It's dawned on me that it has now been officially almost one year since I began my Operation 30 journey. I can hardly believe it! While I feel that I've packed a sufficient amount of memories in the past year, it's amazing how quickly it's gone by.
So I'll do what I do every time I pause for reflection, and look at the numbers...
- 18.75 - That's the number of items I've crossed off my list in the last 364 days.
- 5.25 - The portion of the remaining 11.25 items I have firmly planned to complete.
- 4 - The number of the other 6 "unplanned" activities that I'm confident I'll still be able to complete.
- 2 - My Everest challenges of the Operation 30 list, #17 and #20.
Overall, I'd say I'm happy with the progress I've made and extremely excited about the adventures yet to come. Hello Costa Rica, Europe tour, San Diego and Kentucky Derby! (Goodbye to most of my vacation for the year. :-/ Totally worth it though.)
Ah, but My Everest challenges. I feel truthful in saying that I'm making progress in my efforts to stop biting my nails, as I'm becoming more self-aware of the times when I'm doing it. Unfortunately, so far that hasn't translated into an ability to stop myself, but I'm hoping that inserting a strong dose of sheer stubbornness might be the trick I need once I feel the pressure of an approaching 30th birthday. I'm wondering just how long I need to make this one "official"...two months, maybe? Sure, let's go with that.
As for my goal of sitting on the board of an organization that I'm passionate about, I've given that one a lot of thought. I'm passionate about my sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, which is why I give my time serving as a National Officer and I continue to get a great deal out of it. (In fact, I just attended our Region Wide Officer Training in Springfield, MO yesterday and am always inspired by the amazing leadership of the Zeta alumnae I'm surrounded with and the enthusiasm of the Zeta collegians.) I also feel strongly about supporting people with Multiple Sclerosis, which is why I give my time each year to raise money and ride in the MS150.
But when I set this as a goal on my Operation 30 list, I did it because I wanted balance and something else to give my time to that wasn't necessarily ZTA-related or part of something I did already. So I thought - what could I be passionate about? The answer then is the same as the answer now: sick (and/or less fortunate) kids. Which is why about a year ago I joined the Young Friends of Children's Hospital. Unfortunately, things didn't exactly pan out with a board position for me within that organization, so I'm now back to square one. Not sure how I'm going to finagle this one, but if any of my blogosphere followers have connections to organizations that might fit, please let me know! I'll be making this a priority for February. :-)
364 days strong, 106 to go!
