52 Firsts
For a year and change, I challenged myself to make time to try something new roughly once a week (at least). I still do it, not on the same strict schedule, but actively seeking out new experiences with intention and open-mindedness—and it has become one of my best habits. This list isn't comprehensive, as some are personal enough to keep close to the vest, but in case it’s helpful to anyone else who may want to grow themselves through how they engage with opportunities, below are some of the activities I tried for the first time over the last 14ish months, 52 things I did for the first time:
A rainbow over the Rainbow Bridge, crossing from New York to Canada at Niagara Falls
OCTOBER 2016
Drive from Virginia to Canada (Richmond to Niagara Falls, via the Rainbow Bridge)
Don a poncho and ride on the Maid of the Mist
Listen to chocolate (and taste, smell, feel, etc. — tasting experience at Hershey chocolate factory)
NOVEMBER 2016
Vote for a female POTUS
Get laser hair removal (Note: Apparently it’s worthless on light-haired folks, maybe don’t waste your money.)
Climb a fire escape onto a rooftop in downtown Richmond
DECEMBER 2016
Develop/assemble a team of volunteers (for Communications team, TEDxRVA)
Buy (and almost immediately disappear) a remote controlled camera drone
JANUARY 2017
Take a Yoga Nidra meditation class (Project Yoga Richmond)
Protest to advocate for women's and civil rights (Womens’ March, Washington, D.C.)
Onboard/manage my own intern
FEBRUARY 2017
Draw a 5-ft by 9-ft mural with chalk
Knit a hat
Meet and photograph Angela Davis
Take a Pound Class (drum workout)
MARCH 2017
Drink dandelion tea
Run sound/production for an Open Mic Night event (at the Broadberry)
Participate in a neighborhood scavenger hunt/bar crawl (Ravenchase)
APRIL 2017
Bike ride on the Capital Trail
Read/listen to an audiobook
Play a pickup basketball game with friendly strangers
Join a Breakaway RVA bike ride
Stencil-tag posters (for TEDxRVA, thanks Spencer at Triple Stamp Press)
MAY 2017
Travel for a professional photography assignment
Eat Poke
Scream into the Grand Canyon
Bathe under a waterfall within a cave (Glory Hole Falls Trail, Ozark Forest)
JUNE 2017
Go to a burlesque show
Host a screen-printing workshop
Be a guest on a radio show
Stifle a PR crisis
Successfully set up and sit in a tree-suspension hammock
JULY 2017
Design the website for a multi-day film festival
Have a photograph I took published in the Huffington Post
Explore sensory deprivation in a Float Tank (Float Zone, RVA)
AUGUST 2017
Play Dungeons & Dragons
Party on the roof of a house made of straw
Surf on the East Coast AND the West Coast within 3 days
Play (and win!) a "Beer-iocart" tournament (Surfside Venice Bar, Venice Beach, CA)
Be a Lyft Driver (I made $4.00)
Host a stop on a neighborhood Progressive Dinner
SEPTEMBER 2017
Listen to a serious pitch for a MLM/pyramid-scheme (I turned it down)
Run a Half Marathon (Rock and Roll, Virginia Beach)
Design the program for a multi-day film festival
Eat something with gold flakes (Chairlift at Brenner Pass, hazelnut tart pastry)
OCTOBER 2017
Pick fruit in a local orchard (Carter Mountain Apples)
Conquer a corn maze (Maize Quest, Mt Jackson, VA)
NOVEMBER 2017
Canvass neighborhoods for Get Out the Vote (yea Ralph Northam!)
Eat my first Cuban sandwich (from Kuba Kuba in Richmond—*chef’s kiss*)
Meditate at a sound-bath concert (Lucid Living RVA)
DECEMBER 2017
Rescue a cat from a tree (Paco is safe!)
Take a photo to be published in print (Richmond Region Tourism mag)
The list is still growing, and I hope it continues to. If what the new year needs is some new experiences, I can highly recommend the challenge to try something new once a week. Here’s to 2018!