The 30 Before 30 List 

    Don't panic, I've only just turned 29 today. Still in the twenties. We're not at the big 30 yet.

    Back when I turned 18 (or was it 21?) I wrote a list of 30 things I wanted to have done before I reached the big 3-0 and I'm pleased to say I hit them all!* The good thing is I still have a year to polish off the remaining goals and 'update' the list, just a tad.

*None of them**.

 **Well maybe one or two, if you twist the rules.

Out with the old

    The list was your typical and conventional one- married, kid(s), mortgage, fancy car, pug, have travelled the world and even more ludicrous ideas like 'have paid off my student loan' LOL

Seriously, how can the interest be above my repayments?

    I've picked up one or two few things since I wrote that initial 'to do list' though and noticed a few issues with the entire premise of it. So much of life today is focussed on 'where you should be at' or 'where you should be going'. Pressure, pressure pressure. As opposed to simply enjoying where you are at the present time, so much of today's world seems to exist to rush you into a frankly outdated preset of life.

I've learned that not only is it ok to deviate from the path you initially set for yourself or is 'expected', it can actually be much more beneficial to!

    While I didn't do any of the things laid out for me by the fountain of knowledge teen Scott who could drink double figures of absynthe shots and not think about liver damage, I did do at least 30 other things that I'm proud of, but I'll look back more next year when I'm feeling a bit more freaked out at my fourth decade, I'm sure. Maybe even 31 of them. 

Enough to fill a list anyway, just not the one I had.

    Goals change. Expectations change. Pandemics happen. It's all part of the journey and where I think a few targets can be great for motivation, especially if you've not fully figured out your passion or calling, I think it's more than ok to not know exactly where you're going.

In with the new

    So with all that in mind, I'm going to bin my list of 30 things to do before I'm 30 and update it with a new one. This one isn't filled with life defining milestones and I'm not going to be unrealistic with my expectations for what I can do in a year with a pandemic and limited funds.  I also realise I have about the same chance of completing this list as DC has of cutting together a successful movie on the first go. But that's not the goal.

    These are all projects I've started or just silly things I've had on my mind for a while, but even just the act of writing them down here gets them out of floating round my head, so I think there's a real benefit to this blog post, even if no one ever reads it (myself included). Alot are work/career orientated, but that's just where my head is at the moment! If I get ANY motivation out of  writing this blog post, I'll be more than happy.

    The best teacher I ever had told me we tend to hit 70% of what aim to achieve, however my goal isn't to aim to complete all of these. If I can finish ANY of these and either enjoy it and find a new hobby, or not enjoy it and eliminate it from my curiosity, I'll take that as  an absolute win.  Every little step along the path helps.

So that's my goal for by the time I'm 30. Complete between 1 and 21 of the following....

30 Before 30 'To Do ANY of' List:

Complete ONE of the following

1-Watch Pulp Fiction

2-Launch my podcast that's literally been in development for about 5 years now

We have filmed 12 episodes, it's moving!

3-Put a piano video on youtube 

Seriously people are still surprised when I tell them I play piano because I never let anyone hear me!

4-Get a showreel of my previous work together

5-Create a scrapbook

6-Finish a short film

7-Put a giant monster in Belfast (CGI, not like a radioactive smick)

8-Set up Etsy Store and start selling REDACTED (can't share anything about this yet)

9-Watch any of Nicolas Cage's actually critically acclaimed films

10- Figure out how the heck taxes work

11-Play a full length tennis match

12-Create an Artstation page where I can post art

13-Record a tutorial

14- Actually do something with www.scottynewton.com

15-Get a little bit of confidence back at swimming

16- Try being vegetarian for longer than a week

17- Platinum Crash Team Racing for PS4.

I've pumped approx. 250 hours into this and still haven't got that 32x32 platinum trophy icon yet.

18- Finish building and painting a car model kit

19- Make custom Blu Ray artwork 

I'm super critical about packaging and have always wanted to see if I could do better. Weird, I know!

20- Try baking (gluten free) bread

21- Actually complete GTA 5's campaign and stop using it solely as stress relief. Poor civilians.

22- Write a song/score

23- Write a film script

24- Master the the La La Land piano score

25-Change my car tyre (I've literally never had to)

26- Design a REDACTED  Sorry, not ready to talk about this one yet either!

27- Be able to run 5km in under 30 mins

28- Play a game of Risk

29- Do another blog post that isn't just my annual film reviews

30-Not make a list for when I'm 40. Que sera sera

Hopefully it won't take another year til my next post!

Stay safe and mask up :)

Scott