An Introduction to The Big List

An Introduction to The Big List

 
As another year starts racing away (how is it that a month has already slipped by without me noticing?), I've been spending time I should be lovingly devoting to Excel spreadsheets actually thinking about what it is that I would like to achieve this year.
 
Having been inspired by Sydney's own NYE fireworks display and their "Year of" symbol on the Harbour Bridge, I decided that each year I would have my own "Year"
 
2010 was CJ's Year of Positivity. Having returned from a year of carefree travel around the world including several months of volunteering with beautiful children in Tanzania and Costa Rica, being thrown into head first into reality required a definite shift from the "Post-Holiday Grump" in which I was wallowing . Being positive about friends, strangers, work, myself and most of all about being back in Sydney. I was no Pollyanna playing the "Glad" game but I'm sure pigtails are making a come back.
 
2011 was the Year of Fun. A year of not taking myself so seriously, enjoying my friends and ensuring I made the most of everything this amazing city has to offer. I began to realise that Sydney was waking up. Small bars and restaurants kept popping up; my friend Alex and I couldn't keep up with a lists of places we needed to try. There were always events on, movies to see, festivals to go to and experiences I needed to be a part of. I got to travel back to the Caribbean and New York with my Mum where I unwittingly ticked of a few of the items on my list. It really was the Year of Fun. This was also the year I turned 30, and had one of the most amazing parties of my life surrounded by beautiful people both in and out.
 
2012 - The Year of Action. At the end of the Year of Fun I started to lose my way and wasn't sure what was next. It may have been an attack of the "Dirty Thirties" or simply watching my friends doing things that I wasn't. After a weekend of long talks with my ever inspirational cousin I emerged with a Action Plan, and The year of Action. In a Year I got a dream job, on course for my dream career (for now!), a new house (never need to rent again!) and started my studies (though a loooooong way to go).
 

2013 - After a year of seriously big moments, I sat back a thought about what it was that I needed this year to cement the huge achievement and satisfaction I felt from the last. I decided that it  needed to be about the smaller moments, so I went back to a list I wrote quite a few years ago. Once again, it is my amazing cousin who also has a list of hopes and dreams, (30 of which she achieved the year she turned 30) who first pointed me in this direction. My uncle has his "To-Do" list. My neice has her "Bucket List". I think we've made it a family affair, one that we help each other to achieve. And so, today I start with 120 Dreams (23 of which I can already say "I did it!").  Bring on the CJs Year of Magic Moments