The Year for a Better World

WHADDUP, THIRTY?!

I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty excited about finally being in the 30 Club. There’s something about growing out of your twenties that gives you a little boost of confidence. It's like you have a clean slate for the next decade, with all sorts of life lessons in the bank.

And with a new birthday, comes a new annual challenge! Since I’ve started my birthday tradition, I've focused on ways to work through my weaknesses and find opportunities to grow. To celebrate turning the big 3-0, I wanted to turn my focus on the world around me and find ways to improve my day-to-day actions while making a difference for others. As I started to consider different ways to do that, I couldn’t settle on just one, so I picked seven (small and large) challenges.

Welcome to what I'm calling The Year for a Better World. Here are my guidelines:

1. Donate blood more regularly. I’ve been donating blood since high school, but I’ve also taken long breaks between donations – usually because I get caught up in life and forget to sign up when I’m eligible again. I don’t love the process (I still have never seen the needle) but you can’t deny the significant impact of blood donation. Save a few lives and sign up to donate HERE.

2. Share more meals with friends. I’ll let you in on an embarrassing secret – I’m terrified to have people over to our house. Not because there’s anything wrong with our home, but because hosting really freaks me out. I never know what to say, I’m definitely not the best cook, and am overall just an awkward hostess. Is it irrational? Probz. But I really want to get better, and that means taking the plunge and inviting people to our home more often. Even if we order pizza, play Mario Kart and use paper towels for napkins.

3. Use less single-use plastics. As someone who lives near a Great Lake that once caught on fire from its polluted waters, I have been feeling compelled lately to make a significant change in my efforts as a global citizen, and take my conservation a step further. So for the next year I’m going to use alternatives for the following single-use items, or just not use them at all:

• Plastic water bottles and cups

• Plastic straws and cutlery

• Plastic shopping bags

• To-go containers at restaurants

• To-go coffee cups and stirrers

• Plastic wrap

• Face washes with microbeads

In some ways, this seems daunting (I'll probably panic on the inside when asking the barista to use my mug), but I know it's the absolute right thing to be doing.

4. Regularly volunteer for a local organization. If you know me at all, I have the biggest soft spot for animals. For YEARS, I have been trying to find different ways to help homeless animals both locally and nationally. I get so broken-hearted when we visit a shelter and I can’t rescue them all, but finally discovered that that perfect way to help is to simply volunteer! I just started with our local shelter, but am so excited to spend a few hours every week with local puppers that need a long walk and a good friend.

5. Buy less, explore more. Retail therapy is real, people. So is boredom shopping, and I am guilty of both (HomeGoods, I’m looking at you.) Rather than spend a beautiful day shopping through stores for a dose of endorphins, I’m going to try and explore our local parks with Charlie Brown, Storm and Molly. Not only do we have the incredibly amazing Towpath Trail close by, but the Geauga Park District hosts all sorts of special activities…FO’ FREE! Now that the snow is finally done for the season, it’s time to adventure.

6. Make our purchases support our values. I’m pretty guilty of buying from big box stores because it’s cheaper and convenient, but I know that our money would go a lot further in the community if I spent it locally. This year (and moving forward) I’m going to make a conscious effort to shop small businesses more often for gifts, as well as day-to-day necessities.

7. Make weekends completely social media free. Deactivating my Facebook account (and recently deleting Snapchat) has been awesome, and has lifted such a weird weight off of my shoulders. Still, my face is in my phone FAR more than it should be, so I’m ready to take my social media purge a bit further and get my weekends back.

...and we're off!

I'm so excited to get started on this birthday challenge, and hope that you'll join me! Even if you just pick one small intention to make the community a better place, it makes a HUGE difference in a year's time.

Cheers to Year 30, and see you out there!

#selfimprovement #happiness #birthday #volunteering