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Life List

2010 State of the Union

This November was my life list’s one year anniversary! I have managed to cross off an incredible amount in the last year, doing some amazing things and having some awesome experiences.
HOWEVER! The life list is not the only metric by which I decide whether or not the past year has gone well. I’d like to run through some of the main things that I am thankful that I achieved this year.

I got my first full time job in design!

Around this time last year, I was beginning my journey into the world of UX by interning for the very awesome moo.com. I cannot believe how far I’ve come from the bright-eyed intern that turned up at Moo HQ. I’ve freelanced my butt off, been exposed to diverse practices and companies, and learned a ton about how to treat myself as a business.
However, in July this year, I took the decision that what I really needed at this stage in my career was a bit of stability – both financially and mentally – and landed a fulltime job at JustGiving as a UX designer.
I’m incredibly proud of the journey I have taken and where I have managed to end up – hard work, passion, and a lot of knocking on metaphorical doors paid off.

Living ‘on my own’

I have wanted to leave my current situation for a long time. This process ended up dragging on and taking waaay longer than I had wanted it to.
A big part of this problem was that I had a very definite idea that I needed to live with friends. This meant that when I was looking for a new place, I kept on finding myself dependent on a) finding friends to move in with and b) those friends committing to moving out with me. This was exponentially more difficult that I thought it would be.
After a particularly frustrating day, I sat myself down and after sketching through some options, realised that what I needed to do was break myself free from this idea that I absolutely had to live with friends. The next day, I had lined up some viewings from some ads, and a couple of days after that, I had found a place in my ideal location, for a great budget, and living with 2 strangers. This was not as scary as I thought it would be. Taking the plunge was completely liberating, and resulted in finding myself a sweet little pad.

Driving Across Europe AND raising £3000 for charity

This year I got to raise a crapload of money for charity as well as have one of the most awesome experiences of my life.
We drove through 11 countries, met countless awesome people and got way too acquainted with certain country roads in Luxembourg. Spending 3 weeks on the road, driving in all weathers, spending 10/11 hours a time in the car, eating in service station after service station, holding up irate Italian sports cars as your 16 year old Honda is puffing up a treacherous mountain pass – was one of the most draining – physically, emotionally, financially – things that I’ve ever done, as well as one of the most adventurous and awesome.
~
Those are some of the main things that I am thankful I have achieved in 2010. There are only 20 more days of this year and I will be trying to pack as much fun and productivity into these final days as possible. I can’t wait for 2011 to come around and to start this process all over again. 2011 is going to be a great year, and I’m going to achieve a lot of awesome things. Hope you will be along for the ride!

Life list items completed:

  • Get a Master’s degree
  • Get my first tattoo
  • Buy a DSLR
  • Visit Bruges
  • Drive Across Europe
  • Visit all 50 States: New Jersey
  • Visit the Vatican
  • Visit the Coliseum
  • Go camping
  • Sell stuff at a car boot sale
  • Send a handwritten letter to a friend

By Yael

Hi, I'm Yael - pronounced Yah-Elle! Born in Brazil, live in North London, but my heart belongs anywhere tropical! I own a tiny stationery company called Little Goat Supplies, and I spend all my spare time dreaming of prints and colours! My other loves include eating good steaks, tasting rum cocktails and finding good skincare products!

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