO DO ZIPLINING11. Attend a sporting event.
Done.12. Do something in front of a large group of people.
Done.13. Go camping.
Done. And I appreciate you not requiring me to go glamping. Although the idea is starting to grow on me as it keeps showing up on these lists...14. Go vegetarian. Try it for one week. Want to take it to the extreme? Go vegan.
Want to go REALLY extreme? Try it for ten years.15. Finish a race.
Just curious: are we counting races run in high school PE class? Because I learned then that races aren't really my thing.16. Do something alone.
Done. I went to a few concerts alone in graduate school and met really interesting people. I also used to go to the movies alone quite a lot. Wait, did you never eat lunch alone during a workday?17. Volunteer.
Done. Thank you for giving me the freedom to volunteer in ways other than at a soup kitchen. I was starting to think that's the only kind of volunteering that mattered to these list-makers.18. Go to the beach. 
Done. And now I'm going to cry thinking that people haven't seen the ocean. That really breaks my heart.19. Watch a sunset. One of the most astounding natural occurrences. It happens everywhere, every day.
Done. Agreed.20. Watch a sunrise. See above.
Done. See above.21. Go to a concert.
Done.22. Grow your own food.
Done but I'd really like to do more of this!23. Finish high school.
Done and once I got my PhD I stopped having nightmares about having to go back. Thank you PhD. #worthit24. Write a letter to yourself. To be read in 10 years. That will be interesting.
Good idea! That WILL be interesting!25. Think one positive thought every day before you get out of bed.
Wait so since I've not been doing this is it too late? Why didn't someone tell me when I was first born that this was going to be something I was supposed to have done?! I'm a failure. What's the point of life.26. Decide whether or not you want to have kids. Women reaching the ripe young age of 40 should have come to a conclusion by this point as to whether they want to be incorporating diaper changes, timeouts and acne as a part of their lives. And all the love and joy that comes with it.
Ahh the blissful ignorance of a woman in her early twenties thinking that you can just decide to have babies and make it happen. I sincerely hope you don't have to struggle with infertility. And that by the time you are my age you understand that it's not that simple for all of us. And thank you for calling me ripe.27. Play in the snow. Build a snowman, go skiing, jump on a snow tube.
Done because I was a kid once in a place where we got at least 3 cm of snow at one time. Pretty sure that's all that's required.28. Learn a foreign language. The more obscure, the better.
Depends - do I have to be fluent and is Spanish obscure?29. Play the lottery.
Done and one time I won $4 - OH YEAH.30. Go scuba diving or snorkeling. 
Done. I love snorkeling (in shallow water). It's awesome.31. Give yoga a try. Even if you just sit there and breathe through the whole class. You owe it to yourself.
Done. And the first time I did Bikram I basically did just sit there and breathe through the whole class. And I still sweated more than I ever sweated in my life. But I will say that in most yoga classes if you just sit there and breathe you aren't really going to get much out of it.32. Quit a bad habit. Smoking, biting your nails, gossiping, texting while driving. Identify your worst habit and get rid of it.
Done! I actually quit smoking lots of times, so bonus points!33. Vote. If you’ve never casted a ballot, get your butt to the voting booth! You don’t have to vote for the next president, but at least take part in the local elections. Come on already!
Done. And also "casted" has not been used since the 16th century. I lookeded it up.34. Teach. Teach somebody, anybody, something, anything, new. Does that make sense?
Done. Does what make sense?35. Work out.  Exercise those muscles at least once in your life. For your sake, I hope this is already a well-formed habit.
LOL. Waat.36. Create something and sell it.
This is an interesting idea. I've made lots of stuff but always given it away. Curious.37. Replace your coffee with green tea.
I did that for a while but then I switched back to coffee then I switched to pu-erh. Better for my skin than coffee but worse for my teeth than green tea. But so delicious and caffeine-y.38. Bake bread from scratch.
Bread is really fun! I'd love to take another sourdough class. Maybe then we could get another sourdough starter and I wouldn't kill it.39. Watch international news.
Like, once? Done.40. Attend a festival.
Done. I wish I could go to Merlefest some more. That was awesome.***
This was interesting, mostly because of what it tells me about expectations young women have about turning 40. I remember those days...
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