30 Life-Changing Experiences To Cross Off Your Bucket List Before You Turn 30

1. I want to travel to at least three countries I have never been to before. I want to keep a journal to document my experiences in each country and take endless photos.

2. I want to travel to one of those countries by myself. Solo plane-ride, solo adventure. I want to make friends out of strangers, get a little lost, immerse myself in culture, and find my way back home.

3. I want to volunteer my time for a cause that I am passionate about. I might become a regular dog-walker at the local pet shelter, fly away on an alternative tourism trip, or take on an executive role with a non-profit that betters my community.

4. I want to celebrate obtaining the job of my dreams. I want to pop a bottle of champagne with my closest friends and family just to toast my opportunity and my future.

5. I want to meet my co-workers. I know that I haven’t met them yet, and they haven’t met me, and when I get that dream job in broadcast, or editorial, or production, or theatre and I finally meet them, I know we’ll be just like family.

6. I want to take a road trip across Canada with my closest friends. I want to travel from one end of Canada to the other with nothing but a backpack, a great playlist, a list of places to see, some cash, and my people.

7. I want to hike to a peak so high that the top is misted by clouds. I want to watch the sun rise and have a cup of tea or watch the sun set and have a glass of wine in silence from that peak.

8. I want to write an anthology of short stories or poems and have them published for the world to read.

9. I want to start a new venture – whether it’s a vlog series, a clothing line, a wellness studio, or a non-profit initiative of my own, I want to create something where I am the boss.

10. I want to make enough money to feel financially stable, or at least well on my way to being there — paying my student loans, supporting my parents, and having a car and/or an apartment, with enough left for fun.

11. I want to go on a lot of fun, creative dates. I want to do something adventurous or spontaneous, something neither of us have done in a long time or have never done before, something we can experience together. No movie theaters or chain restaurant diners allowed.

12. I want to learn a new language, even at a basic level, and then go where they speak it and be immersed in it, forced to converse in it.

13. I want to have a roommate. I didn’t have the chance to live with someone in college since I was a commuter student, so I want to rent a place with someone in the city, to know their quirks, to have deep conversations with them over wine at 2a.m. I want someone to cook with, to have friends with, to understand, and ultimately to share a chapter of my life with.

14. I want to take classes on something I have little to no experience in. A dance class, a crossfit class, a pottery class, or even a painting class.

15. I want to master something. Maybe it’ll be something from one of those classes I took, or maybe it’ll be a hobby I pick up, like the new language I learned. Maybe it’ll be cooking a particular dish or making a particular drink. I want to be able to say I have mastered that skill.

16. I want to have a sleepless, adventurous night in my city. For me, that’s Toronto. I want to stay up all night wandering, going places, eating, meeting people, truly exploring my city with my friends until the sun rises.

17. I want to rent a nice AirBnB for one night by myself. I want to arrive, away from my friends and family and job, make myself comfortable, disconnect from the world and reconnect with myself, be silent and reflective, be productive, cook a meal, dance like nobody’s watching, and sip wine or tea, preferably with a vinyl record playing in the background.

18. I want to go on a week-long all-inclusive vacation. I have never been on a holiday like that, and I want to go full-on tourist, taking advantage of the open bar, the sand, and the sun. I want to come home with a fabulous tan and a suitcase full of memories.

19. I want to go back to school. Either for my Masters, or for a certificate or a diploma.

20. I want to perform on stage. I want to dance, improvise, act, or perform spoken word to an audience.

21. I want to have an eye-opening conversation where I learn a new perspective on a topic I thought I fully understood, or learn about something I didn’t know existed, and let the new information change me.

22. I want to fall in love. I want to find someone who I don’t get bored of, someone who pumps adrenaline through my veins, someone who I always have passion with, someone who understands and often shares my values and beliefs, someone who is confident and a conversationalist.

23. I want them to fall in love with me back. I want to feel like I am the most interesting, exciting person to them, I want to be their best friend, I want to open their mind to new perspectives, I want to keep them excited and in a state of constant growth.

24. I want to fall apart and put myself back together again.

25. I want to change my look for the sake of changing it. I want to cut and dye my hair a random color, wear bold makeup, pierce something, choose new glasses, and buy pieces for my wardrobe that I wouldn’t normally wear.

26. I want to ask for and expect more. I want to ask for the job I want, the promotion I want, the friends I want, and the life I want.

27. I want to meet a celebrity I love. Drake, if you’re reading this, it isn’t too late.

28. I want to network and meet as many new people as I possibly can.

29. I want my family to be proud of me and excited for me, and I want to have moments where I know they’re proud of the person I’ve grown into.

30. Ultimately, I want to accomplish, live, and grow, to set myself up for happiness in my 30s, and to have the experiences to help me get there. I don’t want to limit myself to these 30 experiences. I want my mind to flourish, my social circle to strengthen, and my 20s to be full of lessons, moments, and memories.