I’ve finally done it! I’ve freed myself from the shackles of my 30 list (and believe me it did take over my life for a while)! I have crossed everything off my 30 list!
It has been quite the experience. It has been a nuisance and a chore at times, but I’m also so glad I did it. It has given me a sense of achievement and I’ve had a fun and eventful year that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
I’m not actually 30 until next Wednesday, but I planned to finish tonight as I am going on holiday tomorrow and want to do so without the pressure of having to tick anything off a list. So today I finished reading the last book on my list, finished the bible and watched the last two films off my list.
Here are the books on the top 10 list:
1. Don Quixote Miguel De Cervantes
2. Pilgrim’s Progress John Bunyan
3. Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe
4. Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift
5. Tom Jones Henry Fielding
6. Clarissa Samuel Richardson
7. Tristram Shandy Laurence Sterne
8. Dangerous Liaisons Pierre Choderlos De Laclos
9. Emma Jane Austen
10. Frankenstein Mary Shelley
Of the above, I really enjoyed Emma, kind of liked Frankenstein, Tom Jones and Gulliver’s Travels, and really hated Don Quixote (so long and not really about anything at all!), Tristram Shandy (could barely understand what was written) and Clarissa (the longest book I ever read which could have been a quarter of the length it is and still told the same story).
And here are the films I watched:
1. Bambi
2. Lawrence of Arabia
3. Gone With the Wind
4. E.T.
5. Back to the Future
6. Star Wars
7. Shawshank Redemption
8. Lord of the Rings
9. Blade Runner
10. Roman Holiday
11. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
12. My Darling Clementine
13. It’s a Wonderful Life
14. Some Like It Hot
15. His Girl Friday
16. Apocalypse Now
17. Schindler’s List
18. Casablanca
19. Kind Hearts and Coronets
20. Dr Strangelove
21. Sunset Boulevard
22. Citizen Kane
23. Bonnie and Clyde
24. All About Eve
25. Annie Hall
26. The Bicycle Thieves
27. The Godfather
28. American Graffiti
29. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
30. Raiders of the Lost Ark
31. It Happened One Night
32. Letter from an Unknown Woman
33. The Third Man
34. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
35. Rear Window
36. Vertigo
37. North By Northwest
38. Amadeus
39. Singin’ In The Rain
40. 2001: A Space Odyssey
41. Chinatown
42. West Side Story
43. Network
44. The Lady Eve
45. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
46. Rebecca
47. Tokyo Story
48. Nashville
49. The Philadelphia Story
50. The Quiet Man
Of this list I really didn’t enjoy Lawrence of Arabia, Apocalypse Now, Dr Strangelove, Citizen Kane and The Godfather! But some of the others were OK! 2001: A Space Odyssey was one of the strangest films I ever saw. My favourites were probably Roman Holiday and Rebecca.
Watching the film definitely expanded my very narrow film watching horizons, and I’ve also spotted lots of references to the films I’ve watched in other TV shows, songs and books, which has made me feel in the know, like I’m in some sort of secret club! 🙂
Reading the Bible was hard going at times, but was also a great experience. I do plan to go through it again more slowly with a study guide, but I’ve learned a lot I didn’t know already and it was the most worthwhile of all my goals.
All in all, I would definitely recommend doing a 30 (or 40 or 50 etc) list to anyone who is considering it! If you are, here are some of my tips:
1. Plan ahead. Some goals are better for different times of the year, some require booking and some will take longer than you think. I’d say it’s best to plan well ahead so you don’t end up like I have having to change any goals (The Northern Lights) or cramming too much into the last couple of days!
2. Mix it up. For a bit of variety, I would suggest mixing different types of goals (physical, intellectual, fun, etc) as well as goals that take different amounts of time (i.e. ones you can do in one day, and ones that carry on throughout the year) and are different levels of difficulty, just to keep it interesting!
3. Be flexible. Sometimes things don’t go to plan, so be prepared to amend goals if necessary. It’s your list, your rules after all!
4. Be realistic. This is something I wasn’t when it came to the amount of things I had to read, and it ended up a bit stressful! Really think about how long things will take and how much time you have to spare. Remember it’s supposed to be fun!
So that’s it for me! Thanks to everyone who read, commented or followed any of my blog. It’s been fun!
30 things to do before I turn 30 