26 BEFORE 27

(via Levis)

It's the time of year again. Time for my second ever age appropriate goal list! My "25 Before 26" really helped me focus and keep my goals in mind throughout the year. I was able to complete a lot of the goals on my list and even exceed a few of them! I know that 26 will be a great year (although I've always had some weird belief that being an odd number age makes you cooler somehow...). I really want to push myself this year to try things that I haven't before and to do things that will require me to be brave and courageous! ..I also want to have A LOT of fun!! So, without anymore dilly-dallying..here it is.. my "26 Before 27" list!

1.) Have a fancy picnic and take fancy photos.
..because who doesn't love a picnic?

2.) Plan a fun, for no real reason photoshoot with balloons.. like this one!
..I've wanted to do this for a while. I've always loved hamming it up for the camera, but I don't have many pretty photos of myself. I'd love to do a cute, fun and beautiful photoshoot with some of my girlfriends just because!

3.) Create an hour long sketch comedy/variety public access special and have it air on KCET, the LA public access television station!
..This sounds crazy and out of nowhere, but I've actually wanted to do this for almost two years. I have a bunch of really creative and goofy friends in California that I think would be perfect for something like this! I'm planning on putting together this video as something fun for us to do and something that I'll always have and cherish as a reminder of my time on the West Coast. Plus, you never know who might see it and make us all famous!

4.) Take improv classes at The Groundlings or Upright Citizens Brigade.
..I've been interested in improv comedy since my freshman year of high school when I took a comedy class as a fun fill-in. I've always loved performing.. there is video tape evidence of so in my family's archives...but I never really let myself explore it as a creative outlet. It was always art, art, art.. This past year, I let myself open up musically by taking on the ukulele and creatively as I started reading and working through a book called The Artist's Way. The book mentions that as you begin to open up creatively in one concentration, you will also begin to open up creatively in other concentrations. This was very true for me when it came to comedy. Now, I'm not saying that I'm hilarious or anything like that. All I know is that I get a positive rush out of being weird and goofy. If that's funny to anyone, then awesome! If not, it makes me feel good and I want to explore that more! That's why I've decided to take improv classes this year. Who knows, they may lead somewhere amazing!

5.) Travel abroad and get paid to do so.
..This may sound like a far stretch, but I'm putting on the list because I have been pleasantly surprised five times now when it comes to road tripping in the United States. That's right, I've not been paid to road trip five times! I can't believe it sometimes. I would have never thought that it was possible, but it happened. With that said, I feel like getting paid to travel overseas is nearly impossible.. I mean, there are jobs that I know about like working on a cruise ship or being a tour leader, but I don't know if there's a job that I feel totally confident doing that I could get paid for. I'm sure that there is though, because I felt confident doing all of the jobs I had that required me to travel within the United States. So, I'm putting this out there! I know that some great opportunity will come to me!

6.) Find a way to get paid to be myself and love what I do!
..I've been away from the 9-5 grind for a long time now. I'm still working, but the jobs that I have are usually unconventional and really fun. I was a school yearbook photography, a roadie, a birthday party princess and face painter, a moving truck transport person, a gourmet food truck order taker.. and now I'm doing freelance illustration. Sadly, freelance illustration isn't paying as well as I need it to, so it's time to go back to the drawing boards. I want to find a job that allows me to be myself and have fun. Ideally, I'd get paid to make fun videos or go on tour with Picture Day or bake vegan treats or draw whatever I want or travel around the world meeting awesome people. We'll see what direction the winds of fate take me in!

7.) Create a puppet-centered web series.
..I now have two puppets that I've created. I'd love to put together a web series that revolves around them as the main characters!

8.) Go wheat pasting.
..Yep.

9.) Find a place to live that I love and a place to live there that reflects my personality!
..I have to move out of the artist's community where I currently reside because of some zoning issues with my trailer. I'm really sad about this, but excited for what's next. I've been thinking about moving back to the East Coast a lot.. actually I've been thinking about it since I moved to California. I feel like I should be closer to my parents, but that means leaving all of the people and places that I love in California behind for now. I want to find a place closer to home that I absolutely love!

