Six More Months ’till 30

Today marks exactly six months until I turn the big 3-0.

Surprisingly, I’m not TOO freaked out about the notion of only having six months left of my twenties. My husband and most of my friends are already in their thirties, so to be honest, I kind of feel left out!

Another reason why I’m not too sad about leaving my twenties is because I feel like I’ve accomplished the majority of things I wanted to do during this time: I graduated from college, I lived in another country for a year, I traveled a lot (both locally and internationally), I got married, and I even ran a half marathon. My twenties weren’t perfect; there were some low points in there and some things I would change. But for the most part, I’m happy with how I spent the majority of my twenties and everything I accomplished in this time.

My twenties aren’t over yet, though. I have six more months to accomplish a few more big goals of mine. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably already have a good idea of what these goals are, buuuuut let’s recap anyway:

Get a Big Kid Job

I’ve been looking for a Big Kid Job (full-time, salaried job with benefits) since I moved home from South Korea in March of 2012, but it’s been a lot harder than one would think. Not only is the job market extremely competitive right now thanks to the economy, but I changed my career path from teaching to non-profit work, so I had to start over from scratch when it came to gaining relevent work experience. Thanks to all the volunteer, intern, and temp work I’ve been doing for the last 2 1/2 years, I have a lot more non-profit experience now, but I have yet to find a Big Kid Job in the non-profit sector. I just had a phone interview for a non-profit BKJ yesterday, so hopefully I get an in-person interview, and then the job itself. It would be amazing to go from working two part-time jobs to one full-time job and FINALLY start my career.

Improve My Finances

At the beginning of 2014, I was unemployed with over $27,000 in debt and no money in my savings. I’m happy to say that, a year later, my financial situation is in better shape, but it’s still a work in progress: I still have debt to payoff and more money to save. I’d like to have all of my credit cards paid off and $3,000 in my savings account by the time I turn 30, which may or may not be doable depending on how disciplined I am with my spending in the next 6 months. (My spending habit is also a work in progress.)

Get In Shape

I’m about 20 pounds overweight, and I have been for the last 2-3 years. I have STRUGGLED to get back down to my normal, healthy weight on and off again since I gained the weight in the first place, but no matter how much I exercise and how much weight I lose, I always gain it back thanks to my less-than-stellar eating habits. However, I’ve recently gained new motivation for getting in shape: Chris and I decided we are going to “start trying” this time next year. You know, GET PREGNANT. While I’m excited about the idea of me getting pregnant and us starting a family, I’m also terrified of how my body will change during this process A.K.A all the weight I will gain! I can’t imagine already being 20 pounds overweight now, and then gaining another 20-40 pounds from growing a baby in my stomach. I don’t want to imagine it, and I most certainly don’t want this image to become a reality; therefore, I need to start getting serious about losing weight this next year. I know it might sound silly trying to lose weight before getting pregnant, but I don’t care. I need to start this process now before it gets even harder to lose weight post-labor. So bring on the yoga, running, and healthy eating because I have 20 pounds to lose, and I’d like to lose it by the time I turn 30.

I think I may have my work cut out for me. Three big life goals to achieve in 6 months! It won’t be the end of the world if I don’t accomplish these things by then, but it would make entering my thirties exponentially better if I do. I think the fact that Chris and I want to start trying in a year will really help me focus on these goals. We’ve always known we want to start a family someday, but now that we have a specific time frame in mind, I’m realizing I need to kick my ass into gear when it comes to starting my career, improving my finances, and getting healthy. My future depends on it!

What are some goals you want to accomplish before you turn 30? What was one of the biggest accomplishments of your twenties?