A list I started before I turned 40 on November 26: 40 things that have made me who I am that I did before turning 40
1. Becoming fluent in German
2. Becoming fluent in other languages (French, Dutch, Italian), though I don’t maintain them
3. Living many places that weren’t home, not at first, on three continents
4. Listening to independent music
5. Doing radio
6. Writing about music
7. Becoming someone who can go running
8. Falling in love with communication technologies of all kinds
9. Identifying with terriers
10. Falling in love
11. Falling in love in a foreign language
12. Learning to play classical guitar and flute, even if I don’t really play now
13. Doing theater as a kid
14. Doing things where I’m not the best in the room
15. Teaching
16. Going back to school
17. Writing
18. Playing in a youth symphony and hearing what music sounds like when it floats in the air before setting onto the audience
19. Going to weddings, showers, reunions and funerals, even when they’re far
20. Singing at the top of my lungs in public
21. Going to Burning Man, and then not
22. Going to South by Southwest for 14 years, with # 15 coming up.
23. Living in San Francisco
24. Studying things I’m not good at
25. Studying things I couldn’t learn on my own
26. Studying things I am good at
27. Being mentored
28. Mentoring
29. Having friends much younger, much older and about the same age as me
30. Using online community, the web, social media for 20 years this year
31. Dancing, often not well
32. Studying architecture
33. Teaching design
34. Handing in my undergraduate thesis
35. Meeting you (my friends)
36. Walking around Barcelona with a digital camera in 2000, to teach myself how to see small details
37. My family
38. Books and reading
39. Always noticing the quality of light
40. Flirting
It’s surprising and delightful that there are small details on this list as well as life-changing giants. Thank you for sharing it, and may your next 40 years (seriously, I could not believe you are 40) be filled with even more wonders.
thank you for posting this dear molly– what a lovely idea as we head towards mid-life. i’m so happy to have known you for 23 years now, and hope to know you at least 23 more. xo
Hi Molly! I’m so happy to find your blog… and I can’t believe you’ve joined the club. Shocking. When I turned 40, my recurrent thought was: “Gee, I really thought I’d be much wiser by now.” Sounds like you’ve got wisdom for the both of us. love, Jennifer
This is awesome. You’re a hero! …and still growing. Keep it up! I hope to catch up with you someday. At 23 years old, I’ve only just begun German and have a couple years of Architecture on file…so far.
ps “the quality of light”- that’s a big one. I may have missed it on your list, but how about Photography? (aside from your brilliant Barcelona venture in 2000)
Thanks for sharing!
nice, i enjoyed reading through all these and reflecting. 🙂