10.) Play ukulele with Steve Martin.
..Specifically this song. Okay, know this is a long shot, but I want to put it on the list just to see what happens!

11.) Go camping!
..Because I haven't since I was a Girl Scout.

12.) Go to England or Ireland or Italy or anywhere that excites me!
..Because it would be awesome!

13.) Throw a most excellent party.
..Maybe mod themed? Tea party? Watch an old movie by a tree party?

14.) Write, illustrate and publish my yeti book.
..It's still haunting me!

15.) Meet a nice, funny, caring, genuine, interesting, exciting, charming boy.
..I know. I know. CHEESY! But I'm getting older! I've got to start thinking about these things. I'm not desperate or anything, BUT BRING HIM TO ME NOW!!! Just kidding...I'm happy to wait for Mr. Right, but hopefully I won't have to wait much longer!

16.) Be a better daughter/sister/aunt/friend/employee/person.
..How? Love more! Listen more! Give more! I spent a lot of my 25th year (and 24th and 23rd and so on and so forth) thinking about myself. I know everyone does this to some extent, but my early-mid 20's have felt extra egocentric. Maybe it's the whole "I'm an adult now and I have to figure out how to be independent" thing. I just feel like I talk about myself a lot.. especially when it comes to talking to my parents. I want to flip the tables and take myself off whatever me-focused pedestal I've been living on!

17.) Learn how to use After Effects.
..It's such a cool program and the only moving editing I currently know how to do is in iMovie!

18.) Wear high heels somewhere classy.
..This is a silly one, but I feel like I should wear heals every now and again as a young woman. Right?

19.) Write a screenplay, film a movie and get it to Sundance!
..This is a big one. I've become more and more interested in film lately. I have a movie idea that's floating around in my head that I plan on making a reality!

20.) Go on an awesome adventure.
..Something memorable, exciting and unique!

21.) Go WWOOFing or volunteer with HelpX.
..I've wanted to WWOOF for so long. The time is now! HelpX is similar to WWOOF, but there are other volunteer opportunities other than farming that you can do through it.

22.) Visit/Possibly work on staff at The Hostel In The Forest.
..Because this place is AMAZING.

23.) Keep a gratitude journal.
..To keep track of and focus on the hundreds of blessings in my life rather than the things that I feel less than content about.

24.) Get an audtion with SNL.
..Okay..far out there again, BUT stranger things have happened. This is extra far out there because I haven't even taken improv classes yet.. and I'm totally new to the whole comedy thing, but I think that it would be amazing (duh..)! Even if I didn't get and audition, to know that I have the chops to do so would be great. SNL works on an invitation only audition process, so I would have to get my name noticed by the people there (specifically Lorne Michaels). Anyway, I'll put it on the list and see what happens!

25.) Record a ukulele/music/Picture Day album and release it to the masses!
..I have a few songs that are bursting at the seams to live for eternity in a compact disc.. or better yet, on vinyl (oooo...) I want to get them out of my being and share them with the world!

26.) Road trip!
..I seriously can't get enough! I want to go on a photo road trip with my dad.. I'm pretty sure that I'm moving back the East Coast in a few months and my dad has said that he'd drive back with me. I think that this would be such a memorable trip.. especially since my dad loves photography and so do I. I want us both to take photos along the way and then I'll develop them and share them here! I'd also love to road trip in another country! I'm down for any type of road trip really!

ONE MORE..
..I know, I know.. this is supposed to be a list of only 26 things, BUT I have one more and this is my blog so I can do whatever I want to do!

27.) Find a cause that I really believe in with my whole heart and support/raise awareness for/volunteer for it in a fun, unique and creative way.
..This is a big one. Time for me to shift my energies a bit so my external life matches my internal life. I always says that I want to help people and I feel like I do in my heart by living each day intentionally with love, but if I were to draw up a fancy pie chart of my time, way too much of it would be dedicated to things that benefit me (like baking cookies and watching 80's movies on Netflix) and very little is dedicated to serving the greater good. I'm ready for this balance to drastically change. Time to put on my helper hat and my service goggles (dorky..) and get to work!

..and another..

28.) Finish painting my car!
..This seriously needs to happen!